Banana Split Cupcakes

 Today I was desperate to find something to do that didn't involve sitting on the couch playing on the computer. I started out mowing the back yard. It felt good to do something that made me tired and sweaty. We have a fairly large back yard so between picking up a wheel barrow full of sticks and mowing, it took me a couple of hours. I was glad to have the time go by.

After I was done, I looked for other things to do. I got some laundry done, cleaned the windows out on the porch and still had time to make go away. I still wanted something to do.

 I had been to the grocery store last week and they had cake mixes on sale. The strawberry cake mix had been calling to me for a few days, so today I decided to make it. I went back and forth about whether to make a cake or cupcakes. I decided on cupcakes so that Willie could take some to work tomorrow.

On the box were a couple of recipes that could be made with the mix. One was just to add chocolate chips to the batter. The other was to cut up the cake and use it in a banana split. I decided to combine the two ideas.

 I got out some frozen strawberries and set them in the strainer to defrost and let some of the juice strain off. I made the cupcake batter and added chocolate chips. After they were done baking I set them to cool.

While they were cooling I made some filling to squeeze in to them.  I had a couple of bananas that were just on the other side of too ripe to eat. I decided to make a butter cream filling with the bananas. I mushed them up with some butter and a whole bunch of powdered sugar. When the cupcakes were cool I poked them with the handle of a wooden spoon. I put the filling in a zipper bag, cut the tip off a corner and squished the filling into the cupcakes. I decided to put them in the fridge to let them set up a while before I frosted them.

For the frosting I beat up the strawberries with ricotta cheese and butter and powdered sugar. I put it in the fridge to set up for a while. I toasted some pecans and put them in a bowl to cool. I frosted the cupcakes and put the pecans on top. I still had some filling left over, so I decided to drizzle some of that on top, too.

They aren't the prettiest cupcakes ever, but the sure taste good!