Banana Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup mashed overripe Chiquita bananas
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, plus more for garnish
• 1 1/2 Chiquita bananas sliced, for garnish
• 8 oz cream cheese, nearly at room temperature
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, nearly at room temperature
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

1. For the cupcakes, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt in a mixing bowl. In a stand mixer bowl with the paddle attached, beat the butter with the granulated sugar until the mixture looks light and airy. Add the egg and mix it in, then add the egg yolk and vanilla. Beat in the mashed bananas.
2. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture and mix only until it disappears into the batter. Pour in 1/2 of the buttermilk and mix gently until incorporated, then do the same alternating process with the flour mixture and buttermilk once more. Add the last 1/3 of the flour mixture along with the chocolate chips, mixing just until the batter comes together. Run a spatula around the sides and bottom of the bowl, then fold the batter to make sure everything is evenly combined.
3. Spoon the batter into 12 muffin cups lined with paper liners, filling each about 3/4 full. Bake until a toothpick poked into the middle of a cupcake comes out clean, about 20 – 25 minutes. Leave the cupcakes in the pan for several minutes, then move them to a wire rack to cool all the way.
4. When the cupcakes are fully cool, spread or pipe on the cream cheese frosting. Add 2 banana slices just before serving, then scatter chocolate chips over the top. Store the cupcakes in an air tight container in the refrigerator, and let them sit at room temperature for about 5 – 10 minutes before you serve them.
5. For the cream cheese frosting, beat the cream cheese and butter together in the bowl of a stand mixer until smooth. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla, then beat until the frosting is fluffy and light. If it needs to firm up, place it in the freezer in 3 minute intervals, stirring after each interval, until it reaches a sturdier consistency.