Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line 12 muffin cups with baking liners and spray with pan spray.
On a lined baking sheet, lay out the walnuts bake them in the preheated oven for 3 minutes, Set a timer for this. The walnuts can easily burn however toasting softens them up and releases some of the delicious oils that add great flavoring to the cupcakes.
Into a medium bowl, sift together cocoa, flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a mixing bowl, cream butter, banana and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each, then beat in vanilla. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture in two batches.
After the flour mixture is incorporated with the butter mixture, gently fold in the walnuts with a rubber spatula.
Pour batter into cups, filling each 3/4 full. Bake until a toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.
Cool in pan 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, then spread with white icing using a table knife or small offset spatula. Decorate with sprinkles, if desired. I added 1 Tablespoon of Kaluah Liquor to my white icing for some fun extra flavor. Enjoy!
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