Banana Pudding Cupcakes

I made banana pudding cupcakes tonight as an early birthday treat for the hubs.  I am super proud to say they were delicious!  I changed up a recipe I found at http://ryansbakingblog.com, trying to find the closest thing I could to make sure they tasted like Bliss Cupcake's version we have here in town. 

I think they were better than Bliss', but I did take a few easy outs along the way. 

Here's the recipe...Starling approved.

Robyn's Easy Banana Pudding Cupcakes

1 box of yellow cake mix and the ingredients it requires on the box

3 mashed bananas

1 sliced banana

1 box of instant vanilla pudding

2 cups of milk

1 lrg container of cool whip (don't cringe...I know homemade is better, but this mom didn't have the time to make whipped cream this afternoon)

1 box of Nilla Wafers

24 cupcake liners

Preheat the oven to 325. Line muffin pans with cupcake liners and spray with non-stick spray.  Put a Nilla Wafer at the bottom of each liner.

Make the cake mix as directed on the box, then stir in the mashed bananas.  Spoon the mixture into each liner to about 2/3 full.  Then bake for about 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool completely.

Combine the pudding mix and milk and stir until it's well blended.  Put the pudding in a large ziplock bag, then store it in the frig until the cupcakes are cool.

Make a small hole in the middle of each cupcake, then clip an end off of the pudding bag and pipe in pudding in the center of each cupcake.  Top with whipped cream (or cool whip if you're me).  Garnish with a Nilla Wafer and a sliced banana.

Makes 24 cupcakes.  They were a hit with the entire family! 

FYI:  I got permission to use a cake mix from Chef Jaime before I tried it.  I'm sure making it from scratch is wonderful too, but I'll take help where I can.