Strawberry Banana Cupcakes with Banana Cream Cheese Frosting: Recipe Swap Post!

A few weeks ago, I signed up for an Old Fashion Recipe Swap (blog style) hosted by Julie {White Lights on Wednesday}, Kelley {Miss Information} and Rachel {i love my disorganized life}. I got paired up with Becca from It’s Yummilicious! She is amazing!! You definitely need to go check out all of the food yumminess over on her blog. And she really brought it for the Recipe Swap! I can’t WAIT to try these delicious cupcakes!!

I’ll be sharing one of my favorite recipes on her blog: Chocolate Flan Cake! So be sure to stop by and check it out! If you want to go see all of the recipes in the blog swap be sure to go and visit one of the host’s Rachel {i love my disorganized life}, Julie {White Lights on Wednesday} or  Kelley {Miss Information}, to see all the recipes linked up in the swap.

Without further ado, I give you the lovely Becca:

Hey Everyone! Although I’m typically the type of baker who likes “from scratch” recipes, there are days, weeks, and even MONTHS where I’m SO crazy busy that I need all of the cooking short cuts I can get. This has been one of those weeks for me. That’s why I’m excited to be sharing a super quick and easy “semi-homemade” cupcake recipe with you. Shatzi has kids (and adorable kids, at that!), so I wanted to make sure to bake up a recipe that they would be able to get into the kitchen and help her with. Cupcakes were favorites when my kids were little, so I thought I’d stick with that great go-to dessert here today. I’ve always loved the flavor combo of strawberry & banana, and it seems to be a kid favorite, too, so that’s what I’ll be sharing with you today.

  When you check out the recipe below, don’t let the box mix fool you into thinking that these cupcakes will be lacking in flavor. I’ve made some changes and additions to assure that when you serve these to your family and guests, they’ll have a tough time believing that they weren’t made from scratch!  

Strawberry Banana Cupcakes with Banana Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

FOR THE CAKE
1 box white cake mix (I used Betty Crocker Super Moist)
10 ounces water
1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil
2 medium bananas, mashed
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 8-10 fresh strawberries, diced

FOR THE FROSTING
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 ounces (1 stick) butter, softened
1 banana, mashed
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2 cups powdered (confectioner’s) sugar
1 Tablespoon milk (more as needed)  

Directions

 FOR THE CAKE

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F (325 for dark or non-stick pans). Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners. Lightly grease with non-stick cooking spray; set aside.
2. Beat cake mix, water, oil, and bananas, yogurt, and vanilla extract in a large bowl on medium speed for 2-3 minutes or until well combined, stopping to scrape sides of bowl as necessary. Batter may be lumpy.
3. Add diced strawberries and stir to combine. Fill paper liners about 2/3 full.
4. Bake 20-23 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center of cupcake comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool 10 minutes in pan before transferring to wire rack to cool completely. While cupcakes cool, make the frosting.

FOR THE FROSTING

1. Beat cream cheese and butter in a large bowl at medium speed until smooth and combined. Add mashed banana and vanilla extract and mix for 1 minute.
2. Turn mixer to low speed and gradually add powdered sugar. Once sugar is incorporated, add milk as needed until desired consistency is achieved. To make frosting thicker, add more powdered sugar. To make it thinner, add milk.
3. Frost and garnish as desired.