Bananas Foster Cupcakes

I made these cupcakes for my friend Matty's birthday. I set out to follow Joelen's exact recipe, but I had trouble finding some ingredients and made a few of my own additions. Below is the recipe the way I made them. These came out tasty, and the birthday boy enjoyed them!

You will need:
*1 box butter cake mix
*1 cup mashed ripe bananas (3 bananas)
*3/4 cup buttermilk-in place of water the mix calls for
*3 large eggs
*1 ounce of rum

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.

2) Follow the box instructions, putting all the ingredients in a large bowl and using the buttermilk in place of the water. Beat until moistened, about 30 seconds. Increase the speed to high and beat until thick, 2 minutes longer.

3) Fill each muffin cup two-thirds full. Bake in the preheated oven for about 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the cupcakes from the baking pans, place on a wire rack and allow to cool completely. I frosted them with the recipe below.

Joelen's Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting
*1/4 cup unsalted butter
*4 oz. cream cheese, softened
*2-3 tablespoons caramel sauce
*4-6 cups confectioners or powdered sugar (I only needed about 4)
*1-2 tablespoons half & half

1) In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter and cream cheese together until fluffy; add the caramel sauce and beat until fully incorporated.

2) Slowly add confectioners or powdered sugar into the bowl 1/2 cup at a time, and beat after each addition. Continue adding the sugar until you have a thick frosting of your preferred consistency. Stir in the half and half until incorporated.

3) If the frosting becomes too thick, add a tablespoon or more of half & half to thin out.

To frost them, I dipped each cupcake into the mixture. I had a lot of frosting leftover, so if I was to make this again, I would probably half the frosting recipe. I froze some banana slices and used them to top the cupcakes. I also drizzled some additional caramel sauce over the frosting.