These soft and fluffy Banana Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting are made completely from scratch and topped with creamy chocolate buttercream frosting!
Sometimes simple, classic flavor combinations are the best when it comes to food. Banana and chocolate. Peanut butter and jelly. Banana and peanut butter. Raspberry and chocolate. Caramel and apple. Chocolate and peanut butter. Lemon and raspberry. So many yummy foods that go so well together!
These cupcakes are the dessert version of a banana chocolate chip muffin. Except the chocolate frosting is on top instead of in the batter. I thought about adding chocolate chips to the batter and then decided against it because I didn't want the cupcakes to be overly sweet.
But if that sounds good to you, feel free to add some in for more chocolatey goodness! I'd suggest ½ cup to 1 cup of chocolate chips. Mini chocolate chips would be fun if you have them!
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⭐️ Why You Need to Make This Recipe
- Texture - These banana cupcakes are fluffy and tender and the chocolate frosting is so creamy and delicious!
- Flavor - The buttery banana cupcakes go so well with the decadent frosting that contains real chocolate and cocoa powder.
- Occasion - These cupcakes would be great to serve at any event for dessert or at a birthday party!
🧈 Ingredients
Here are the ingredients needed to make these chocolate-frosted banana cupcakes.
Ingredient Notes
- Salted Butter - This recipe calls for salted butter in the cupcake batter and frosting but you could use unsalted butter and add ¼ teaspoon of additional salt to every ½ cup of butter.
- Bananas - The riper the better! Mash the bananas and then measure to ensure accuracy!
- Semisweet Chocolate - We will incorporate the chocolate by melting it together with the butter, whisking until smooth, and refrigerating until hardened. Then, we will use an electric mixer to beat this until fluffy and then proceed with making the frosting.
- Cocoa Powder - Some cocoa powder is added in addition to the chocolate to make the chocolate frosting extra flavorful! I like to use Dutch-processed cocoa powder for a smooth and rich chocolate flavor.
See the recipe card for the full list of ingredients with measurements.
📃 Instructions
Step 1: Cream together the butter and sugar for 1 minute. Add the eggs, vanilla, and mashed banana.
Step 2: Mix until incorporated. The mixture may look a little grainy but that is okay.
Step 3: Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
Step 4: Add the dry ingredients to the combined wet ingredients and mix on low speed just until incorporated.
Step 5: Scoop into muffin tins lined with cupcake liners - 18 in total.
Step 6: Bake at 400℉ for 5 minutes before reducing the temperature to 350℉ for 10-13 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Step 7: Melt together butter and chocolate in 20-second increments, stirring between each, in the microwave in a heat-safe bowl. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until solid.
Step 8: Whip the solid butter/chocolate mixture until fluffy. Add the powdered sugar and cocoa powder.
Step 9: Mix until combined before adding 2-3 tablespoons of milk. Whip on high speed for 1 minute or until fluffy and smooth.
Step 10: Fill a piping bag fitted with your desired tip (I use a Wilton 1M for the pictured cupcake). Pipe the frosting onto the fully-cooled cupcakes.
❓ Recipe FAQs
You can mash bananas simply with a fork or you could also use a potato masher.
Around 3-4 smaller bananas mashed or 2 larger bananas.
Store cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days though they are best eaten within the first 2 days.
Yes! Use a mini muffin tin and mini cupcake liners filled to almost to the top with batter. Bake at 350℉ for the entirety of the baking time of 8-12 minutes.
Are you in search of more great recipes to try? Here are some of my favorites to get you started!
- Homemade White Bread - There's nothing like homemade bread made completely from scratch!
- Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake - Perfect for summer, this decadent cheesecake requires no baking whatsoever! Topped with plenty of fresh raspberries of course!!
- Chewy Coconut Oatmeal Cookies - These cookies are crazy popular on Pinterest and I'm not surprised, they are so chewy and ridiculously tasty!
🍌 More Banana Recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
If you tried these Chocolate Banana Cupcakes or any other recipe on my website, please leave a ⭐️ star rating and write a little note telling me how it went in the comments below. Thank you!!
📖 Recipe
Banana Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes:
- ½ cup salted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups mashed banana (about 3 or 4 bananas)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
For the Frosting:
- ½ cup salted butter, softened
- ¼ cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 2 cups powdered sugar (confectioners sugar)
- 2-3 tablespoons milk
Instructions
To make the Cupcakes:
- Preheat the oven to 400℉. Line 12-count cupcake tin(s) with cupcake liners.
- In a large bowl using an electric handheld mixer, cream the softened butter and sugar on medium speed for 1 minute. Add the eggs, vanilla, and mashed bananas and continue beating for 30 seconds until fluffy.
- In another smaller bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Add into the wet ingredients and mix on low just until incorporated.
- Scoop the batter into the lined cupcake tin(s), filling each cup ¾ full. Bake in a 400℉ oven for 5 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350℉ and continue baking for another 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cupcake comes out clean. Let cool in the tin for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling completely before icing. Bake the remaining cupcakes.
To make the Frosting:
- In a heat-safe bowl, melt the butter and chocolate chips together in the microwave in 20-second increments, stirring between each increment until fully melted. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until solid.
- Using an electric mixer on high speed, cream the chilled butter/chocolate mixture until fluffy. Add the cocoa and powdered sugar and mix on low until incorporated, then add the milk starting with 1 tablespoon and increase the speed to high and whip until fluffy, adding milk until desired consistency is reached. Frost the completely cooled cupcakes using a piping bag fitted with your desired tip. Enjoy!
Rebecca
These were amazing!! The cupcakes were moist and the frosting was so delicious.
Naomi
Yay, I'm so glad!! Thank you for reviewing this recipe, Rebecca!
Naomi