MSC: Banana Pecan Cupcakes

Yay! The first bonus bake for those cupcake enthusiasts who can't wait a whole month to bake was... Banana Pecan Cupcakes with Caramel Buttercream!

Well I made these quite a bit ago so it's hard to remember the whole baking process. But the outcome? Pure and utter amazing-ness! I thought the zucchini spice cupcakes were the best I've ever had, but these just took the number one spot! I brought these to a family party and got wonderful feedback. Honestly, these were one of the best treats I've ever made both in taste and skill. The flavor combination of banana and caramel is superb.

I filled the cups up pretty full and as they were baking I got worried as the kept rising. But in the end, they held incredible height! Ahh, they were gorgeous!

To make the cupcakes themselves were easy enough. I have to give Martha credit, she really knows what she's doing. I have become a huge fan of hers even after just two recipes! Putting the ingredients together were a breeze. The interesting part, though, was the frosting.



To make the caramel frosting, you had to make homemade caramel, something that really intimidated me. But really, if you don't worry so much and just have patience while you wait for it to turn brown, it's simple. It tastes fantastic too! I have never been a fan of caramel, in fact I try to avoid it. But after making my own caramel, I'm a convert=) You stream in your caramel into your butter cream until combined. Although the recipe tells you how much caramel to use, I just added to taste. I didn't think the recommended amount was enough, so I made a second batch and added a little over half of that.

Note: I was able to get 30 or so cupcakes out of this batter, and I filled them pretty well.

Goodness I can't even tell you how good these were!!!! Although I made them weeks ago, I can still recall that glorious taste. MAKE THESE!!!

I am so grateful to The Martha Stewart Cupcake Club for having this bonus bake! I would have missed out on something special if I'd have skipped it. If you're a member of the club and skipped this one, it's not to late to do it anyway!

So to recap: I was so proud of these cupcakes. I <3 them=)