For those with a sweet tooth, these Hummingbird Cupcakes with Pecan-Cream Cheese Frosting are sure to satisfy.
Hummingbird Cupcakes
Serves: 40 mini cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup salted butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- ⅓ cup mashed very ripe banana
- ½ cup crushed pineapple, drained
- ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon whole buttermilk
- 1 recipe Pecan–Cream Cheese Frosting
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Line 2 (24-well) mini muffin pans with paper liners. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, ginger, baking soda, cardamom, and salt, whisking to blend. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine butter, sugar, and vanilla extract. Beat at medium-high speed with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Add banana and pineapple, beating to combine.
- Add flour mixture to butter mixture in thirds, alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture.
- Using a levered 1-tablespoon scoop, divide batter among wells of prepared muffin pans.
- Bake until a wooden pick inserted in the centers of cupcakes comes out clean, approximately 13 minutes. Let cupcakes cool in pans for 5 minutes. Transfer to wire racks, and let cool completely.
- Place Pecan–Cream Cheese Frosting in a piping bag fitted with a large open-star tip (Wilton#1M). Pipe frosting in a decorative swirl on tops of cupcakes.
- Store cupcakes covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Pecan–Cream Cheese Frosting
Serves: 3 cups
Ingredients
- ½ cup chopped toasted pecans
- ½ cup salted butter, softened
- 6 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 5 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 3 tablespoons whole milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In the work bowl of a food processor, process pecans until very finely chopped. (They need to be fine enough to pass through a piping tip.) Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar, milk, and vanilla extract. Beat at low speed with an electric mixer, gradually increasing to high speed, until smooth and creamy. Add pecans, beating until incorporated.
Notes
Make-Ahead Tip: Pecan–Cream Cheese Frosting can be made a day in advance and refrigerated in a covered container. Let come to room temperature before using, and beat with an electric mixer for 1 minute.
