These banana cupcakes with dulce de leche filling and pistachio Swiss meringue buttercream are so delicious, it is hard to just have one! This recipe is a great way to use those ripe bananas sitting on the counter!

What are Russian piping tips?

I used Russian piping tips to create the flowers on the cupcakes. Why they are called that is a bit of a mystery, but some say that they were invented in Moscow and each tip represents a Russian flower. Whatever the history is - these piping tips are great for quickly creating beautiful flower designs!

How to make banana cupcakes with pistachio Swiss meringue buttercream?

Make dulce de leche by bringing water to boil in a medium pot. Remove the label on the sweetened condensed milk can and submerge the can in the boiling water. Boil it for 1 hour and then set on a wire rack to cool. Meanwhile make the banana cupcakes. Preheat oven to 350f. In a small bowl whisk together flour, baking soda and 1/2 tsp salt. In a large bowl cream together 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup sugar and brown sugar. Once fluffy, add the 2 eggs, vanilla and Greek yogurt. Then the mashed bananas. Next mix in half of the flour mixture, then the buttermilk, and rest of the flour. Once fully combined, fill 18 cupcake liners 3/4 way full. Bake for 18-22 minutes and cool the cupcakes completely on a wire rack. Once cupcakes are room temperature make the pistachio Swiss meringue buttercream. Bring 1” of water to boil in a small pot. In a large bowl, whisk egg whites and 1 1/2 cups of sugar together. Place the bowl over the boiling water and whisk rapidly until it reaches 165f. Remove from heat and keep whisking until the meringue is room temperature. Then using the paddle attachment, add in 2 cups of butter 1 tbsp at a time. Once the buttercream is smooth, add in 2-3 tbsp pistachio powder and food coloring. Cut a hole in the middle of each cupcake and pipe in the dulce de leche until it is filled. Then frost the cupcakes with the pistachio Swiss meringue buttercream.

Tips

Use ripe bananas for this recipe. The riper the banana the sweeter the cupcakes will be.
When making the Swiss meringue and heating the sugar - you can tell it’s proper temperature when the sugar is no longer grainy. If the sugar gets grainy and clumpy it got too hot.
If the buttercream looks weird at first when adding the butter just keep mixing it - it will come together!