Anyone else remember the old Bananas in Pajamas routine? I have a vague memory of the “Bananas, in pyjamas, are coming down the stairs…” theme song and the animated intro, but after looking it up just now to refresh my memory, it seems I completely missed the actual show. Human-sized teddy bears and bananas have every-day adventures in brightly-lit homes and sunny backyards. The episode I happened upon was “Pink Spots,” a rather timely short about one of the teddy bears coming down with a case of, you guessed it, pink spots. Alarmingly, neither teddy bear was wearing a mask, and even after proclaiming “you must be sick, Morgan!” the accompanying teddy bear failed to maintain six feet of space and practically smothered the sick friend in supportive, if not highly dangerous, close contact. I must not be alone in these new-found reactions to previously-innocuous scenes in movies and shows. Every time we watch something now with a large party scene or a club or even just a case of a common cold, we gasp at the lack of safety measures, social distancing, or the now-ubiquitous face masks.
2020 has certainly been a year. And we’re just over half way through. Never a dull moment, and never a chance to land on exactly what the new normal. One thing we’re consistently committed to, though, is the Black Lives Matter movement and the centuries-overdue change that it will bring this country, and nations the world over. If you’re still looking for ways to educate yourself (learning is something we can all do while stuck at home!), please watch these movies: 13th (Netflix put the entire film on YouTube so anyone can watch it for free!!), I am Not Your Negro (also on YouTube for free!), and so many others. If you’re looking for ways to get involved, check out the Black Lives Matter Partners page for organizations to donate to, petitions to sign, and other actions to take. If you’re a fellow baker, we’d love for you to join us as Bakers Against Racism! It’s a global movement of professional and home bakers who host individual and group bake sales (either virtually and ship goods, or locally for delivery/pick up) to raise money for hundreds of organizations who are in desperate need of funds to keep fighting. Just sign up and they’ll send you a folder of graphics to use to promote your bake sale, and information on the movement!
Here’s to baking for change to end systemic racism and the killing of black. people by those in the majority, and to keeping all of our fellow human beings safe by wearing masks and continuing on in this new normal of constant change. If you’re a banana fan, these cupcakes are certainly for you (maybe you can bake them and sell them for your first Bakers Against Racism bake sale!!), and if you’re into the combo of banana + chocolate, check out our banana chocolate chip bread recipe, or the original Sisters Sans Gluten banana cake!
Gluten Free Banana Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
Equipment
- Cupcake pans
- Electric hand mixer or stand mixer
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- 3/4 Cup salted butter melted
- 1 3/4 Cup white sugar
- 5 large yellow bananas (with no brown spots!)
- 3/4 Cup sour cream
- 3 large eggs
- 3 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 Cup gluten free 1-1 flour mix with xanthan gum (if your mix does not contain xanthan gum, add 1 teaspoon of it now)
- 3/4 Cup almond flour/meal
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 1/2 Cups chocolate chips
For the banana buttercream:
- 2 Cups salted butter room temperature
- 1 Cup mashed yellow banana (not brown!)
- 3-5 Cups powdered sugar
- 3 Tbsp powdered freeze dried bananas instructions below
- yellow food coloring optional
- mini chocolate chips optional
Instructions
- First, preheat the oven to 350° F and line two cupcake pans with paper cupcake liners. Then, in a large bowl, mash the five large bananas using a fork or other mashing implement (the flavor and texture is much better if you use fresh bananas, not overripe/brown bananas – they should still be entirely yellow/yellow-green). Then, add in the melted butter, sugar, sour cream, eggs, and vanilla and stir together with the banana mash until fully combined. Add in the flour, almond meal/flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg and stir until fully combined again. Lastly, add in the chocolate chips (optional) and stir. Spoon the batter into the lined cupcake pans (each cup should each be 3/4 full). Bake for 20-24 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Let cool completely before frosting.
- While the cupcakes are cooling, make the buttercream. First, blitz up a bag of freeze dried bananas in a food processor or nutribullet until it's a fine powder. Pour into a large bowl. Then, blend your yellow (not brown) banana in the blender or food processor until entirely pureed. Dump into the same bowl and then add in the salted room temp butter. Beat with an electric mixer until blended. Add in the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, until smooth. Add in yellow food coloring (optional) to your taste. If the buttercream is too thin, add more powdered sugar, if it's too stiff, add more pureed banana. Then, scoop into a piping bag and pipe onto cooled cupcakes. Add mini chocolate chips for decoration (optional) and then serve!
Tag @sisterssansgluten on Instagram if you snap a photo of your cake!
Food photography and styling by Amelia Farber
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