Salted Caramel Banana Cupcakes

Hello! Sorry I haven't posted in well....forever...but school life has been heeccttiicc!!! But I promise to start up, and keep up! from now on! So for my first 'catch-up' post, I'm going to let you in on my recipe for the most delicious creation I've made! If of course, you like bananas! And I am a HUGE fan of banana cake. I decided to take some of my old bananas and use them up! And the best way...CUPCAKES! Yay!! My favorite! And I took these to my photography class, and everyone melted over how delicious they were! They do take awhile to make, so be wary of that!! Alrighty, here it is for ya'll!!

Ingredients:

Banana Cake:

2½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
12 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
2½ cups sugar
6 eggs
1 cup plus 2 tbsp. buttermilk
1 1/3 cups mashed ripe banana

Salted Caramel Buttercream:

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup caramel
1/8-1/4 tsp salt

French Custard Filling:

1/3 c. sugar
1 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. milk
1 slightly beaten egg yolk
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. whipping cream, whipped

 Instructions:

 Make the french custard filling first, since it has to cool. In saucepan, combine sugar, flour, cornstarch, and salt. Gradually stir in milk. Cook and stir until mixture thickens and boils; cook and stir 2 to 3 minutes longer. Stir a little hot mixture into egg yolk; return to hot mixture. Cook and stir until mixture just boils. Add vanilla; cool. Beat smooth and fold in whipped cream. Cool in the fridge while you are doing the rest!

To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350° F.  Line two cupcake pans with paper liners.  In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt; whisk together and set aside.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Reduce the mixer speed to medium low and add in eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.  Mix in the mashed banana until well combined.  With the mixer on low speed alternately add the dry ingredients and buttermilk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients and mixing only until just incorporated. Divide the batter between the prepared cupcake liners, filling each about 2/3 to ¾ full.  Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20-22 minutes.  Allow to cool in the pan 5-10 minutes, then transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the caramel sauce, combine the butter, heavy cream and brown sugar in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat.  Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly.  Once it reaches a boil, lower the heat to medium and continue to boil until the mixture is thickened, about 8 minutes.  Remove from heat and let cool.
To make the frosting, in a large mixing bowl, beat butter and vanilla on high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.  Turn mixer to low/medium and slowly add 1/2 cup powdered sugar at a time.  Beat until combined.  Add in caramel sauce and salt.  Beat until desired consistency is achieved.

After Your cupcakes have cooled, use a knife, or a corer if you have one, to cut out the center of the cupcake! Fill that with the delicious custard filling, and then top off with the salted caramel buttercream! If you have caramel on hand, drizzle some on top just for good measure, and dab a bit of salt on top too! Then eat them! Cuz they are AWESOME!!

Luvyerguts<3
N&A