Banana Split Ice Cream Cupcakes

You’ve probably been led hither from my blog about Ice Cream Cupcakes!

The Banana Split Ice Cream Cupcakes are a bit more complicated then the Blueberry-Mud ones, but you can still make them in an afternoon. Even though there are a number of components involved, believe me, the result is well worth the effort!

a note about making the cupcakes

Because waffle cones are pointy, you’ll need to make yourself a baking stand keep them upright in the oven (you could also use this as a serving stand (so long as you’re careful that kiddie’s fingers don’t get too close to be cut by the sharp holes). An old-fashioned ice cream cone stand would be a really cute serving stand too, but sadly I don’t have one). A disposable aluminium baking pan is the perfect answer. The one I used was about 20x30cm. You wouldn’t want to try to use one smaller than this – but larger would be fine.
With the pan upside down, first mark out 12 crosses, evenly spaced across the base of the pan. Then, draw a circle, about 3cm in diameter around each cross. Cut these out using kitchen scissors. Place your cones in the stand to test out the fit. You want the cones to sit straight up while the cakes are baking. If you have cut your holes too wide and the cones lean, you can sit the pan on top of a mini muffin tin – this will allow the bottoms of the cones to sit a little lower, making them straight for baking.

Baking stand for ice cream cone cupcakes

Banana Split Ice Cream Cupcakes
makes 12

ingredients

12 waffle cones
70g dark chocolate, melted and warm
5g coconut oil
1 quantity Salted Caramel (recipe below)
1 quantity Banana Cake (recipe below)
1 quantity Vanilla Bean Ice Cream Frosting (recipe below)
1 quantity Chocolate Ganache (recipe below)
sprinkles, mini marshmallows etc
12 glace or maraschino cherries and 6 slices of banana that have been gently tossed in lemon juice then patted dry and halved

Salted Caramel

ingredients

70g caster sugar
20 mL water
85mL cream (warm)
1/4 tsp salt

mixing

Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan. Heat over high heat, shaking the pan often, until the sugar starts to dissolve and the mixture starts to boil. Let the mixture boil, shaking the pan often, until the sugar syrup starts to caramelise. This will happen quite rapidly. Sugar syrup keeps cooking when you remove it from the heat, so take the pan off the heat as soon as a golden colour starts to form. You can always out it back on the heat for a few seconds to continue to caramelised the syrup.
Let the caramel syrup sit for a few seconds and then carefully add the cream in a thin stream, stirring constantly. The mixture will bubble up ferociously and a lot of steam will be generated so take care not the burn yourself! When all of the cream has been incorporated, return pan to the heat and stir constantly until the mixture is smooth. Add the salt to taste.

Let cool.
When cool, the mixture will still be liquid. Place in a squeezable plastic bottle with a narrow nozzle, and set aside.

Banana Cake

ingredients

125g butter
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp hot milk
1 1/3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla essence

mixing

Cream and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. With on low speed, add mashed bananas and beat until smooth. Stir the baking soda into the hot milk. Tip this into the main mixture and beat well. Sift the flour and baking powder together and add to the mixture, beating until smooth. The mixture is ready to use.

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream Frosting

A lovely combo of butter roux and Swiss meringue frostings.
You’ll need a candy thermometer for this recipe.

ingredients

345mL milk
4 1/2 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp powdered vanilla bean, or seeds from one vanilla pod
120mL egg whites (about 3)
150g caster sugar
375g unsalted butter, softened and cut into cubes
1/2 tsp salt
Pinch citric acid

mixing

Make the roux. Place the flour in a small saucepan and add about a quarter of the milk, whisking to make a smooth paste. Add the rest of the milk and the vanilla powder and whisk to combine. Heat the mixture, stirring all the time until the mixture boils and thickens. Remove from heat and cover the surface with cling wrap to stop a skin from forming. Allow to cool to room temperature.

Make the Swiss meringue. Place the egg whites and caster sugar in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Whisk the mixture over the heat using a wire whisk until the mixture reaches 55°C. The mixture will foam slightly during the heating phase but will not take on the appearance of beaten egg whites. When the mixture reaches 55°, transfer the mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer (stand mixers are great for this, but you can do it with hand held beaters). Beat the mixture on high speed until it is room temperature. During this time, a marshmallowy meringue will form.

Continue beating the meringue in high speed and add the butter, a cube at a time, allowing each addition of butter to completely incorporate before adding the next. If your meringue is too warm, it will melt the butter and create a soupy mixture. Never fear- chill the mixture and beat again. If the butter is too cold, it won’t incorporate well, so make sure it is uniformly soft. If the mixture is too cold, it may sieve. If necessary, you can fix this by warming the mixing bowl a little by standing it in warm water or wrapping a hot wet tea towel around the bowl.
Finally, continuing beating on high speed, add the cool roux, a tablespoon at a time, allowing each addition to be incorporated before adding the next. Beat in salt and citric acid. Add extra vanilla if desired, to taste. The frosting is now ready to use.

Chocolate Ganache

ingredients

75mL pouring cream
75g dark chocolate (60% cocoa solids) chopped

mixing

Heat the cream in the microwave on high for 30 seconds or in a small saucepan until it just starts to simmer. Remove from the heat, tip in the chocolate. Stir gently until the chocolate dissolves and the mixture is smooth. The addition of the chocolate cools the cream quite rapidly, and you may need to heat it up a little bit (5 seconds in the microwave or in a bowl over simmering water) to get the chocolate to dissolve completely. When the mixture is smooth, check its temperature, it should be no more than a body temperature (37°). Put it in the fridge for a few minutes too cool it further if necessary. You want it to be cool enough that it falls a little over the top of the cold frosting and sets in drips. If the ganache is too hot, you run the risk of too much dripping, or worse, melting the frosting. Nobody likes melted ice cream cones!

assembling the cupcakes

Make the salted caramel and set aside.

Combine the melted chocolate with the coconut oil, stirring until the mixture is smooth. Working one at a time, drop a teaspoon of chocolate mixture into each cone, and, using a narrow headed pastry brush, coat the inside of the cone up to the rim. If your cone has an assymetric rim like the ones I used, just coat the chocolate up to the lowest point in the rim.

Set your cones in the baking stand.

Make the Banana Cake mixture. Pour about three tablespoons of mixture into each cone (the mixture should sit a few millimetres below the rim).

Bake the cupcakes at 160 degrees C for about 15-20 minutes, giving the baking stand a half turn after about ten minutes to ensure even cooking. The cakes will have little rounded tops and be completely set to the touch. Let cool.

While the cakes are cooling, make the frosting.

Load the frosting into a large piping bag fitted with an open star tip. Trim the rounded tops off the cakes, so they are level with the lowest point on the edge of the cone. Pipe a donut shape of frosting on top of each cake, and using a teaspoon, make a well in the frosting for the caramel.

Fill each well with about a teaspoon of caramel. Pipe big, cone shaped swirls of frosting around and on top of the caramel, to look like soft serve ice cream. Allow about half a cup of frosting for each cupcake. Refrigerate until cold and completely set.

While the frosted cupcakes are setting, make the Chocolate Ganache for the topping.

When the ganache is cool but still liquid, remove the cupcakes from the refrigerator and, working one at a time, pour a dessertspoon (about 10 mL) of ganache directly over the top point of the frosting. Immediately top with a cherry, banana slice and sprinkles, so they stick to the ganache before it sets.

Serve these cupcakes at room temperature so the caramel centers are liquid!