Banana Caramel Cupcakes

Ever since I discovered the right tools to frost a cupcake, I've been on a cupcake fix lately. This past weekend, my brother-in-law and his family had a yard sale. I had some overripe bananas that I wanted to use up, so I decided to make my Elvis cupcakes to take to the yard sale so we can munch on them. From that batch, I had some leftover, un-frosted banana cupcakes and decided to use them for this recipe.

I got this idea from one of my favorite blogs, Annie's Eats. I've been dying to give this recipe a try and now was the perfect time for it, having the extra banana cupcakes that needed frosting. The frosting is a Swiss Meringue Buttercream frosting that I've never done before. I've always been intimidated by making meringue, so I was a little nervous in making this. But it was surprisingly easy to make. The combination of caramel and banana was so yummy. It reminds me of a bananas foster. Its a super sweet cupcake, so if you a have really bad sweet tooth like I do, this one's for you.

1 dozen pre-made and cooled banana cupcakes (I used my banana cupcake from the Elvis)

Caramel sauce

8 Tbsp. unsalted butter

1 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

pinch of salt

Frosting

3 large egg whites, at room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

pinch of salt

16 Tbsp. (2 sticks) of unsalted butter, cut into 1 Tbsp. pieces, at room temperature

1/2 cup caramel sauce

1) To make the caramel sauce, combine butter, brown sugar, cream and salt in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Once it starts to boil, lower the heat to medium and continue boiling mixture until its thickened, about 5-8 minutes. Remove from heat and cool completely.

2) To make the frosting, combine egg whites and sugar and heat in a double boiler, whisking constantly until sugar dissolves and mixture reaches a temperature of 160 deg F.

Transfer the mixture to a clean, dry bowl. Beat on medium-high speed until mixture forms a stiff peak. Lower the mixer to medium speed, and add salt. While continuing beating, begin adding butter, 1 Tbsp. at a time, making sure to thoroughly incorporate butter after each addition. Add 1/2 cup of cooled caramel sauce and beat until well incorporated. Frost cupcakes.