Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray or line two standard muffin tins.
In a large mixing bowl filled with the cake mix, whisk in the pudding mix and ¾ cup of the crushed vanilla wafers.
Add in the water, oil, mashed bananas, and eggs. Using a hand or stand mixer, mix on medium until well incorporated.
Add batter into the muffin tins until each is about 2/3 full. Sprinkle a bit of the remaining crushed vanilla wafers on top. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
Directions for Frosting:
In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer, cream the butter, and beat until light and fluffy.
Slowly mix in the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, while adding in the vanilla, and a tablespoon of the sweetened condensed milk in between each cup. Continue to mix for 1 minute or until creamy.
Prepare piping bag and fill bag with frosting. Frost your cupcakes. Top with a bit of the crushed vanilla wafers. Garnish with one mini-vanilla wafer. Enjoy!
Notes
This Recipe Can be Doubled: A great recipe for a crowd of banana pudding lovers. Simply increase the ingredients proportionately into large bowls and split it into multiple cupcake pans.
Add Chocolate: Drizzle cupcakes with white chocolate or dark chocolate.
Variation tip: Chocolate chips or chopped cherries can be added to this homemade cupcake. Chopped nuts are also wonderful.
Shortbread Cookies: Try using shortbread cookies in place of the vanilla wafers in these delicious cupcakes.
Vanilla Extract: This classic dessert can be enhanced with the addition of a little extract.
Decorate: A slice of banana or banana chips can be added to the top of the cupcakes before serving.