Jenny's Banana Spice Cupcake

I came into work one day and found 2 sheets of paper stapled together with a recipe for Banana Spice Cake and I wondered who had left it on my desk. Then I found another sheet of the same recipe on a co-worker's desk and asked her whose it was. She said that another co-worker, Jenny, had printed out the recipe for us. Jenny had been raving about this Banana Spice cake that her mom would make, but she would never bring us any. So I asked her if this was a hint that she wanted us to make this and bring some to work. Uh-huh.

My mom just gave me a whole bunch of bananas that a co-worker had given her. This was the perfect recipe to make as it calls for a lot of bananas. And hubby loooooves anything that's banana. So I was excited to be making this. Making the cake was quite easy. I was a little worried, though, that the cakes would come out dry because the recipe didn't call for much liquid other than the eggs and the bananas themselves. But they came out pretty soft and moist. I wasn't too happy about how my frosting turned out runny, though. I may have to tweak it some more. The original recipe was made into bundt cakes or layer cakes. I decided to make them into cupcakes because its easier to give out leftovers to my folks and co-workers. Because everyone knows that I always give out cupcakes whenever I make them. So yes, Jenny, these are going to you. Thanks for the recipe! These were yummy with a strong banana flavor. If you love bananas, you'll definitely love these.

Cupcakes

2 3/4 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1/4 ground cloves

1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

3/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

2/3 cup shortening

1 1/3 cup sugar

2 eggs, well beaten

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups mashed bananas, mixed with a splash of fresh lemon juice

1) Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Line muffin pans with paper liners.

2) Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and all the spices. Sift dry mixture 2 additional times. Set aside.

3) Cream together shortening and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs and and beat until well incorporated. Add vanilla and then the bananas. Add flour mixture into banana mixture in small amounts, beating well after each addition.

4) Evenly distribute batter into prepared muffin pans using an ice cream scoop. Bake for 30 minutes or until toothpick test comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

Banana Frosting

1/2 cup mashed banana, mixed with 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup butter, at room temperature

4 oz cream cheese, at room temperature

3 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar

1) Cream together butter, cream cheese and confectioner's sugar, one cup at a time. Slowly add banana mixture until you reach the desired spreading consistency.