These moist and flavorful Banana Cupcakes topped with cinnamon cream cheese frosting are so easy to make, super comforting, completely underrated and always such a crowd-pleaser! And of course, you already know my secret – miso paste – I can’t help but add some to the cupcake batter to add a subtle umami that plays beautifully with the natural sweetness of ripe bananas.
Alright friends, if you loved my miso banana cake but need something a little fancier, a little more fun, you can take that recipe and make it into these cute little cupcakes. I only changed out the frosting to add a little warm autumn spice to this recipe. But I also have a whole bunch of other frosting options below to change things up the next time you make these.
Trang’s Recipe Highlights
- FLAVOR: These banana cupcakes feature sweet banana mellowed out with savory miso, and not-too-sweet tangy cream cheese frosting kissed with warm cinnamon.
- TEXTURE: The cupcakes have extremely moist and tender crumb, with a creamy frosting on top.
- EASE: Very easy! The cupcake batter can be made entirely by hand with a whisk and a single mixing bowl. The cinnamon cream cheese frosting takes just 5 minutes to whip up.
Ingredients you’ll need
You’ll need 9 ingredients to make this banana cupcakes recipe. If you want to skip ahead, the complete list of ingredients with quantities and step-by-step instructions are in the recipe card, as always.
- Banana – make sure to use ripe, spotty, brown bananas. Frozen ones will work just fine too. If frozen, thaw the bananas and mash them together with the liquid that comes out during thawing.
- Oil – a flavorless oil like vegetable oil or canola oil will work just fine to ensure the crumbs are super soft and moist.
- Miso – I use Marukome premium white miso paste to make these miso banana cupcakes and many of my miso desserts. It doesn’t have a lot of sodium so you’ll get just a hint of savoriness. If you’re using a different brand of miso paste, check the sodium content and keep the total sodium from miso paste to around 900 – 1000 mg.
A quick tip for the frosting
As for the cinnamon cream cheese frosting recipe, you’ll need just 5 ingredients to make it, see pic below.
The trick with this cream cheese frosting is not to overbeat it. If you do, the frosting will separate. If it is too runny because your ingredients got too warm at room temperature, just pop it back into the fridge for 15 – 30 minutes, and then beat it until fluffy, but only for a minute or two.
Different flavor combos
Banana and brown butter – always a great combo, that’s why I make all my banana breads, including this miso banana bread, with brown butter. To create this flavor combo with these cupcakes, you can pair them with my super easy brown butter cream cheese frosting!
Banana and cookie butter – also a great flavor combo since the spices in the biscoff cookies complement the banana perfectly. Hence, this creamy Biscoff frosting is a great substitution.
Banana and peanut butter – You can use this peanut butter frosting to create the classic flavor combo that everyone knows and loves!
Banana and miso caramel – a new flavor combo that I think will capture your taste buds and become your new go-to. Try my miso caramel frosting on these banana cupcakes and finish them with a drizzle of miso caramel.
Hungry for more?
Miso Banana Cupcakes Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
Miso banana cupcakes
- 1 ⅓ cup mashed banana, 320 g
- 3 tablespoon white miso paste, 50 g
- 3 oz vegetable or canola oil, 89 ml, 77 g
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¾ cup brown sugar, packed, 150 g
- 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour, 230 g
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
Cinnamon cream cheese frosting
- 12 oz cream cheese, 340 g, room temperature
- 6 oz unsalted butter, 170 g, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cup powdered sugar, 140 g
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven – Set the oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350°F.
- Prepare the baking pan – Line 15 muffin cups from 2 standard size muffin pans with cupcake liners and set aside.
- Prepare wet ingredients for the banana cake – Mash the bananas with a potato masher in a large mixing bowl. Add miso paste, oil, eggs and vanilla, and beat with a whisk until thoroughly combined.1 ⅓ cup mashed banana, 3 tablespoon white miso paste, 3 oz vegetable or canola oil, 2 large eggs, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Add sugar – Add brown sugar and beat again until completely incorporated.¾ cup brown sugar
- Add dry ingredients – Sift flour, baking soda and baking powder directly into the bowl with the wet ingredients. Mix gently with a whisk or a spatula until combined and no trace of flour remains.1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder
- Bake – Divide the cake batter equally among 15 lined muffin cups and bake in the preheated oven for approximately 15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean with just a few crumbs attached.
- Cool – Remove the cupcakes from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack before adding frosting.
- Make the frosting – Add room temperature cream cheese, butter and vanilla extract to your stand mixer bowl, fitted with the wire whisk. Sift in the powdered sugar and ground cinnamon. Stir to incorporate the powdered sugar at first. Then gradually increase the mixer speed to combine all the ingredients. Refrigerate as needed if the frosting seems too loose before beating until fluffy.12 oz cream cheese, 6 oz unsalted butter, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, 1 ¼ cup powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- Beat until fluffy – Beat on medium high speed for just a minute or two until the frosting is fluffy and creamy. Give it a taste and stir in more powdered sugar if a sweeter frosting is desired. Don’t overbeat cream cheese frosting or it will separate.
- Add frosting to cupcakes – Spread frosting evenly on top of the cooled cupcakes with an offset spatula or pipe it on with a pastry bag fitted with a piping tip. Decorate with banana chips if desired. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Thaw frozen bananas: if you’re using frozen bananas like me, make sure they thaw completely and just mash them up along with the liquid that comes out as they thaw. No need to strain.
- Choose low sodium miso paste: the white miso paste I used in this recipe has 290 mg of sodium per tablespoon. Check the nutrition label when you pick out your miso paste. The brand I used is Marukome. If your miso paste has a higher sodium level, you may need to adjust the amount to prevent the cake from being overly salty. Keep the total sodium from miso paste to around 900 – 1000 mg.
- Storage: store your miso banana cupcakes in the fridge for 3-5 days. Or freeze leftovers, individually wrapped, for up to 3 months. Let come up to room temperature before serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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