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Let’s face it, the world has been pretty over-saturated with cupcakes over the last few years. I mean, there are cupcake ATMs now.
We live in a ridiculously awesome world, but I can see why people might be tired of cupcakes. That’s why whenever I share a cupcake recipe with you all it has to be a REALLY fantastic one.
Fantastic is definitely a word to describe these dulce de leche banana cupcakes with chocolate frosting because I think everyone should make them immediately after reading this post.
Super moist and tender banana cupcakes are filled with dulce de leche then topped off with chocolate cream cheese frosting. I challenge you to think of anything better than that. It’s seriously my new favorite cupcake recipe and I hope it’ll be yours too.
By the way, in case you haven’t seen it before, dulce de leche comes canned and can be found at many grocery stores in the Latin food section. The most common brand is Nestle (it’s packaged in a tin can).
I’ve also seen higher end versions at specialty stores like Sur la Table, Williams-Sonoma, and World Market. You can also make your own dulce de leche with sweetened condensed milk.
More cupcake recipes:
For the banana cupcakes:
-
1
cup
(127 grams) all-purpose flour
-
1/2
teaspoon
baking powder
-
1/2
teaspoon
baking soda
-
1/2
teaspoon
ground cinnamon
-
1/4
teaspoon
fine salt
-
1
stick (113 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
-
1/3
cup
(67 grams) granulated sugar
-
1/4
cup
(50 grams) light brown sugar
-
1/4
cup
(57 grams) sour cream
-
1
teaspoon
vanilla extract
-
2
large eggs, at room temperature
-
2
large overripe bananas, mashed
-
About 1/4 cup prepared dulce de leche
For the chocolate cream cheese frosting:
-
8
ounces
(227 grams) cream cheese, at room temperature
-
4
tablespoons
(57 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
-
3
cups
(375 grams) powdered sugar
-
1/2
cup
(43 grams) good-quality cocoa powder
For the cupcakes:
-
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a standard muffin tin with paper cupcake liners.
-
In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
-
In the bowl of a stand mixer beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the sour cream and vanilla and beat until combined. On medium speed add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until combined. Add the mashed bananas and beat until combined. On low speed gradually add the flour mixture and beat just until combined. Do not overmix.
-
Use a spring loaded scoop to fill each cupcake liner three-quarters full. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Remove to a wire rack and let cool completely.
-
Use a small knife or apple corer to cut a small hole in the middle of each cupcake. Place the dulce de leche in a zip top bag and snip one small corner. Squeeze out about 1 1/2 teaspoons of dulce de leche into each cupcake.
For the frosting:
-
In the bowl of an electric mixer beat the cream cheese and butter on medium-high until smooth and creamy. Sift the powdered sugar and cocoa powder into a large bowl. On low speed gradually add the sugar and cocoa, beating until incorporated. Increase the speed to high and blend until smooth and creamy.
-
Place the frosting into a piping bag fitted with a decorative tip. Pipe frosting onto the cupcakes, directly over the filling. Serve or store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Let come to room temperature before serving.
This post was originally published in 2014 and recently updated with weight measurements and new photos by Ashley McLaughlin Photography.
So yummy! Had leftover salted caramel from making the apple cake recipe so I used that instead of dulce de leche and it was fabulous.
I made this yummy recipe yesterday. I know I let my butter get too warm and I let them cool in the pan too long before removing them to cool individually but would those mistakes make my cupcakes taste more like banana muffins? Not a cakey texture at all
Hi Heidi! Cooling in the pan too long shouldn’t have too many repercussions on the finished results (just maybe making the outside softer and perhaps slightly overbaking from the residual heat of the pan – but not so much that it should be terribly noticeable). The temperature of the butter, on the other hand, could account for some of the textural differences. It sounds like there might be something up with your leavener – you can read more about all the things that leavening agents do in Tessa’s article here! Feel free to reach back out for further troubleshooting – we are always happy to help!! 🙂
I’ve made these twice now. My cupcakes tasted fantastic! But barely rose. Is this normal with this recipe?
Hi Nicole! If you take a look at our photos on this page, you’ll see that ours have a very slight rise to them. Glad you enjoyed your cupcakes!
Yummm! How long can i store these made for a Christmas party? Also will canned dulce de leche sufice?
Hi Jackie! Yes, we actually used canned dulce de leche for this recipe, though you can definitely make homemade as well. As stated in the directions, these cupcakes can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Let come to room temperature before serving. Please let us know what you think of this recipe 🙂
Fun cupcakes and delicious! The filling in the middle makes these special. Def recommend making these!
Hooray!! I’m happy you enjoyed them 🙂
I have no idea what I did wrong but the bottom of each cupcake was pooling in butter when I took them out of the oven! I put the pan on a rack to cool for about 5 minutes and then when I went to transfer them to the rack individually, there were pools of butter under each one?! They’re completely cooled now and I tried one before icing all of them (in case they were a huge fail) and they taste AMAZING. I don’t know what I did wrong! Any suggestions?!!
Oh no! Normally when butter pools out of a cupcake, it’s usually due to undermixing when creaming the butter and sugars together. Just to double check, do you use a digital scale to measure your ingredients? Also, was your butter at a cool room temperature? I wonder if maybe your butter was too soft.
Looks delicious! I want to make it into a birthday cake. I was wondering how big of a cake can this recipe make and how much would you change the cooking time to?
Thanks xx
Hi Kelly, I talk all about converting cakes to cupcakes in this post here! Good luck!
Hi, Ive made these a few times by now and they taste wonderful. I am wondering about the video – it looks like they are made with a whisk attachment? I thought the K-beater was the attachment most preferred for makig cupcakes?
Hi Gabriela, you can use either attachment!
I have made this about 4 times now.. I and my family love the recipe. Easy to understand and make.
So unbelievably happy to hear this!
Here’s a great recipe for making the dulce de leche in an instant pot: https://www.pressurecookrecipes.com/instant-pot-dulce-de-leche/#steps. I used the Longevity brand found at Asian market. Easy & yummy!
Hi , I just finished backing these cupcakes and have all of the frosting ect set aside , can I freeze them frosted?
As we will never go through 15 cupcakes lol
Thank you
Jackie
Hi Jackie, I’d recommend freezing the cupcakes unfrosted! If you check out my Make Ahead Guide, I give detailed tips on how to store & freeze cupcakes and frosting: https://app.monstercampaigns.com/c/imcrqniubsszo8rjyn2q/
I liked the flavor Combination and it tasted great. The only thing was that the muffin was dense like banana bread not a muffin. Not sure if it was something I did to make it that way but overall good
The cupcakes themselves were really moist, rich with banana flavor and very tasty and easy to put together. I found the icing was a bit too cocoa flavored and there was way too much of it, I found it took away from the cupcake flavor so used only about half of it
Awesome recipe! I especially loved the batter, it came out perfect at exactly 18 minutes – super moist, and rich banana flavor. I made these for my friend’s birthday, and everyone who tried them raved about them!
How many grams is the equivalent for the 2 large bananas?
Hi how many grams is the equivalent for the 2 large overripe bananas?
If you like the combination of flavours this is the best cupcake to make. Absolutely delicious!
Hi Tessa, I haven’t made these cupcakes yet but would like to. I was just wondering if you can use Dutch-processed cocoa powder or does it have to be unsweetened? Thanks!
I made this recipe itself for my graduation party without frosting nor dulce de leche & my loved them!! will definitely save this recipe for the future.
Not sure how it’s possible that these cupcakes taste more impressive than how they look. Have made them a few times now and the results are always amazing.
Hi Tessa,
Lovely recipe and pictures! I’ve made this once before and they were super tasty and moist. I was wondering if it’s possible to substitute honey for both sugars? Thank you in advance.
This recipe is ah-mazing. I could eat the entire bowl of the icing (I didn’t but jus sayin….). The cupcakes were gone in a blink.
This recipe is easy to follow and results in some seriously decadent cupcakes. I made them for my banana bread lovingly boyfriend’s birthday and they were a huge hit. He said they’re the best cupcakes he’s ever had.
what is the substitute for dulce de leche
Although I did not prepare the dulce de leche nor frosting, the result of just plain cupcake was super delicious and successful. This is one of the 3 recipes I baked for my mum’s cell group yesterday. A total of 20 different cupcakes from 3 different recipes. All enjoyed with thumb up!!!
This recipe is ah-mazing. I could eat the entire bowl of the icing (I didn’t but jus sayin….). The cupcakes were gone in a blink.
Just a comment regarding the mix-up from Tinka, and I noticed she wrote an updated review. The problem is using the American Imperial measurement system as compared to the metric system. Most people don’t realize that WEIGHT OUNCES are not the same as FLUID OUNCES and so many recipes have bad reviews because of that. A liquid cup is always 8 fluid oz no matter what is in the cup = 240 ml. However, a weight measure of ounces changes with material. A cup of sugar is 200 g = 7 oz and a cup of AP flour is 127 g = 4.5 oz and a cup of cotton candy is 12 g = 0.4 oz.
As a rule, when it is dry, use the scale in ounces or grams, when liquid, use the liquid measuring cup for fl oz or ml.
Amazing blog and amazing recipes. I appreciate that you use exact gram weights in your great recipes which rings back here again and again.
Question is there a substitution for banana. I don’t like the taste of banana in my desserts. Thanks
Hi Tesss thanks for this sounds delicious want to make them this weekend. Can I use cake flour instead of all purpose and if do do I need to add the baking powder and baking soda? Thanks awaiting your response. Love the tutorials
Hello Tessa,
I love your blog and recipes. Love baking period. I want to try these cupcakes because I have overripe bananas left over every week. Little tried of banana bread and smoothies. Plus the cupcakes look totally delicious.
My question is how do you make perpared dulce de leche.
Thanks Tessa, I keep baking your great recipes
I love your photographs Tessa, wish I could take them as good as these, will try the recipe on our summer stall next week they appear so yummy!
Tinka, you definitely need at least a dozen of these cupcakes in your life to sweeten it up a bit. With such hateful comments don’t know how anything you make will come out tasteful.
Adoro suas receitas. Obrigada .
Dulce de leche recipe? One w/o the pressure cooker. Lol
Thanks
Made these for my fiance’s birthday and WOWZAS! They are probably the best cupcakes I’ve ever had. Amazing! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Do i have to use an electric mixer for the cupcakes, i just started baking? i dont have one i only have a hand mixer. If i end up not being able to do this recipe because i dont have the right mixer, can you help me find a good recipe that i can do with a hand mixer? I would really appreciate it, thank you.
I want to make these very soon. One question though… does the dulce de leche come out hardish like the photo? I’ve never bought dulce de leche.I want my cupcake fillings to be prominent. Thank you!
Hi Tessa!
I made these cupcakes and they turned out grrreat and so delicious! I’m sorry for the late response!
I know that 1cup of flower can’t weigh 250g and I knew that all along, so I don’t go to sites or blogs that had “this strange kind of measures” no more, and I asked myself how can they give us the measures, if they don’t know how to convert cups into grams!
Never mind that, Your cupcakes were really great and I made some others too, and they all turned out great and so delicious, that they were gone in a matter of seconds and I had to do them for birthdays, picnics, parties and I also had to gave your site to so many of my friends and they can’t stop praising you and your jummy creations!
Thank you so much again and we all are anxiously waiting for a lot more tasty recipes in the future and also we all wish you of plenty good luck in the future!!! ❤️
Much love, Tinka and friends!
It really wasn’t meant to be a hateful comment and it is not, because I praised your delicious cupcakes! The only issue I have is with this cups, b/c in some recipes they use 1 cup= 240g, 1/2 cup= 120g, etc. and I know you can overfill the cup, if you’re not careful and you just scoop the flour with the cup- but this things you can actually see on TV, if you’re watching some cooking show and their cakes, cupcakes, etc. come out great. My only question/ concern here with these measurements was: why only half as much grams, instead the whole 240g like in the other recipes, which turned out great?!
I really didn’t want to be hateful at all! So I respectfully apologize, if I turned out to be like that!
I’m going to make them really soon and tell you how they’ve turned out, b/c they really do look so yummy and delicious!
Good luck in the future and I wish you many more yummy and delicious creations!
Tinka, thanks for clarifying the intention of your comment. Unfortunately I’m a little confused by your line of questioning. Every ingredient will weigh a different amount, so 1 cup DOES NOT always equal 240 g.
Now if you’re saying you’ve seen other recipes say that 1 cup of flour = 240 g then that is just wrong. The reason for offering weights in recipes is exactly because 1 cup of various ingredients will weigh various amounts. Does that clear things up?
These cupcakes look amazingly delicious Tessa! And yes you are right! We have just decided to make cupcakes! Yummm!! Great work! 🙂
You said: 1 cup (128 grams or 4.5 ounces) all-purpose flour- see, this pisses me off! Because no way 1 cup= 128 g or 4.5 oz, but twice as much: 240g or 8 oz. and even your grams nor ounces are right! Clearly you made a mistake and thought 1/2 cup. Ok, but if there weren’t grams and ounces in brackets, I wouldn’t know that you probably made a mistake and if I baked these yummy cupcakes, they wouldn’t come out right. So, I really hate that you, or other people with sites like this, don’t edit your recipes! I hope you will do that, so there won’t be anymore mistakes like this in the future!
Otherwise these cupcakes looks very yummy and I can’t wait to make them! (Hopefully of course it’s ment 1/2 cup of flour) 😉
Tinka, there really is no need for such a hateful comment. You are completely incorrect. 1 cup of lead would not weigh the same as 1 cup of feathers, would it? 1 cup of flour = 4.5 ounces (this may vary slightly by writer and by brand of flour). Every ingredient has a different density, here is a guide to help you understand: https://handletheheat.com/ultimate-guide-measuring/
I graduated from culinary school, am a professional recipe developer, and have not made a mistake here. It IS 1 cup of flour and your cupcakes will be a mess if you measure otherwise.
This is an interesting combination! Whenever I make dulce de leche I just put the can of condensed milk in my pressure cooker with the water covering the can and cook it for 45 minutes on med low (5) . The important thing is to let it cool to room temperature 5 – 6 hours before opening it. It’s perfect every time.
What a beautiful sweet treat! Craving a bite now! I love that frosting too… mmm!
mmm banana and dulce de leche sounds great!
Totally agree that there is a cupcake oversaturation, but I love it!! I’m totally obsessed with cupcakes, and these look out-of-this world awesome! Love that filling inside and your photos are gorgeous! Pinning!
Out of this world combo! I love it!
These could quite possibly be the best cupcakes I’ve ever seen. Love the flavors! Thanks and happy friday!
Er-muh-ger!! These look fantastic! I’ll be making them TODAY!
These are amazing! I love how you frosted these cupcakes 🙂
WHOA! What a sight to see on a Friday morning…these look incr-edible! Must make now. Is it acceptable to skip the gym and make these? Please say yes.
Pinned!