These banana cupcakes with cream cheese frosting offer a true banana flavor and a moist, tender cupcake crumb. The frosting is tangy with a touch of cinnamon that complements the sweet, mellow banana notes.
Updated March 8, 2022 with new photos, recipe tips and a slightly revised recipe
These banana cupcakes with cinnamon cream cheese frosting are a perfect way to use overripe bananas. They capture the flavor of banana bread—brown sugar, vanilla and cinnamon—while remaining light and fluffy rather than dense. The cinnamon-tinged cream cheese frosting is creamy and slightly tangy, balancing the sweetness of the cupcakes.
They’re ideal if you want a dessert that’s flavorful without being overly sweet.
The Best Banana Cupcake Recipe
The taste is reminiscent of banana bread, but the texture stays cupcake-like. This recipe balances banana flavor and crumbly softness so you get both richness and lightness.
Below is a concise walkthrough of the method with helpful tips. The full ingredient list and step-by-step instructions are in the recipe card further down.
- Cream the butter with brown and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. This step helps give the cupcakes a tender, airy texture.
- Mix in the eggs and vanilla. Use room-temperature eggs for smoother incorporation.
- Fold in mashed bananas. You need about 3/4 cup mashed banana (roughly 2 large or 3 small/medium very ripe bananas). Mash first, then measure. A few small lumps are fine.
- Whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl to evenly distribute leavening and spice.
- On low speed, add half the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and mix only until nearly combined. It’s normal for the batter to look slightly grainy before the dry ingredients are added.
- Whisk in room-temperature milk. Doing this by hand helps avoid overmixing; if using a mixer, keep it on low and stop once the milk is incorporated.
- Mix in the remaining dry ingredients just until combined—overmixing can make cupcakes tough. The photos below show the batter before and after the final flour addition.
- Spoon batter into lined muffin cups, filling each about 2/3 to 3/4 full. Bake one tray at a time in the center of the oven for about 17–22 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. This recipe yields 12–14 cupcakes depending on fill level.
Pro tip: For the brightest banana flavor, use brown, very ripe bananas. They’re sweeter, softer and mash easily. Remove any bruised parts before mashing. You can mash with a fork, potato masher or mixer—small chunks are acceptable.
For the Cream Cheese Frosting
Finish the cupcakes with a cinnamon cream cheese frosting that’s tangy, smooth and slightly softer than classic American buttercream. It pipes well with a star tip (I used a 1M), but you can spread it with a knife or use a round tip if it seems runnier.
Use real unsalted butter and full-fat, block-style cream cheese for the best texture. The butter should be soft but not melted. Avoid tub-style, spreadable cream cheese because it’s too thin for frosting.
If you like, omit the cinnamon for a plain cream cheese frosting, but the cinnamon adds a complementary warmth to the banana flavor.
These banana cupcakes combine the best parts of banana bread flavor with a light, tender cupcake crumb. The cinnamon cream cheese frosting elevates them into a memorable, balanced treat.
Below are the recipe details, ingredients, instructions, notes and nutrition information.
Banana Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
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Equipment
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muffin tin
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muffin papers
Ingredients
Banana Cupcakes
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup mashed bananas, about 2–3 very ripe bananas
- 1 and 2/3 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 and 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup buttermilk, room temperature (see substitution)
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 4 oz block-style cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 3-4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 tablespoon cream, if needed
- banana chips, optional for decoration
Instructions
Banana Cupcakes
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Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a muffin tin with liners.
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In a large bowl, beat butter and both sugars until light and fluffy.
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Beat in eggs and vanilla until even.
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Reduce mixer to low and mix in mashed bananas.
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Whisk flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a separate bowl.
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On low speed, add about half the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix until nearly combined.
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Whisk in the milk by hand or with the mixer on low until incorporated.
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Mix in the remaining dry ingredients, stopping as soon as combined.
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Spoon batter into prepared tin, filling each 2/3 to 3/4 full. Makes 12–14 cupcakes.
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Bake in middle of oven for 17–20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
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Cool cupcakes in the pan for at least 10 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely before frosting.
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
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Beat butter in a large bowl until fluffy.
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Add cream cheese in chunks and beat until combined.
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With the mixer off, add 2 cups powdered sugar, cinnamon and vanilla. Start mixing on low.
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Beat in remaining powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time until desired sweetness and consistency are reached.
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If the frosting is too thick, add 1–2 tablespoons cream and beat until smooth.
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Pipe or spread frosting onto cooled cupcakes. Optionally dust with extra cinnamon and top with a banana chip.
Notes
- Flour: Measure flour correctly: whisk first, spoon into a dry measuring cup and level off the top.
- Bananas: Use 2–3 very ripe brown bananas to yield about 3/4 cup mashed banana.
- Buttermilk substitute: If you don’t have buttermilk, stir 1 teaspoon lemon juice into the milk to the 1/2 cup line and let sit 5 minutes before using.
- Storage: Unfrosted cupcakes freeze up to 2 months; thaw in the fridge. At room temperature in an airtight container they last one day; refrigerated, up to three days.
- Nutrition: Nutrition values are estimates per cupcake with frosting, based on 12 servings.
Nutrition
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