Banana Cupcakes Recipe — Soft, Golden & Salted Caramel Buttercream

It was a Thursday afternoon, my three kids were starving after school, and I had four very black bananas sitting on the counter. I didn’t want to make another loaf. I wanted something a little more fun — something with frosting. So I grabbed my muffin tin and went from there.

These banana cupcakes are everything I love about my classic banana bread batter — soft, moist, naturally sweet — but in individual form, topped with a silky salted caramel buttercream that honestly steals the show. My kids call them “the fancy ones.” I just call them Thursday.

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Why You’ll Love This Banana Cupcakes Recipe

• Moist and tender every time. The ripe bananas keep the crumb soft and never dry — no oil needed, just butter and honey.
• That buttercream is next level. It’s a salted caramel Italian meringue buttercream. Silky, not too sweet, not too heavy. Worth every step.
• One bowl batter. The cupcake base comes together in under 15 minutes. No mixer needed for the batter itself.
• Naturally sweet. Ripe bananas do most of the sweetening — you get real flavor, not just sugar.
• Perfect for any occasion. Birthdays, weekend baking, after-school treat — these easy banana cupcakes work for everything.

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Ingredients & Notes

Here’s everything you need. Nothing fancy — just good, real ingredients.

For the Banana Cupcake Batter

Ripe bananas (600g). The riper, the better. You want brown-spotted, almost black bananas — they mash easily and bring natural sweetness. This is not the time for yellow bananas.

Unsalted butter, softened (100g). Room temperature is key — it should be soft enough to dent with your finger. Don’t melt it.

Brown cane sugar (200g) + honey (50g). The combination gives depth and a slight caramel note that pairs beautifully with the buttercream. You can use all brown sugar if you don’t have honey.

Eggs, at room temperature (170g / approx. 3 large eggs). Room temperature eggs incorporate more smoothly into the batter. Take them out 30 minutes before you bake.

All-purpose flour (300g). Standard flour works perfectly here. If you want a gluten-free version, check out our gluten-free banana pancakes for substitution ideas that work across banana-based batters.

Baking soda (6g / 1 tsp). Not baking powder — baking soda reacts with the natural acidity of bananas and gives a better rise with a softer crumb.

For the Salted Caramel

White sugar (75g). This goes in dry — no water. It melts into caramel directly in the pan.

Heavy cream (90g). Warm it before adding so it doesn’t seize the caramel.

Salt (9g). Yes, this much. It’s what makes it salted caramel. Trust it.

Unsalted butter, softened (15g). Added off the heat to finish the caramel with gloss.

For the Italian Meringue Buttercream

Water (40g) + white sugar (100g). Cooked to 250°F / 121°C for the Italian meringue syrup.

Egg whites (50g). Whipped to stiff peaks before the hot syrup goes in.

Egg yolks (85g) + whole milk (120g) + vanilla bean paste. The base for the crème anglaise that gives this buttercream its exceptional texture. If you love this frosting style, you’ll also want to try it on our banana cake with cream cheese frosting — a different but equally cozy approach.

Unsalted butter, pommade (quantity as needed for the crème anglaise base). This is the heart of the buttercream. It should be very soft but not melted — beat it in gradually.

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How to Make Banana Cupcakes with Buttercream

Step 1 — Make the Cupcake Batter

Mash the ripe bananas with a fork until mostly smooth but with small chunks remaining. Set aside.

Cream the softened butter in a large mixing bowl. Add the brown sugar and honey, then whisk until the mixture looks pale and slightly fluffy — about 2 minutes by hand.

Add the eggs in two additions, whisking well between each. Don’t rush this step — it helps the batter stay cohesive.

Sift the flour and baking soda directly over the wet ingredients. Fold gently with a spatula until just combined — stop the moment you no longer see dry flour streaks.

Fold in the mashed bananas last. Do not overmix. A few lumps are fine and actually good.

The batter should be thick, fragrant, and speckled with banana.

Step 2 — Fill & Bake

Line a 12-hole muffin tin with cupcake cases.

Fill each case to 70% — this is the sweet spot. Too full and they overflow; too empty and they won’t dome properly.

Bake at 350°F / 180°C for 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool completely on a wire rack before frosting — at least 45 minutes. Frosting warm cupcakes is the one mistake that ruins everything.

Golden tops, soft centers. The smell alone is worth it.

Step 3 — Make the Salted Caramel

Melt the white sugar in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-low heat. Do not stir — just swirl the pan gently. Watch it carefully until it turns a deep amber color.

Remove from heat immediately and pour in the warm cream slowly, stirring constantly. It will bubble aggressively — that’s normal.

Add the salt and the softened butter. Stir until smooth and glossy.

Cool completely before adding to the buttercream — at least 1 hour at room temperature.

Step 4 — Make the Italian Meringue

Combine the water and 100g sugar in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat without stirring until the syrup reaches exactly 250°F / 121°C — use a thermometer.

Whip the egg whites in a stand mixer at medium-high speed until soft peaks form. This should be timed to coincide with the syrup reaching temperature.

Pour the hot syrup in a slow, steady stream down the side of the bowl (not directly onto the whisk). Continue beating at high speed until the meringue is stiff, glossy, and the bowl is cool to the touch — about 8 minutes.

Step 5 — Build the Crème Anglaise Base

Whisk the egg yolks with half the sugar in a bowl until pale.

Heat the milk with the remaining sugar in a saucepan until it just begins to simmer.

Pour the hot milk over the yolks slowly, whisking constantly. Return to the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring, until the mixture reaches 185°F / 85°C and coats the back of a spoon.

Remove from heat, add vanilla bean paste, and whisk to combine. Allow to cool to 86°F / 30°C before proceeding.

Step 6 — Assemble the Buttercream

Beat the softened butter into the cooled crème anglaise gradually using an electric mixer. The mixture will look broken at first — keep going. It will come together into a smooth, airy cream.

Add the cooled salted caramel and beat until fully incorporated.

Fold in the Italian meringue gently with a spatula, working in large sweeping movements to preserve the lightness.

The finished buttercream should be silky, light, and just barely hold its shape.

Step 7 — Frost & Finish

Transfer the buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a star or French tip.

Pipe swirls onto the completely cooled cupcakes, starting from the outside edge and spiraling inward.

Drizzle a few drops of extra salted caramel over the top and finish with a tiny pinch of flaky sea salt.

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Lily’s Tips

Use the blackest bananas you can find. “The riper your bananas, the less sugar you’ll need — nature does the sweetening for you.” Brown-spotted bananas contain up to 80% more natural sugar than yellow ones — that’s what makes these cupcakes naturally sweet without being cloying.

Don’t skip the honey. It adds a depth that plain sugar can’t replicate. You’ll taste it in the finished cupcake even through the buttercream.

Temperature matters for the buttercream. If your crème anglaise is too warm when you add the butter, it will melt and pool. If it’s too cold, the butter will seize into chunks. 86°F / 30°C is the target — use a thermometer.

The buttercream can be made a day ahead. Store it covered at room temperature overnight (if not too hot in your kitchen) or refrigerate it and re-whip it the next day. It comes back to life beautifully.

Pipe generously. These cupcakes have a bold frosting. Don’t be shy — a tall, confident swirl is what makes them look bakery-worthy without being actually complicated.

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Variations

Make It a Banana Layer Cake

Use this exact same batter poured into two 8-inch round cake pans, baked at 350°F / 180°C for 30-35 minutes. The salted caramel buttercream works beautifully as a layer cake filling. For a full layer cake version with cream cheese frosting instead, try our banana cake with cream cheese frosting — it’s one of the most popular recipes on the blog.

Add Chocolate

Fold 80g of dark chocolate chips into the batter just before filling the cases. The chocolate and banana combination is impossible to resist. If you want to go all in on chocolate, this chocolate banana fudge cake takes it to the next level.

Make Them Eggless

Replace the 170g of eggs with 170g of plain yogurt (or a mix of yogurt and mashed banana). The texture changes slightly — denser, more muffin-like — but still delicious. The buttercream will need to be adapted too: skip the crème anglaise base and use a simple vegan buttercream with plant-based butter.

Add a Banana Pudding Filling

Core the center of each cooled cupcake and pipe in a spoonful of banana pudding before frosting. It’s an indulgent variation that always gets a reaction. Check out our banana pudding cupcakes for a dedicated version of this idea — it’s a whole different kind of magic.

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How to Store

Counter: 1 day — the buttercream holds at room temperature in a cool kitchen (below 70°F / 21°C). Beyond that, the cream-based frosting needs to be refrigerated.

Fridge: Up to 4 days in an airtight container. Let them come back to room temperature for 30 minutes before serving — cold buttercream loses its silkiness straight from the fridge.

Freezer: Up to 2 months. Freeze the un-frosted cupcakes on a baking sheet until solid, then transfer to a zip bag. Freeze the buttercream separately in an airtight container. Thaw both overnight in the fridge, then bring to room temperature and re-whip the buttercream before piping.

Meal prep tip: Bake the cupcake bases on Sunday, freeze them un-frosted, and make the buttercream fresh when you need them. The caramel can also be made 3-4 days ahead and kept in the fridge.

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Love, Lily 🍌

These banana cupcakes are the kind of thing that makes an ordinary Thursday feel like a celebration. The batter is simple and forgiving. The buttercream takes a little more focus — but I promise, once you nail that salted caramel, you’ll be putting it on everything.

If you love this, try our banana birthday cake for your next celebration, or make a batch of our warm caramelized bananas to spoon over the top instead of caramel sauce.

Love, Lily 🍌