a sick day, and a recipe: banana chocolate chip cupcakes with honey cream cheese frosting

Our 6-year old son sleeps on the carpeted floor in our bedroom, just beside our bed. I am not proud to admit this. In fact, I’m flat-out embarrassed about it.

I was one of those moms who abhorred the idea of co-sleeping. I was the mom who sold the baby monitor at a yard sale, even as little Oliver still slept in a crib, because those baby sounds in the middle of the night were just too distracting and disturbing to my sleep.

So, as payback for my parental selfishness, our son moved into our room when he was 5 years old. It started gradually, with an occasional night spent cuddled next to our bed, wrapped in his red blankie, most often preceded by complaints of a scary dream. Those nights grew more frequent, and he wore us down over time. Eventually, we realized that he’d moved all of his favorite toys and books in and that we were now calling that side of the room, “Oliver’s bed.”

In addition to a complete lack of privacy, what this has translated to is that I hear every whimper and sigh that my son utters in the middle of the night. Over the glorious long weekend that just past, I started hearing little coughs from his side of the room. Those coughs grew deeper and longer, and three nights ago, we were up at 3 o’clock in the morning with him. Well, my husband was up, fumbling in the darkened kitchen for the bottle of children’s cough syrup, while I lie in bed wondering if anyone would be too upset with me if I just went back to sleep.

bananas for banana cupcakes | the merry gourmet

Oliver developed the 102-degree fever just before bedtime on Monday, our last Stay-Home-Day before school and work started back up.  The scramble for a babysitter didn’t pan out, as it rarely does for us anymore on such short notice. My husband and I began the negotiations. Whose clinic was more full of patients? Who could afford to take a Tuesday off? Who sacrificed the last time this happened? All the while, Oliver slept hard, medicated with grape-flavored cough syrup and exhausted from his restless night the night before.

Sam lost.

Or I lost, depending on how you look at it.

While I worked, Sam stayed home with our son.  He ran errands when Oliver was feeling up to it, doled out children’s ibuprofen for the fever of 103 degrees, and he took him to the pediatrician who graciously worked Oliver into her schedule. Later, he helped our son with his albuterol breathing treatments from the black-and-white nebulizer machine (adorably shaped like a panda bear) and administered the first doses of antibiotics for Oliver’s newly diagnosed pneumonia. Meanwhile, between cancer patients and chemotherapy discussions, I ached to be home with Oliver.

banana cupcakes with honey cream cheese frosting | the merry gourmet

I got my wish today. Sam and I again weighed the relative potential impact of canceling our respective clinics, and my clinic schedule was sacrificed. Thanks to some fantastic people in my clinic, all of my patients were covered and I was able to spend the day home with my little guy.

When I woke this morning for a pre-dawn bathroom trip, I was thinking of banana cupcakes. This may be odd for some people, but for me, waking up thinking about a recipe is fairly commonplace. When I find myself dreaming of banana cupcakes, I know that the time has come for me to make them. And that bunch of brown-spotted bananas that you see in the first photo above? They were destined for a dish greater than a humble (though amazing) banana bread.

After an emergency run to the craft store to get cupcake liners — with a stop off at Toys-R-Us to replace a lost plastic boat — Oliver and I got to baking. While I measured and poured and mixed and baked, Oliver drove his new toy boat [Who am I kidding? Two new toy boats. Because he’s my baby and he’s sick, that’s why.] around my feet and through the legs of the Boos butcher block stand that was last year’s Christmas present from Sam. We took occasional breaks so that Oliver could “do the panda.”

Later, once the cupcakes were cool, I piped the frosting. I did this by myself, mostly because I like things to look a certain way (my way), but I let Oliver scatter rainbow sprinkles over the finished treats.

We celebrated our sick day with a cupcake. A banana chocolate chip cupcake with honey cream cheese frosting.  And with a perfectly lovely garnish of rainbow sprinkles.

banana cupcakes with honey cream cheese frosting | the merry gourmet

Yield: 12-16 cupcakes

Banana Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Honey Cream Cheese Frosting

Have some leftover, over-ripe bananas on hand? Tired of making banana bread? Here's a sweet alternative.

This recipe makes a full dozen cupcakes plus 3 or 4 extra, depending on how full you fill the cups. There will be leftover frosting, too.

Ingredients:

For Cupcakes:

1-1/4 cups (156 grams) all purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 very ripe large bananas, peeled
1/2 cup sour cream
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup (170 grams) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick; 113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 eggs
1 cup (150 grams) milk chocolate chips

For Frosting:

1-1/2 cups (180 grams) powdered sugar
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks; 170 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup honey

Directions:

For Cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with rack placed in middle position. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners (if you have two pans, line another 4 cups, just in case you have leftover batter).

Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. In another medium bowl, mash the bananas until smooth. Mix sour cream and vanilla into the bananas.

Using an electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in a large bowl until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs and beat until blended. Add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the banana mixture in 2 additions, beginning and ending with flour. With each addition, blend just until incorporated; do not overmix. Stir in chocolate chips. Fill each muffin cup about 2/3 full.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcakes comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.

For Frosting:

Sift powdered sugar (using a sifter or a fine mesh strainer) into the bowl of a stand mixer. Add cream cheese and butter and beat on medium-high until smooth, scraping down sides as needed. Add honey and beat until smooth.

Decorate each cupcake by spreading a bit of frosting over each cupcake with an offset spatula. Or, use a pastry bag fitted with a large piping tip to pipe the frosting into swirls on top of each cupcake.

Recipe adapted from this recipe from Bon Appétit.

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19 Responses to “a sick day, and a recipe: banana chocolate chip cupcakes with honey cream cheese frosting”

  1. 1
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    Leigh — May 29, 2013 @ 7:58 pm

    They look amazing. Tell Oliver that the sprinkles are my favorite part. 🙂

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    I hope he’s feeling better! I know those nebulizers all too well. What darling cupcakes! It was great seeing you again at FBF. 😉

  3. 3
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    Laura — May 29, 2013 @ 10:09 pm

    Hope Oliver is feeling better soon! Chocolate Chip Banana cupcakes sound like the best medicine 🙂

    • 3.1
      Merry-Jennifer
      Merry-Jennifer — May 30, 2013 @ 9:06 am

      Thank you, Laura. Yep, I’m a firm believer in cupcake therapy. 🙂

  4. 4
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    Sending hugs to Oliver. Plus, you = best mum ever!

  5. 5
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    Macaroni Mama — May 30, 2013 @ 6:56 am

    I love your writing.

  6. 6
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    Amy @ The Nifty Foodie — May 30, 2013 @ 9:27 am

    Aww…I hope Oliver feels better soon!

    Those cupcakes sound so comforting. Can’t go wrong with banana and chocolate!

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    Rachel Winter — June 1, 2013 @ 8:42 am

    MJ Those look delish. I have made your banana bread several times so think I will need to try this for the kids this summer.
    Hope Oliver feels better.

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    Ann — June 2, 2013 @ 8:44 am

    Pretty cupcakes and no doubt very tasty too. My daughter used to go to sleep in her bed at your son’s age but every morning, we would find her asleep in the hallway outside our bedroom. It passes – she’s 18 now and the youngest and only one still at home. I hope to have her home for a couple more years yet, but seeing as she now sooo independent, I doubt it! Enjoy it, I say!

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    Paula — June 2, 2013 @ 10:28 am

    I hope Oliver is on the mend. It’s terrible when our little ones are sick but worse when we have to worry about finding care for them or juggling schedules to try and be home with them. Making lovely cupcakes together is a great *sick day* activity.

    As for Oliver sleeping in your room…I wouldn’t stress about it at all. He’s only 6. If he still wants to in a few years, then I’d worry about it 🙂

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    Lori @ RecipeGirl — June 4, 2013 @ 10:28 am

    Oh gosh, well I sure hope he’s starting to feel better. Hopefully he’ll want to transition on his own to his own room? That’s a tough spot to be in.

    Your sweet cupcakes are perfect for cheering up on a sick day. See you in Austin? Can’t wait.

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    Nutmeg Nanny — June 4, 2013 @ 12:47 pm

    These cupcakes are the perfect sick day remedy! Your poor little guy.

  12. 12
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    Aww, poor thing! Fortunately, cupcakes have a power of making everything better though. Hope he feels on the up soon!

  13. 13
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    George — January 19, 2014 @ 12:53 pm

    A new addition for my cupcake recipe collection 🙂

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