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Baby Cakes

I'm not a warehouse shopper - the whole experience is a bit too antiseptic for me. I like to touch and smell the food I'm buying. And there's something less than romantic and tasty about buying asparagus an aisle down from the flat screen TVs. So it took some willpower when my daughter insisted I go to Costco for cupcakes for the cast and crew (all 75 of them) of their school play, Annie.

Have you ever bought cupcakes at Costco? Talk about bulk! I understand buying certain items in quantity so they're cheaper - like toilet paper and Kleenex - but this was bulk of a different sort. The actual cupcakes were twice the size of a standard cupcake. To prove this, I actually took a photo of the Costco cupcake beside another bakery cupcake.

Most kids couldn't possibly eat an entire cupcake the size of the Costco cupcake, and if they did, that translates into calorie, sugar and fat overload. On the other hand, if they don't eat the whole thing, the cupcake is wasted. Either way, cupcakes as big as a house are unnecessary and wrong.

If you have the time to whip up a homemade batch (or two or three), here's a recipe for some lovely diminutive cupcakes that smell as good as they taste.

Jill Melton

Expert in the Kitchen
Our resident food expert and editor, Jill Melton.
Jill Melton
Bakery vs Costco cupcakes A bakery cupcake (left) and a cupcake from Costco (right).
Banana Cupcakes
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Banana Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
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Ingredients
Cupcakes:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup mashed very ripe bananas
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1/3 cup finely chopped pecans
Frosting:
4 ounces cream cheese softened
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  Finely grated rind of 1 lemon
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
2. To prepare cupcakes, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt in a medium bowl.
3. Beat butter with a mixer until smooth, about 30 seconds. Gradually add sugar and beat until fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each. Beat in vanilla and bananas. Stir in half the dry ingredients with a rubber spatula; add yogurt. Mix in remaining dry ingredients, stirring only until batter is smooth. Stir in pecans. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups but don't bother to smooth the tops.
4. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, until cupcakes are golden brown and spring back when pressed in the center. Cool in the pan 5 minutes, then remove and cool on a wire rack.
5. To prepare frosting, beat cream cheese and butter with a mixer on medium speed until smooth. Beat in extracts and lemon rind. On low speed, gradually beat in powdered sugar only until frosting is smooth and thick. Frost each cupcake. Refrigerate about 1 hour to set the frosting. Bring to room temperature before serving. Leftovers keep well, covered in the refrigerator, for 2 to 3 days. Serves 12.

Recipe by Greg Patent.

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