Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 2–3 minutes). Mix in mashed bananas, eggs, and vanilla.

Add dry ingredients in batches, alternating with milk. Mix until just combined.

Fill each cupcake liner with equal batter. Bake for 18–20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Let cool completely.

Make the Banana Cream Filling while baking the cupcakes:

In a medium bowl, whisk the pudding mix and cold milk for 2 minutes. Chill in the fridge while cupcakes cool—this helps it thicken up.

Once cupcakes are cool, use the wide end of a piping tip or cupcake corer to remove a little bit of the center. Spoon or pipe banana pudding into the center of each cupcake.

Pop your mixing bowl and beaters/whisk attachment in the fridge or freezer for 10 minutes. Cold tools = better whipped cream.

In the chilled bowl, combine heavy cream, powdered sugar, vanilla, and dry pudding mix. Beat on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form (about 2–3 minutes). Don’t over-whip or it’ll get grainy.

Pipe or spread onto cooled, filled cupcakes. Garnish with banana slices, Nilla wafers, or wafer crumbs for that pie feel.