MisoHungry: Wells Banana Bread Beer Cupcake with Rum & Caramelized Bananas

This cupcake is for banana and chocolate lovers. Lightly spiced banana flavors coupled with chocolate and hazelnut make this cupcake just a little sinful.

Hardware:

	Mixer (I Heart my kitchen aid)
	Whisk
	Piping tips (Your choice for decorating, I used the Star tip 21) and piping bags.
	Cupcake liners, foil preferably. Paper is fine too, but the cake is a bit greasy.
	Cupcake pans
	Pastry brush
	A bunch of spatulas, forks, and spoons
	Propane torch
	toothpicks

Software:

Cake

	1 cup Wells Banana Bread Beer
	1 banana, processed in a food processor
	1 cups (2 sticks) unsalted butter
	1 teaspoon cinnamon
	1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
	1 pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
	2 cups all purpose flour
	2 cups sugar
	1/2 tablespoon baking soda
	3/4 teaspoons salt
	2 large eggs
	3/4 cups sour cream or vanilla yogurt
	3/4 cup mini-chocolate chips

Frosting

	8 oz cream cheese
	8 oz butter
	6 cups sifted powdered sugar
	4 oz Nutella (1/2 cup)

The Extras

	2 oz rum, I used Cruzan light
	Bananas
	1/4 cup sugar

Preparation

For cake:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line cupcake pans with liners. Bring 1 cup Wells Banana Bread Beer and 1 cup butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Drink the rest of the beer or save it with a wine saver top. Add banana, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Whisk until mixture is smooth. You must make absolutely sure that the banana is processed well and almost emulsified. If you don't, you probably won't get the chemical reaction in baking that you want. Allow to cool. Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in large bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream/yogurt in another large bowl to blend. Add banana-beer-butter mixture to egg mixture slowly and beat just to combine. Make sure that the banana-beer-butter combo has cooled so that it does not curdle and cook the eggs when you add it. It is preferable to stream it slowly into the eggs to temper them. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined. Fill cupcake molds halfway. In another bowl, toss chocolate chips with flour to coat. Sprinkle tops of cupcakes with a teaspoon or so of chocolate chips. They will start to sink, so get them into the oven quickly. Bake for 17-19 minutes. The tops should be springy to the touch. Immediately brush the top of the cupcakes with rum when they are still warm. Allow to cool. You can also load a syringe and needle with rum and inject the cupcakes with about half a teaspoon of rum. You can use turkey injection tools or a clean medical syringe and needle.

The Frosting:

In a bowl, combine the butter and cream cheese. Beat until smooth, then add the sifted powdered sugar. Beat mixture until smooth. Add in the Nutella. You may add more Nutella if you like.

Caramelizing bananas:

Slice bananas in any way you like. I like to slice them on diagonal or into discs. On a oven safe plate, place the banana pieces in one layer face (whichever side you want to see) up. Sprinkle the tops side liberally with granulated sugar making sure to cover the entire tops. Using a propane torch, torch each banana slice for about 10 seconds. The sugar should turn a golden to medium brown and bubble. When that happens, move onto the next banana.

Assembling cupcakes are cooled:

Using a piping tip, decorate the cupcakes with the frosting, and place a banana slice on top. Insert a toothpick through the center of the banana into the cupcake, and refrigerate. Caramelized bananas are very slippery, and they won't stay on top to the cupcake without a toothpick. Remember to remind the eaters that there is a toothpick in the cupcake!