Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Coconut Banana and Date Cupcakes

Showing some self restraint, I stopped myself from snacking on the remaining dates used for the chocolate orange nut date loaf recipe. I managed to save just enough to incorporate them into my favourite banana cake recipe which has proven quite popular on the blog. Given the sweetness of the dates, I reduced the amount of sugar in the recipe. I also substituted 1/2 cup sour cream for the 1/4 cup buttermilk  called for in the recipe. There's no need for a cake mix to guarantee perfect results; this very forgiving recipe turns out moist and fluffy cupcakes. In fact I didn't even follow my own directions. I ended up adding all the wet ingredients at once to the flour mixture; beating them together  for 2-3 minutes with an electric hand mixer and still got amazing results.  The batter was enough for 12 cupcakes and a small loaf or 18 cupcakes.

Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsweetened.shredded coconut
1/2 cup toasted pecans
1 cup chopped dates
1/2 cup soft butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup ripe bananas (mashed)
1/2 cup sour cream
2eggs
1 tsp vanilla

In a large bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Toss in the dates, nuts, coconut to coat with the flour mixture. The date pieces will be sticky, separate with your fingers or a fork while blending into the dry ingredients..Add the bananas, sugar, butter and sour cream. Beat the mixture on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla. Beat for 1 minute. Pour into into 18 prepared muffin tins.  Bake in a 350º F oven for 15-20 minutes. The cupcakes are done when a toothpick or knife is inserted in the middle, and comes out clean.



19 comments:

  1. Those look amazing!!! I love seeing the light bouncing off the chocolate, yum!

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  2. wuuyyee anna i love these...especially flexible recipes like this...a winner! flagging!

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  3. The cake looks absolutely fabulous!! Loved the combo of coconut and dates :)

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  4. Thanks so much Susie. Coming from a professional like you this is a real compliment. Half of the time I feel my photos are just good luck.

    Thoma, thanks for the comment and flagging the recipe. I really appreciate your support.

    Hi Jay, I'm glad you enjoyed the recipe....super easy.

    Paaka, thanks for the feedback. The cupcakes turned out quite fluffy and moist.

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  5. WOw Anna, drooling here .. NIce recipe and it's bookmarked ..:)

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  6. Anna, i hope you are sending these beauties to my cake event dear!
    http://priyasnowserving.blogspot.com/2011/02/announcing-second-guest-event.html

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  7. that looks wonderful. I love that you added dates.

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  8. I love those very forgiving recipes, especially when I bake with my impatient 8 year old daughter. She just loves throwing it all in the bowl and mixing it up. I think this recipe would be perfect, not to mention extremely yummy!

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  9. The combination of coconut, date and banana sounds so irresistible! I don't think I need any frosting for those cupcakes as they are already very good to me.

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  10. These are wonderful and so tempting...sadly I have to run off to work now and will be thinking about these all day :)
    Hope you have a great weekend!

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  11. What a great idea to use dates. I love using them to sweeten many things. Cupcakes look so yummy.

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  12. Anna these cupcakes looks lovely!!!A warm huge....

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  13. These look amazingly delicious! Fantastic combination!

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  14. Shanavi, Thanks so much for the comment....drooling is good!

    Pryia, thanks and definitely on my to do list. See you soon on your site.

    Joy, adding the dates was a nice change. Thanks for dropping by.

    Nancy, the dates really do add quite a bit of sweetness to the cupcakes. Even thought I reduced the amount of sugar in the recipe, my husband still found them too sweet for his liking.

    Ciao Chiara, grazie per il tuo commento. Spero che tu abbia un bel week-end.

    Dimah, Thanks. I thought adding the dates made for a nice change to my standby banana cake recipe.

    Angie, you're absolutely right. We ended up eating them without any icing. Although you have to admit the melted chocolate does make them look more tempting.

    Alisha, I wish I could have delivered some for you coffee break. Thanks for taking the time out of your busy day to drop by.

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  15. Anna, I'm drooling over these yummy cupcakes. So insanely tempting!
    Have a wonderful Sunday!

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  16. Love dates, never tried to use them in cupcakes.Looks yummy!

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  17. How could you post such tempting picture? why am I reading this before lunch? Mouth watering combinations so I didn't stand a chance;-)And a belated Happy Blog Birthday!

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  18. Made 'em, loved 'em. Brought some to a brunch this past Sunday. They received high praise and I referred the muffin lovers to your site.

    Rob on 8.

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