Banana Bread Cupcakes

Lolo Poldo grows a lot of fruits and vegetables in his backyard.  We have gotten all sorts - mangoes, malunggay (a whole plant!), duhat, kamias, ampalaya, kondol... and bananas!  And I don't mean the regular bananas from the palengke... his bananas (he says) are special bananas!

So what do I do with a bumper crop of bananas?  Banana cupcakes, of course!  But this batch is no ordinary banana cupcake...  it is made special with a built-in topping!  Cream cheese-Greek yogurt topping!

A cupcake that even my chocolate-loving girl will eat... with gusto!

The recipe is one I saw online... alleging to be the best banana bread recipe!  Of course I made a few adjustments... the first was baking them into cupcakes instead of a loaf.  Then I used chocolate chips instead of chopped pecans.  I also have to admit that I forgot the cinnamon!



The best adjustment I made was to do away with the frosting and instead add a cream cheese filling that was baked in.  It was no ordinary cream cheese filling either, it is a cream cheese-Greek yogurt filling!  Mix together 3/4 cup softened cream cheese, 1/4 cup Greek yogurt, 6 tablespoons brown sugar, 1 medium egg and 1 teaspoon vanilla.  Spoon a heaping teaspoon on top of the batter in the cavities of the cupcake pan.  Bake the cupcakes about 20 to 25 minutes 

Truth is, the addition of the Greek yogurt was a way to use the last bits of Greek yogurt that I had!  Still... it was a great idea!

The cupcake was divinely delicious!  Is it because of the type of banana?  Maybe,  since Lolo's bananas has a sightly different flavor profile.  Then again we all agree - Lolo's homegrown, special bananas are better, way better than the bananas we usually find in the local market!