Dark Chocolate Banana Cake with Buttermilk (Super Moist!)

❤️Why you will love this recipe

• This is an easy cake recipe with fairly simple ingredients. Other than the common baking ingredients such as flour, sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla, and salt, the only special ingredients are cocoa powder, bananas, and buttermilk.
• The buttermilk and the mashed bananas in the recipe contribute to the heavenly fudge-like texture of this chocolate banana cake.
• And they certainly also contribute to the perfectly moist texture of the cake which stays that way for a good few days!
• This cake is a great way to use up extra bananas on the kitchen counter at home.

📋Ingredients

• All purpose flour (plain flour) + baking soda + baking powder + salt - mix these and sift them together into the cake batter.
• Unsweetened cocoa powder - sift first before adding to the cake batter to break any lumps.
• Brown sugar - both dark or light brown sugar will work for this cake. Use soft brown sugar.
• Buttermilk - contributes to the moist texture of this chocolate cake.
• Butter - I use salted butter, but if you are using unsalted butter, add a small extra pinch of salt to the batter.
• Vanilla extract - add a lovely aroma and flavor to the cake.
• Eggs - use large eggs (large sized).
• Bananas (some mashed and some sliced) - choose well ripened bananas for best flavor.
• Powdered sugar (optional) - for dredging on the cake after baking.

🧾Substitution and variations

• If you don’t have buttermilk, add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice into 100 ml of milk. Let the solution sit for a few minutes, and it will curdle. Use it as a substitute for the buttermilk in the recipe.
• To make a layered cake, bake the cake in two 6-inches round cake tins (for 40 minutes). For a larger layered cake, double the recipe and bake the cake in two 8-inches round cake tins (for 45 minutes). 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. After baking, slice each layer into two if you wish to make a 4 layered cake. Otherwise, simply fill and stack them up with your favorite frosting. This cake goes well with cream cheese frosting, buttercream, 3-ingredient chocolate frosting and even chocolate ganache.
• To make a bundt cake, prepare the cake batter as provided in the recipe card but omit the banana slices. Pour the batter into a well-greased and floured 6-cups cavity bundt cake tin. Bake at 160 degrees Celsius for 35 to 40 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out without any wet batter sticking to it. Make sure the cake tin is not filled to the brim and there is sufficient space for the cake to rise (at least one third of the tin). If there is too much batter, remove some and bake it as cupcakes.
• To make a sheet cake, prepare the batter as above. Pour it into a well-greased and floured 6 inches by 10 inches rectangle cake tin. Bake as usual.

👩🏻‍🍳How to make

1. Measure brown sugar and butter into a large bowl.
2. Cream both (with a hand mixer or a stand mixer) until they turn light and fluffy, for a good 2 minutes. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl at least twice.
3. Next, beat in the eggs. You can do one at a time or both at once. Beat until all traces of the eggs are no longer visible and the mixture is no longer runny.
4. In a separate bowl, measure the flour. Add the cocoa powder, salt, baking soda and powder to it. Mix these dry ingredients with a hand whisk.
5. And then sift the flour mixture into the creamed wet ingredients mixture in 3 batches. Alternate each batch with the buttermilk (in 2 batches). Fold well.
6. Next, peel the bananas and measure them. Place them in a shallow plate and use a fork to mash them fine.

1. Fold the mashed bananas into the cake batter. Mix until well combined.
2. And finally, add in the vanilla extract.
3. Pour the batter into a well-greased and floured (or parchment paper lined) cake tin. Slice the remaining banana into thin slices and arrange them on top of the cake batter. 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.
4. Bake the banana chocolate cake in a preheated oven until a toothpick or skewer inserted into the center come out with just a few tiny moist crumbs (not wet crumbs). Remove the cake from the oven and let it rest in the tin for about 2 minutes before running through a butter knife around the sides of the tin to loosen it and turn it out onto a wire rack to cool. Place the cake upright to cool completely before frosting or serving.

🍽️Serving & storage

• This chocolate banana cake makes a perfect snack cake. Simply bake the cake as indicated in this recipe (with the banana slices on top) and serve it plain without any frosting. It is also great as a tea time treat.
• For light frosting options, you can drizzle the top of the cake with dark chocolate ganache or white chocolate ganache. Alternatively, a simple drizzle of homemade salted caramel sauce would do wonders for this cake too. It would be a perfect match to the caramelized banana slices on top of the cake.
• For a fully frosted cake, cream cheese frosting will be a good option, otherwise buttercream is another good option for a banana dessert.
• For a double dose of chocolate in this banana chocolate cake, you can try dark chocolate ganache or 3-ingredient dark chocolate frosting and serve it with a scoop of homemade churned vanilla ice cream on the side for a truly decadent dessert.
• If you do not wish to serve the cake within a day or two, it is advisable to not place the banana slices on the cake. These slices, even though are baked, tend to not last long.
• To store an uncut cake, wrap it in cling wrap (plastic wrap) and place it in the refrigerator. Before serving, let the cake warm up to room temperature with the cling wrap on. This will avoid condensation directly on the cake. Only remove the cling wrap after the cake has warmed up to room temperature.
• To store leftovers of the chocolate cake, place it in a covered airtight container and keep it in the refrigerator. Bring it to room temperature before eating. For easy serving, cut the cake into slices before placing it in the refrigerator, that way, you can remove the slices you wish to eat and they warm up faster too!

💡Expert tips

• For best results, use overripe 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. Well ripened bananas have the best banana flavor.
• When cooling the cake, keep it covered with a kitchen towel. That way, the cake will remain moist and does not become dry.
• Test the cake for doneness at least 5 to 10 minutes before the baking time is up with a skewer. Different ovens behave differently, hence to prevent overbaking, it is advisable to test the cake earlier.

💭FAQs