Banana Cupcakes to Celebrate a Birthday!

Hello, Thrifty Mama fans! I’m Liz, the Hoosier Momma from Hoosier Homemade. I’m a SAHM of 3 teenage boys, that keep me running with their sports and school activities. I’ve been blogging a little over a year, I share lots of baked goods, Budget Friendly Meals, and decorating tips and tricks, all to help you “Make Your House a Home.” You can also find me on Twitter and Facebook.

Did you know? The Thrifty Mama is having a birthday today! And what better way to celebrate than with some yummy cupcakes!
I have to be honest, when Crystal asked me to share some healthy cupcakes, I wasn’t really sure what I would do, because, well, I usually don’t bake healthy cupcakes.

So, I asked my blogging buddy, Lynn, from Lynn’s Kitchen Adventures, if she had any healthy cupcake recipes, and sure enough, she had a couple.
I decided to share these Banana Cupcakes with you, they sounded delicious and I also had some over-ripe bananas in the freezer.

Banana Cupcakes:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (Tip from The Thrifty Mama: Try using Whole Wheat Flour)
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cups mashed bananas
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin pan with paper liners. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix in the butter, mashed bananas, eggs and vanilla, stir by hand, just until incorporated. Fill cupcake liners. Bake for 25 – 28 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely. This recipe makes 12 cupcakes.
Honey Frosting: (this is the frosting that Lynn used on her cupcakes)

• 1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 tablespoon honey

Directions:
Mix all ingredients today, beating until well combined and fluffy.

Sunflower Decorations: you will need…

• Frosting…I typically use Buttercream
• Mini Oreo cookies…large ones are fine too
• Green, Yellow and Orange Wilton Coloring
• Green fruit roll-ups and toothpicks
• Red M&M’s
• Dark brown or black Frosting for Ladybugs

Directions:
Frost cupcakes with a thin layer of green frosting. Place Oreo in middle. Color frosting with yellow coloring (amount of frosting depends on how many cupcakes you are decorating) repeat for orange. In the same decorating bag, place a small amount of orange frosting on one side and some yellow frosting on the other. I used a Wilton Leaf Tip #73 to form the flower petals.
To make the leaves, cut green fruit roll-ups into the shape of a leaf, pinch one end to make it look dimensional, then place a toothpick on the back, so that you can easily insert it into the cupcake.
To make the ladybugs, color frosting dark brown or black, using a Wilton round tip, or a toothpick, make dots on a red M&M to make it look like a ladybug.

I know the frosting on these are not super healthy, but I just couldn’t help myself I just had to share the Sunflowers for Crystal.

Happy Birthday Crystal!

Do you have a special cupcake flavor that you like to make for birthdays? Do you enjoy creating special cupcakes? I’d love for you to visit me at Hoosier Homemade, where I host Cupcake Tuesday every week and share a fun, new cupcake creation.