Banana Walnut French Toast Cupcakes

By SewingDragonfly

Wilton.com - Wake up your taste buds with a breakfast-inspired flavor combo that’s welcome all day long. Hearty maple syrup, sweet bananas and crunchy candied walnuts combine with rich cream cheese icing for the cupcake of your dreams.

Ingredients

• Cupcakes
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 3 mashed ripe bananas (about 1 3/4 cups)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Wilton Pure Vanilla Extract
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• Maple Cream Cheese Icing
• 2 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
• 1/4 teaspoon maple extract
• 3 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

Details

Servings 24

Preparation

Step 1

Step 1
Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line muffin pan with paper baking cups.

Step 2
In non-stick skillet, toast walnuts over low heat, stirring occasionally until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add maple syrup; stir to coat nuts. Continue cooking and stirring until bottom of pan is nearly dry, about 2 minutes. Remove nuts from pan; cool completely.

Step 3
In medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. In large bowl, beat butter and sugars with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, mashed banana and vanilla; mix well. Add flour mixture alternately with sour cream; blend thoroughly. Mix in 3/4 cup candied walnuts. Fill baking cups 2/3 full.

Step 4
Bake 20-25 minutes or until Cake Tester or toothpick inserted in center of cupcake comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in pan on cooling grid 5 minutes. Remove from pan; cool completely.

Step 5
Icing: In large bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until creamy. Add maple extract and confectioners’ sugar, 1 cup at a time, scraping down bottom and sides of bowl as necessary. Beat in maple extract.

Step 6
To Assemble: Ice cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Icing; if desired, decorate with tip 21 zigzags. Top with remaining candied walnuts.

The Zigzag is a popular way to fill in outlined areas, perfect for ribbed sweater and cuff effects. You can also use tight zigzags to cover the entire side of your cake—they look great!

Ingredients:
Buttercream icing (medium consistency)

Tools:
Tip: 16
Disposable Decorating Bags

Instructions:
Step 1
Decorate with: Star tip 16 and medium consistency icing. Hold bag at 45° at 3:00 (9:00 for lefties) with tip lightly touching surface.

Step 2
Steadily squeeze and glide tip along the surface in an up and down motion.

Step 3
Continue piping up and down with steady pressure. To end, stop pressure and pull tip away. For more elongated zigzags, move your hand to the desired height while maintaining a steady pressure. For a more relaxed look, increase the width as you move the bag along.

Step 4
Hint: When piping zigzags, think about two motions simultaneously. The movement of your arm determines the height of the waves and the distance between them. The pressure on your bag determines the thickness of the line. Strive for uniform thickness and even spacing as you go.