Potatoes Romanoff - This Didn't Stay in Vegas

Banana, walnut, and chocolate are always an amazing combination of ingredients, no matter what the delivery system, but it really doesn’t get any better than in this ganache-frosted cupcake. A close second would be a chocolate-dipped frozen banana, rolled in walnuts, which is also a great treat, although much more awkward to eat in public.

Just be sure to buy your bananas way ahead of time. Using green bananas would be one of the few ways to mess this up, so I’d pick some up at least a week ahead of time, and wait until they’re starting to turn black before using them. For some extra flavor, a little banana liqueur wouldn’t be a bad idea, but these were great as is.

I thought the dark chocolate ganache was a perfect frosting, especially after trying them with a banana-based buttercream, which ended up being way too sweet for such a decadent cupcake. Of course, you can skip the frosting all together, and simply make a batch of the world’s best chocolate, walnut, banana muffins. Either way, I really do hope you give these a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 12 Chunky Monkey Cupcakes:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon kosher salt

3 ripe bananas, mashed

2 tablespoons milk

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup soft butter

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips or chunks

12 banana chip for garnish, optional

- Bake at 350 F. for about 25 minutes.

For the Dark Chocolate Frosting:

1 cup dark chocolate chips

1 cup very hot, but not boiling cream

- Pour cream over chips, wait a few minutes, and stir. Wait until mixture is cool enough to be spreadable.

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