These banana pudding cupcakes are made with a moist, tender, and light banana cupcake base, filled with a banana pudding filling, and topped with stabilized whipped cream.
I love a classic banana pudding for a summer dessert, so I wanted to create these banana pudding muffins that are inspired by the classic southern dessert!
This recipe uses ripe bananas for the cupcake muffins which makes these extra moist and full of banana flavor.
These cupcakes are filled with an easy banana pudding filling and topped with freshly made whipped cream that is stabilized with instant vanilla.
For more banana recipes, check out our banana chocolate chip cake, Nutella banana muffins, banana coffee cake, and blueberry banana muffins.
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Why this recipe works
- Flavor- these cupcakes are loaded with all the flavors of banana pudding from the fresh banana to the vanilla pudding to the nilla wafer on top!
- Texture- the texture of these cupcakes is moist, light, and fluffy, and simply melt in your mouth deliciously.
- Ease- these cupcakes come together in just one bowl and are made with super simple ingredients.
- Filling- the cupcakes are filled with a super easy 3 ingredient banana pudding filling.
Ingredients
Before you start to make this recipe, measure and prepare your ingredients so the cooking process will go smoothly and easily.
Full measurements are in the recipe card below.
Ripe bananas- Use only ripe bananas for this recipe! Overripe bananas are more sweet, moist, and easy to mash into a pudding consistency.
Flour– we used all-purpose flour for this recipe, self-rising flour, and cake flour will work great as well.
Baking soda – to allow the banana bread to rise. 1 teaspoon baking soda is what you will need for this recipe. Don't replace baking soda with baking powder!
Butter- use unsalted butter for this recipe. Only butter will work for this recipe, no margarine, and no coconut oil. Margarine has a weird taste and can ruin the flavor of this cupcake.
You will need to melt the butter and let it chill until it's not too hot.
Greek yogurt- get your Greek yogurt to room temperature. Any percent of fat will work for this recipe. If you don't have Greek yogurt, you can use sour cream instead.
Sugar- we used granulated sugar for this recipe. You can use caster sugar as well.
Brown sugar- you can use either light brown sugar or dark brown sugar for this. I prefer light brown sugar for this recipe.
Cinnamon- using cinnamon is optional, but we love the flavor it gives to these cupcakes!
Buttermilk– gives the cupcake extra moisture. You can make your own buttermilk if you don’t have one on hand. Simply mix a cup of milk with a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice and let it sit for at least 10 minutes.
Eggs- you will need 2 large eggs for this recipe. Make sure that your eggs are at room temperature.
Vanilla extract- adds extra flavor. 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract is what you will need for this recipe.
Kosher salt- you will need about ½ teaspoon of kosher salt for this recipe.
For the banana pudding filling
Instant vanilla pudding mix- use your favorite brand of instant vanilla pudding mix.
Mashed banana- choose your ripest banana and mash it very well with a fork.
Milk- use whole milk for this. You can use your favorite brand of milk and preferred percentage of fat.
For the whipped cream
Heavy cream- make sure that your heavy cream is cold. Cold heavy cream whips better and quicker.
Powder sugar- you will need powdered sugar for this recipe. you don’t have to buy powdered sugar, you can make it at home by blending granulated sugar in a blender or food processor.
Vanilla extract- adds extra flavor. You can use regular vanilla extract or vanilla bean extract.
Nilla wafers- Top these cupcakes with a nilla wafer for a signature banana pudding look!
Instructions
Preheat an oven to 350f (180c) and prep a cupcake pan with liners.
Into a large mixing bowl, add the cooled melted butter, eggs, vanilla extract, granulated sugar, buttermilk, brown sugar, kosher salt, mashed bananas cinnamon, and Greek yogurt, and mix with a whisk until well combined.
Add the flour and baking soda and mix until just combined and there are no lumps of flour visible. Do not overmix.
Use an ice cream scoop to fill out the cupcake â…” full (do not overfill) and bake in a preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool the cupcakes for 10 minutes and transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely (don’t frost warm cupcakes)
Make the banana pudding filling: In a medium mixing bowl, add the vanilla pudding, mashed banana, and whole milk and mix until well combined. Let it sit for 20-30 minutes until it thickens.
Make a small hole in the middle of each cupcake. We used a knife to do so, you can also use a cupcake corer.
Fill the hole with the banana pudding until just full.
Make the whipped cream: Into a big mixing bowl, add the heavy cream, instant vanilla pudding, vanilla extract, and powdered sugar. Mix with an electric hand mixer until stiff peaks form.
Transfer the whipped cream to a piping bag with a star tip and pipe the cupcakes with the frosting. Top them with a nilla wafer and serve!
Expert Tips
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly. you don’t want to place cold batter into the oven.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have a moist cupcake and not a dense and dry cupcake.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with a back of a knife.
- Be patient! I know it’s extremely tempting to eat and frost these cupcakes as they are pulled out of the oven, but let these cupcakes cool for at least 1 hour to prevent the frosting from melting.
- Make sure that your leaveners are fresh like baking powder and baking soda. If you are using expired leaveners. You can check this by adding a little bit of the baking soda or baking powder to some hot water, and if it bubbles, it's still good to use, if it's not, throw it away!
Faq's
We use all-purpose flour for this cupcake, self-rising flour, and cake flour will work great as well.
If you want to make this banana cupcake, but you don’t have ripe bananas on hand, don’t worry! Bake regular bananas in a 200c (400f) preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, this will soften the bananas and make them a ripe banana texture.
These cupcakes will last for up to 3 days stored in the fridge.
Storing
These cupcakes will last up to 5 days in the fridge (dairy needs to be stored in the fridge). Cover them with plastic wrap or foil to prevent them from drying out. They stay moist for at least 3 days!
Freezing
Freeze these cupcakes after they cooled completely in an airtight freezer-friendly container for up to 3 months.
Our tip is not to freeze it decorated or covered with frosting, because it can ruin the decorating of the cupcake, we suggest freezing the cupcake and decorating it when you defrost it.
If you’re not looking to impress anyone with your decorating skills, it’s absolutely okay to freeze the cupcake with the frosting on.
Substitutions
Gluten-free - if you want to make this recipe gluten-free, simply replace the flour with gluten-free flour.
Dairy-free- you can make this cupcake recipe dairy-free by replacing the butter with vegan butter and replacing the filling with vegan banana pudding and topping these with vegan whipped cream.
Variations
Frosting- You can use any kind of your favorite frosting on these cupcakes, these are very versatile so you can turn them into whatever you want!
You can use dark chocolate frosting, mascarpone whipped cream, vanilla frosting, caramel frosting, etc.
Topping- top a dollop of each cupcake with a slice of banana instead of a nilla wafer, or a dried banana chip.
Chocolate chips- you can use your favorite type of chocolate chips for this recipe like milk chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, etc.
Equipment
Mixing bowls- best glass mixing bowls.
Whisk set- our favorite copper whisk set.
Cupcakes tins- our favorite Wilton cupcake tins.
Open star piping tip- our favorite Wilton piping tip for cupcake decoration.
More cupcakes recipes
Nutella cupcakes- These Nutella cupcakes are made with delicious chocolate Nutella cupcakes, filled with Nutella, and topped with Nutella buttercream and chopped hazelnuts!
Strawberry filled cupcakes- These strawberry filled cupcakes are made with vanilla fresh strawberry cupcakes, filled with chopped ripe strawberries, and topped with strawberry buttercream frosting.
Pumpkin cupcakes- These super moist pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting are soft, and delicious, and stay moist for 3 days.
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📖 Recipe
Moist Banana Pudding Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 115 g Butter melted and cooled
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 2 Eggs
- ½ cup Granulated sugar
- ½ cup Brown sugar
- 1 ½ cups Bananas
- â…“ cup Greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- ½ cup Buttermilk
- 2 cups Flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking soda
Banana pudding filling
- 1 Banana mashed ripe banana
- 50 g Vanilla pudding
- 1 cup Milk
Stabilized whipped cream
- 2 cups Heavy cream cold
- â…“ cup Powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoon Vanilla instant pudding
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 350f (180c) and prep a cupcake pan with liners.
- Into a large mixing bowl, add the cooled melted butter, eggs, vanilla extract, granulated sugar, buttermilk, brown sugar, kosher salt, mashed bananas cinnamon, and Greek yogurt, and mix with a whisk until well combined.
- Add the flour and baking soda and mix until just combined and there are no lumps of flour visible. Do not overmix.
- Use an ice cream scoop to fill out the cupcake ⅔ full (do not overfill) and bake in a preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool the cupcakes for 10 minutes and transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely (don’t frost warm cupcakes)
- Make the banana pudding filling: In a medium mixing bowl, add the vanilla pudding, mashed banana, and whole milk and mix until well combined. Let it sit for 20-30 minutes until it thickens.
- Make a small hole in the middle of each cupcake. We used a knife to do so, you can also use a cupcake corer.
- Fill the hole with the banana pudding until just full.
- Make the whipped cream: Into a big mixing bowl, add the heavy cream, instant vanilla pudding, vanilla extract, and powdered sugar. Mix with an electric hand mixer until stiff peaks form.
- Transfer the whipped cream to a piping bag with a star tip and pipe the cupcakes with the frosting. Top them with a nilla wafer and serve!
Notes
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly. you don’t want to place cold batter into the oven.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have a moist cupcake and not a dense and dry cupcake.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with a back of a knife.
- Be patient! I know it’s extremely tempting to eat and frost these cupcakes as they are pulled out of the oven, but let these cupcakes cool for at least 1 hour to prevent the frosting from melting.
- Make sure that your leaveners are fresh like baking powder and baking soda. If you are using expired leaveners. You can check this by adding a little bit of the baking soda or baking powder to some hot water, and if it bubbles, it's still good to use, if it's not, throw it away!
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