Drunken Monkey Cupcakes

This recipe is sort of a fusion of traditional banana bread and cupcakes. Some ginger and spices add a welcome complexity to these, while still maintaining a great banana flavor. The beer in the recipe provides a subtle sweet roasty flavor with a unique fluffiness from its' carbonation. The frosting is based on a canoli filling recipe I stumbled across when I was looking to do the frosting a little bit differently. These cupcakes make a great snack for any time of the year.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups flour

2 cups ripe bananas (3-4 bananas), mashed

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 tbsp molasses

1 tsp fresh ginger, grated

2 eggs(preferably free range), beaten

6 oz 70% cocoa bitter sweet chocolate, chopped(I used a food processor)

6 oz unsalted organic butter(1 1/2 sticks)

1 cup stout beer (I used an Espresso Stout from Twisted Pine)

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tbsp vanilla

1 tsp nutmeg

Ricotta Frosting (recipe follows)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a medium bowl combine flour, baking soda, salt, chocolate chips, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir to combine.

In a large bowl cream together butter, brown sugar and molasses until there are no more lumps. Add mashed banana, eggs, ginger, stout, vanilla. Whisk until smooth. Add dry mixture to wet mixture, stirring just until everything is combined.

Spoon into a cupcake pan with wrappers lining the pan filling each about 3/4 full.

Bake for 17-20 minutes until a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. Allow to cool for 40 minutes then add ricotta frosting.

Make the Ricotta Frosting:

Ingredients

1/4 cup coffee

1 tbsp kahlua

2 tbsp 70% cocoa bittersweet chocolate, chopped into small chips

1 tsp lemon zest

2 tbsp Ricotta Salata(or regular ricotta drained in a fine sieve)

1 tsp cinnamon

2 cups powdered sugar(add less or more depending on desired sweetness)

3 tbsp butter, melted

Directions

Combine all ingredients and whisk until proper consistency, adding more sugar or coffee as needed. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before spreading on cupcakes.