Gluten-Free Maple Banana Walnut Cupcakes

       Okay, I just have to say I can’t wait for you to try these cupcakes!!!  They may be my most popular dessert creation yet.  They sold out in  just a few hours!  Customers bought them, ate them, then quickly returned to buy more before I sold them all.  If you love the delicious combination of maple-y goodness, crunchy walnuts, and classic banana flavor, then this is a NO FAIL dessert for you.  Not a fan of cupcakes?  That's okay, just use two 9" round cake pans instead.  Although I don't know why you wouldn't like cupcakes...

  
You'll need:

1/2 cup Kerrygold butter- Salted

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 tbsp vanilla extract

2 tsp maple extract

3 eggs

1 3/4 cups Bob's Red Mill gluten-free all purpose flour

1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill coconut flour

1 ½ tsp xanthan gum

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp maple syrup

1 1/3 cup ripe banana, mashed

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup walnuts, chopped

       Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Prepare two round jumbo sized muffin tins by greasing.

       In a medium bowl, cream the Butter, sugars, and extracts until light and fluffy.  Then add in eggs and whip together.

    Combine the maple syrup, milk, and banana then set aside until needed.

       In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients.  Then stir into the creamed mixture a little at a time, alternating with the banana mixture.  Finally, fold in the walnuts.

Pour batter into prepared pans and bake for about 25–30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

       Once the cupcakes have finished baking, allow to cool for about five minutes in the pans before transferring to a cooling rack.

       To assemble cupcakes:

        Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, core out the centers using either a coring tool or butter knife.  After you’ve cored out about an inch of cupcake from the centers, scoop the prepared filling into a piping bag and squeeze into the centers of each cupcake.

Maple Crème Frosting

 

1 cup Kerrygold butter

1/2 cup palm shortening

3 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp maple extract

1 Tsp vanilla extract

       In a large bowl with an electric mixer, whip the shortening and butter until fluffy.  Whip in one cup of powdered sugar and extracts, followed by the second cup of powdered sugar. Finally, whip in the last cup of powdered sugar, adding a splash of cream if needed.  

       After filling the cupcakes, spread the rest of the frosting generously across the top of each cupcake.  You can garnish by drizzling with a touch of maple syrup.

       Enjoy!