I’ve shared this recipe for low FODMAP banana cupcakes with peanut butter frosting over on my Instagram, and I had such a great response I though’t I’d share it on here too! I made these for my friend Emily’s birthday last year and they went down a storm. They’re moist, soft, sweet without being too sweet, and have just a little hint of savoury from the peanut butter. THEY’RE SO GOOD and no one would guess they’re gluten free. Also I could eat the silky smooth peanut butter frosting with a spoon (read: I do).
Really easy to make, these cupcakes involve making a simple banana sponge and a batch of buttercream, which you can whip up while you’re waiting for the cakes to cool. I personally don’t have an issue with ripe bananas, but they are said to be higher in FODMAPs than unripe bananas (check out Becky’s easy to understand post on the subject here) so as always, if you’re following the diet, use what’s best for you. One thing to stick to however, is using smooth peanut butter in the buttercream. You know I love me some crunchy peanut butter, but here it just won’t work!
Recipe notes:
If the buttercream icing is a bit much for you, these banana cakes are also delicious bare
Swap the banana chips on top for salted roasted peanuts for a twist
To make these dairy free, which I did for my friend Emily, simply swap out the butter for dairy free butter
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
200g butter, softened
200g light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 medium eggs
150g gluten free plain white flour (I like FREEE by Doves Farm)
50g ground almonds
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 bananas (roughly 200g)
For the buttercream:
250g unsalted butter, softened
100g smooth peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
500g icing sugar
Small pinch sea salt
For decoration:
A handful of banana chips
Method
Line a 12 hole muffin tin with paper cases and pre-heat your oven to 160C fan/180C/gas 3.
Put the butter and sugar into a bowl and beat until pale and creamy. Break the eggs into the bowl, one at a time, beating between each. In a separate bowl, sieve together the flour, ground almonds, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Add half the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and fold in with a wooden spoon.
Mash the banana and add this to the bowl with the vanilla extract and fold in again. Add the remaining flour to the bowl and fold the dry ingredients into the wet once more. Tip the mixture into the cases and bake for 25-30 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean and the cakes are springy to the touch. Leave to cool fully on a wire rack.
To make the icing: Beat the butter until pale, light and fluffy (this takes about five minutes). Add the peanut butter, vanilla extract and half of the icing sugar and beat again. Add the rest of the icing sugar and beat until smooth and creamy. Taste and add a little salt if you like. Spread the icing on top of the cupcakes and top each with a banana chip.
I love seeing what you guys have created – so if you make this recipe (or any other from this site) please take a snap and tag me with #shecanteatwhat and #fodmapfriendlykitchen on social!
