Pineapple & Banana Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Icing

I haven’t got much to say today, except that these cupcakes are amazing.  They are so good.  Ugh.  After your first bite you will definitely be picking a second one up.  I could eat these all day, everyday.  In fact, I did.  I ate them when I woke up, when I walked into the kitchen, before dinner and before I went to bed.  You can’t keep your hands off of them!  Needless to say, there are none left.  Nope.   *sob*

In the recipe book, this recipe is called a Monkey Cake.  I skipped the page because I assumed it was just a regular banana cake.  About a month ago I was flipping through the book again and saw that it has pineapple in it also.  I love pineapple.

That made me decide to make the recipe.  I followed it exactly and when I tried the cupcakes, they were good but I couldn’t taste the pineapple in it.  This time when I made it I doubled the pineapple and halved the banana in the recipe.  I still couldn’t really taste the pineapple, but they were better than the first time.

[Dummy Me Update:  I fixed the missing sugar]

[printable version]

for the cake

adapted from The Sweeter Side of Amy?s Bread

2 3/4 cups AP flour

2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 3/4 cups sugar

1 1/4 cups canola oil

3 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1 cup mashed bananas (about 2 medium sized bananas)

2 cups crushed pineapple

1 cup pecans, toasted & coarsely chopped

Preheat your oven to 350°F and line two cupcake pans with cupcake liners.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine flour, salt, baking soda & cinnamon.  In a large bowl, mix together the sugar, oil, eggs  and vanilla.  Whisk until everything is combined.  Slowly add the sugar mixture into the flour mixture.  Add the bananas, pineapple & pecans.  Mix until incorporated.  Divide batter between the cups.  Bake for about 20 minutes, rotating pans halfway through.

[to make this into a cake, divide between two 9x2 inch pans that have been buttered & floured and bake for about 35 - 40 minutes; rotating halfway through]

adapted from Cupcakes!

2 sticks (1 cup) butter, slightly softened

12 oz cream cheese

6 cups powdered sugar

2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese until smooth.  Slowly add the powdered sugar and mix until everything is combined.  Add the vanilla and the cinnamon.  Now ice your cupcakes!