Strawberry Banana Cupcakes

The teacher gift

Okay, so today is Valentine's Day, and I will be honest, I am not the biggest fan. My husband proposed 2 days before Valentine's so that day is more important to us anyway. I don't need a day to tell people I love them; it is something that should be done daily. Trust me, I like any excuse for presents, so it is just a good reason for that, but it isn't my most favorite of our holidays. That being said, I was reluctant to make a Valentine's themed cupcake, not to mention that every time I tried, it failed miserably this year. That too, will go in my flops blog that I will create someday when I have the courage to show how "hopelessly flawed" I am :) I made a Strawberry-Banana cupcake. Not entirely "themey" but it is a little pink. When we were trying to figure out what to do for the kids' teachers to show our love and appreciation, making a cupcake was what I could think of. They seemed to like them.

I started out with a Strawberry Cake mix, used bananas (in place of eggs) and a strawberry-banana nectar instead of water. I made a strawberry buttercream and a banana buttercream and did a twisty design for them and I garnished the top with a strawberry. The end result is a moist and flavorful cupcake.

Strawberry Buttercream

Ingredients (for the cupcakes):
Strawberry Cake Mix (I used Pillsbury)
1 cup Strawberry-Banana nectar (our grocery store carries the brand Jumex)
3 Bananas, mashed
1/3 cup oil

Directions:
Mix ingredients well. Dollop into your prepared cupcake/muffin tin. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes. I made 22, but it will depend on how full your tins are and how big your bananas are.

Strawberry Buttercream icing:
1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
1/2 cup butter flavored crisco

Banana Buttercream

4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup Strawberry banana nectar (I used the rest of the can)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Banana Buttercream icing:
1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
1/2 cup butter flavored crisco
4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 package of banana cream pudding mix (4 serving size)
1/4 cup milk (approximate, depending on consistency)
1 teaspoon vanilla

I made my two buttercream icings. I put them each in a small pastry bag. I snipped the top off each one and placed it into a larger pastry bag which was fitted with a #1M tip. I used the basic twist--starting from the outside of the cupcake going in towards the center. The result was not like the tie dyed cupcakes I have made in the past. Instead, it was two very definite colors. I thought it was a very neat look.

You can see the frostings are side by side

I garnished it with a strawberry quarter. The teachers I made them for were really glad to get them. . . at least that is what they told me ;)