These banana pudding cupcakes start with a sweet and fluffy vanilla cake base. They are stuffed with a creamy mascarpone banana pudding filled with fresh chopped bananas. The proverbial icing on the cake is a light mascarpone whipped cream that tops these delicious, fresh cupcakes!
My very first recipe on this blog was an adaptation of a Paula Deen banana pudding recipe. My version is in cute little individual mason jars and uses mascarpone cheese to lighten the pudding. Check out my banana pudding mason jars recipe! You won't be sorry!
Likewise, you won't be sorry when you make these cupcakes. There are a few steps that go into making these cupcakes but I promise they are well worth it. To save time, you can even make the vanilla cupcakes one day and the pudding the next and then assemble.
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- All-Purpose Flour- Regular white flour is perfect for these vanilla cupcakes
- Baking Powder- Baking powder helps the cupcakes rise.
- Kosher Salt- I prefer to use Kosher Salt and personally like Diamond Crystal. If you are using table salt, use half the amount.
- Unsalted Butter- I prefer unsalted butter to control how much salt is added. If you use salted butter, just omit the salt in the recipe. Butter is the fat that adds richness to the cupcakes.
- Granulated Sugar- Regular white sugar is used to keep these vanilla cupcakes white in color and let the vanilla flavor shine.
- Egg- An egg helps provide structure for the cupcakes.
- Vanilla Extract- Ideally use real vanilla extract for that pure vanilla flavor since this is the main flavor of the cupcakes.
- Sour Cream- Use full fat sour cream. Sour cream adds the necessary moisture to the cupcakes and also richness due to its higher fat content.
- Milk- Milk is used to thin out the sour cream a bit but is used for the purpose as the sour cream. Whole milk or 2% milk is ideal.
Banana Pudding Filling
- Instant Vanilla Pudding Mix- This is the only premade component of the recipe. You only need a few tablespoons from the smallest box of pudding. Feel free to make the rest of the dry mix into pudding to eat!
- Milk- 2% or whole milk is best and gets combined with the pudding mix to create a small amount of vanilla pudding that will be further doctored up for the banana pudding filling.
- Sweetened Condensed Milk- Again, we only need a little of the sweetened condensed milk from the can. This adds extra creaminess to the filling.
- Mascarpone Cheese- Mascarpone is less tangy than cream cheese but just as rich. This along with the heavy cream brings both richness and ligthness to the filling.
- Heavy Whipping Cream- Just a little bit of heavy cream is needed to add lightness to the pudding filling. You can just whip this by hand in a small bowl or use a stand mixer to make the process a bit faster.
- Banana- Chop one banana into small pieces. This ensures there are banana pieces in each cupcake.
Frosting
- Mascarpone Cheese- Helps to stabilize the whipped cream and makes a creamy frosting with less tang than regular cream cheese.
- Heavy Whipping Cream- Whipping cream makes this frosting extra light and fluffy and less rich than a traditional American buttercream.
- Powdered Sugar- Adds just the right amount of sweetness to the frosting.
- Vanilla Extract- A necessary flavor enhancer!
How to make the banana pudding filling
This pudding thankfully requires no cooking! The use of instant vanilla pudding makes this come together rather quickly. So that there isn't too much leftover pudding, you only need to use a few tablespoons of the pudding mix.
Start by combining instant vanilla pudding mix with milk and let it start to thicken. Next, mix together mascarpone cheese and sweetened condensed milk. Finally, whip heavy whipping cream until soft peaks form.
Combine the vanilla pudding with the mascarpone mixture and then fold in the whipped cream and chopped bananas. Place the pudding into the fridge to chill for about a half hour before filling the cupcakes.
Creamy mascarpone frosting
The frosting for these banana pudding cupcakes is light, fluffy and not overly sweet. It's the perfect complement to the sweet cupcakes and filling.
Simply combine the mascarpone and powdered sugar until creamy. Add the heavy cream and vanilla and whip until stiff peaks form but make sure to not over whip the cream!
How to assemble the cupcakes
To fill the cupcakes with the banana pudding, use a sharp paring knife or a cupcake corer to cut a hole in the middle of the cupcake. You can discard the cake that was cut out or better yet snack on it as you assemble the cupcakes :-).
Next, using a spoon or a small cookie scoop, scoop about 2 teaspoons of filling into the cupcake hole.
Frost the cupcakes with the mascarpone whipped cream. I used a plastic pastry bag with a piping tip to achieve the pretty swirls in the pictures.
Feel free to use a knife to spread it on or place the frosting into a zip-top bag and snip the corner off to pipe onto the cupcakes without a piping tip or fancy pastry bag.
Storage Instructions
The banana pudding cupcakes are best stored in the fridge due to both the filling and the frosting. The assembled cupcakes will keep for 2-3 days tightly covered in the fridge.
They are delicious right from the refrigerator as the frosting does not harden like a buttercream frosting would. However, to heighten the flavors, let them sit for 15-30 minutes prior to eating.
FAQ's
Yes. Cream cheese is a great sub for the mascarpone if you can't find it or want to spend a little less money. The filling and frosting will be slightly tangier. If you to increase the powdered sugar in the frosting to make it sweeter, I would use ½ cup instead of ⅓. Make sure your cream cheese is room temperature though or else you will have lumpy frosting and filling.
These aren't the best cupcakes to freeze due to the filling and the less stable whipped cream frosting so I don't recommend it.
Two reasons: They were either baked too long or the flour was measured incorrectly. Make sure to check on the cupcakes before the end of the baking time. All ovens are different so use a cake tester to determine if the cupcakes are done or not. Moist crumbs but not batter should be on the tester. The other reason could be due to over-measuring the flour. Do not scoop into a measuring cup directly from a bag or canister of flour. Instead, fluffy your flour up with a spoon first and then lightly spoon flour into a measuring cup and level it off. Or, use a food scale to measure the flour in grams. I have this inexpensive scale.
For more dessert recipes, check out these:
- White Chocolate Blondie Raspberry Cheesecake Bars
- Meyer Lemon Tarts with White Chocolate
- Carrot Cake Cheesecake Cupcakes
- Nutella S'mores Cake
Tag me on Instagram @themarblekitchenblog if you make this and leave a star rating and comment below! Thank you and enjoy!
Banana Pudding Cupcakes
Ingredients
Vanilla Cupcake
- 1 ¼ cups (150 grams) all purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 tablespoon unsalted butter room temperature
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup milk 2% or whole milk
Banana Pudding Filling
- 3 tablespoon instant vanilla pudding mix
- ⅓ cup milk 2% or whole milk
- 2 oz mascarpone cheese
- ⅓ cup sweetened condensed milk
- ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 banana chopped
Mascarpone Frosting
- 4 oz mascarpone cheese cold
- 1 cups heavy whipping cream
- ⅓ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Vanilla Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a cupcake pan with paper liners.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer or in a large bowl and a hand mixer, cream together butter and sugar for about 3-4 minutes, until light yellow and fluffy on medium/medium high speed.
- Add the egg and vanilla and mix well.
- In a small bowl or pourable measuring cup, whisk together sour cream and milk.
- Starting with the dry ingredients, add about ⅓ to the butter mixture and beat until combined.
- Add half of the milk/sour cream mixture and mix well. Continue alternating dry and wet ingredients, ending with the dry ingredients.
- Divide the batter evenly between the cupcake tin. Bake for 14-16 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cupcake comes out clean.
- Let cool in the pan for about 10 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool the rest of the way.
Banana Pudding Filling
- In a bowl, combine the milk and instant pudding and mix well. Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, combine the sweetened condensed milk and mascarpone and beat until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, whip heavy whipping cream to soft peaks and then fold into the mascarpone mixture. Combine the mascarpone mixture with the vanilla pudding and mix until smooth.
- Fold in the chopped bananas. Refrigerate until you are ready to fill the cupcakes.
Mascarpone Frosting
- Using a stand mixer or a medium bowl and a hand mixer, whip the mascarpone cheese and powdered sugar until creamy.
- Add the heavy cream and vanilla and continue to whip on medium to medium-high speed until stiff peaks form.
Assembling the Cupcakes
- Use a sharp paring knife or cupcake corer to create a hole in the middle of the cupcake (see pictures in post). Discard the cake that was cut out (or eat it!).
- Using a spoon or small cookie scoop, scoop about 2 teaspoons of banana pudding into each cupcake.
- Frost the cupcakes using a knife or pipe the frosting using a bag and pastry tip. Top with a banana slice or a vanilla wafer if desired. Refrigerate the cupcakes until ready to serve.
Notes
- Cupcakes are best served cold from the refrigerator.
- Keep assembled cupcakes covered tightly in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
- You'll have extra banana pudding mixture after filling the cupcakes. I suggest layering it with vanilla wafers, shortbread cookies or golden oreos in mason jars for 2 desserts in one!
Dee says
the pudding directions are confusing. It says 3T of pudding powder, then after it ¼c + 1T. shouldn't it say ¼ minus 1T.....or nothing at all. 3T is clear enough w/out a side note and ¼c is 4T. Am I reading it wrong? Should it be 5T as directed in side note?
Tara Kringlen says
Hi Dee, You are right! That was a typo and it should just be 3 tablespoons :-). Thanks!
Debbie Mussina says
making for work. what is the mixup on the pudding instructions? please respond soon 🙏.
Tara Kringlen says
Hi Debbie. The exact instructions for how you use the pudding mix are written in the recipe card under "instructions" 🙂