Banana Muffins with Dulce de Leche Whipped Cream Frosting

At 19 cents a banana, Trader Joe’s has got to be the cheapest. So that’s why, whenever I do my grocery shopping there, I go crazy and buy like 25 bananas at a time. I really really love bananas=)

But often times, I can’t finish them all because you can only eat so many bananas a day (3 is my usual amount). Knowing this, I could a) buy less bananas each trip or b) make some type of baked good with bananas as the key ingredient. I always choose the latter and I’m always looking for new applications for uber ripe, almost black bananas. So far, there’s been banana cake, banana ice cream and banana bread. Today though, I decided to make banana muffins topped with dulce de leche whipped cream frosting leftover from a genoise cake Lilly made for Derrick’s birthday. The recipe is adapted from Smitten Kitchen, a blog which I adore. I made my own substitutions, which I put in parenthesis. I wanted a lighter texture for the muffin so I used cake flour. I also tried my hand at piping on frosting. My handiwork isn’t fantastic but I tried!!

Jacked Up Banana Bread
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

3 to 4 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 cup melted salted butter (I browned the butter beforehand)
3/4 to 1 cup light brown sugar (depending on the level of sweetness you prefer, I always use the smaller amount)
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon bourbon (Optional, I used rum)
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Pinch of ground cloves
1 1/2 cup of flour(or cake flour)

Preheat the oven to 350°F. With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, vanilla and bourbon, then the spices. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, mix. Pour into paper lined muffin tins and bake for 18-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the muffin comes out clean. Allow cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.

Dulce de Leche

I am obsessed with dulce de leche and have experimented with the 3 ways of making it:

1) From scratch with whole milk and sugar for a few hours over the stove.

2) By opening a can of condensed milk, pouring it into a pie pan with salt, covering it with foil and baking it in a water bath for a few hours (recipe here)

3) Boiling an unopened can of condensed milk in a pot for 3- 3 ½ hours, making sure that the can is completely submerged.

Out of all the methods I’ve tried, the third option is definitely the easiest, even though it can be a little nerve racking as you cross your fingers hoping the can doesn’t explode. Of course, the first option will taste the best, but it’s the most labor intensive and sometimes you just don’t have time for that! So here is my recipe for the frosting.

Dulce de Leche Cream

Adapted from Sky High: Irresistible Triple Layer Cakes

2/3 Cup Dulce de Leche (prepared by your preferred method)

3 Cups Heavy Cream

In a large chilled mixer bowl with chilled beaters, combine the cream with dulce de leche. Beat on low speed to combine and dissolve the dulce de leche. Raise the mixer to medium high and whip until stiff peaks form.

Don't forget to fully submerge it! Or else!!

Wait till it cools before opening. We were really nervous!!

But everything turned out fine and delicious=)

To decorate

Place a piping tip into a plastic bag and snip off the corner, pushing the tip through the hole. Fill the bag with frosting and decorate as you please!