I baked this chocolate banana cake last weekend. No special occasion, just that I had a bunch of well-ripened bananas and had to find ways to use them up. And the cake turned out to be an absolutely delicious snack cake.
Chocolate Banana Cake with Caramelized Banana Slices
My mother in law, brought us 2 bunches of bananas when she came visiting a few weeks earlier. And at that time, the bananas were still green and unripe. I kept them wrapped in old newspapers and kept checking on them every other day. And finally, when I checked on them the weekend before last, after my short 2-days family trip, I had two beautifully ripened bunches of golden yellow bananas.
What To Do with Bananas
And then there was another problem. The bananas were all ripe at the same time, and there was no way we could finish them all before they became too soft. So we ate some, and I decided to salvage the remaining by refrigerating them. I had a few plans in mind on using the bananas for cooking and baking. I used some to make banana pancakes for breakfast the next day. And then decided to use a few more for a cake. And so, this was the cake I made – chocolate banana cake. I have a few more bananas left in the fridge and will keep them for another banana filled recipe for the coming weekend.
Now back to the cake. This is the first time I made this cake. I have always made banana cakes, but this was definitely the first for chocolate flavored one. I must say, I am delighted with the way the cake turned out. It was wonderfully moist with a light hint of banana flavor. The chocolate gave it a very rich, fudgy taste, although it slightly overpowered the banana flavor of the cake. The banana slices I added to the top of the cake, caramelized beautifully after baking, and the combination of the fudgy cake with the caramelized bananas was a perfect one!
Overall, the texture of the cake was soft, wonderfully moist and fudgy. Given this texture, this cake will definitely be suitable for layering and frosting (you can even make a chocolate banana birthday cake out of this cake).
A delicious fudgy slice of my chocolate banana cake – a perfect snack anytime of the day!
How to Make a Moist and Fudgy Chocolate Banana Cake
Ingredients
- Plain flour + baking soda + baking powder + salt
- Cocoa powder
- Brown sugar
- Buttermilk
- Butter
- Vanilla essence
- Eggs
- Bananas (some mashed and some sliced)
The making method
The most important ingredient in this easy chocolate banana cake recipe is bananas. So that process starts by getting the bananas ready.
- Choose well-ripened bananas. Measure and mash them up with a fork. Cut the remaining into slices and set aside.
- The cake batter is made up of the creaming method. So you start with the butter and brown sugar. Cream both until they turn light and fluffy, for a good 2 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl at least twice.
- Next, fold in the sift in the flour (along with the salt, soda and baking powder) and cocoa powder. Do it in batches, alternating with the buttermilk. Start with the dry ingredients and finish with them also.
- Add in the vanilla essence and finally, fold in the mashed bananas.
- Divide the mixture between 2 well-greased and lined cake tins and arrange the sliced bananas on top of each cake. These banana slices are optional. If you intend to frost the cake, these slices are not necessary, but they do add a nice look to the cakes if you are planning on serving them plain without any frosting.
- Bakes the chocolate cakes until a toothpick inserted into the centers come up with just a few tiny moist crumbs (not wet crumbs). Remove cakes from oven and let them cool completely before frosting or serving.
Chocolate Banana Cake – Recipe Notes
Line and grease your cake tins well
- Brushing the cake tins with butter or shortening and dusting them with flour is sufficient, or you can even grease your tins and line them with parchment. So long as the tins are well prepared, the cake will release quickly and save you the frustration of having your cake stuck to the tins.
Use well ripened bananas
- This cake will turn out best when made using really ripe bananas. We are talking about bananas that are all ripe that the skin has started having brown specks on them. These are not rotting ones, they are all still perfect on the inside but has ripened really really well.
Use good quality cocoa powder
- This is, after all, a chocolate cake, so the quality of cocoa used will really have an impact on the taste of the cake.
Substitute for buttermilk
- If you don’t have buttermilk, add 1 tbsp of lemon juice into 130 ml of milk. Let the solution sit for a few minutes, and it will cuddle up. Use it as a substitute for the buttermilk in the recipe.
Baking a single layer chocolate cake
- This recipe makes enough batter for two 6 inches round cakes. If you prefer to bake it in a single cake pan, use an 8 inches round cake tin.
- Baking time should remain the same; however, it is best to test the cake at least 5 minutes before the baking time is up.
Using this chocolate cake for layering and stacking
- If you intend to use this chocolate banana cake for stacking, you can omit the banana slices on the cake. These will most likely be leveled off when you stack the cakes, so there is really no point in adding them on. Instead, the slices can be added to the batter, but this is optional.
Do not over bake the cakes
- This recipe produces superbly moist cakes. If over baked, they tend to become dry, and it is, therefore, crucial to making sure they are not over baked.
- Use your average cake baking temperature to bake the cakes and check with a skewer at least 5 to 10 minutes before the baking time is up. If the skewer inserted in the center of the cakes come out without any wet batter, the cakes are done and can be removed from the oven.
- If there are tiny crumbs sticking to the skewer, the cake is done and can be taken out of the oven. You need not wait to the stage where the skewer comes out totally clean as that could very well mean that the cake is over baked.
Fudgy Chocolate Banana Cake Recipe
Here is the full printable version of my moist chocolate banana cake recipe. And while you are at it, don’t forget to read up my recipe notes just below for tips and tricks to bake the most perfectly moist and fudgy chocolate banana cake.
Fudgy Chocolate Banana Cake with Caramelized Bananas
Ingredients
Cake
- 160 g plain flour
- 50 g cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ¾ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 180 g brown sugar
- 130 ml buttermilk
- 150 g butter
- ½ tsp vanilla essence
- 2 eggs
- 150 g mashed bananas 4 medium sized
Garnish
- 2 Bananas sliced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 170 ° Celsius.
- Measure 150g of bananas (about 2 bananas) and mash them with a fork. Leave aside.
- Cut the other 2 bananas into round slices and keep them covered aside.
- In a clean bowl, beat butter and brown sugar till soft and creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- In another separate bowl, sift flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Fold in the sifted ingredients into the creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, starting and ending with flour.
- Add vanilla essence and combine well. Next, add the mashed bananas into the cake batter and mix well.
- Pour the batter into two 6 inches round, well greased and floured cake tins. Level the top and arrange the earlier cut round slices of banana on top.
- Bake the cakes for 35 to 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center of the cakes come out clean.
- Remove cakes from oven and let them cool slightly in the tin on a wire rack before turning them out to cool completely.
Nutrition
Delicious caramelized banana slices on the chocolate banana cake
And that is pretty much all I have on my fudgy chocolate banana cake recipe.
Here are my other posts you might want to check out:
- Banana Butter Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Chocolate Cake Recipe
- How to Level and Layer Cakes
- How to Make a Tiered Cake
- Banana Pound Cake
- Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies
Happy baking 🙂
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