This simple-to-make chocolate banana cake is delightfully moist, rich and every chocolate lover’s dream. You probably already have the ingredients stashed in your cupboards to make this dessert. It’s one of the best chocolate cake recipes!
Chocolate Banana Cake
If you are looking for a chocolate cake that is rich and amazingly decadent, this is the one. This chocolate banana cake comes together very simply, and to be honest, it can serve as a bread or a cake. I opted to use it as a cake to celebrate a friend’s birthday. He has a sweet tooth for chocolate (and so do I), and I knew this would be a great cake to enjoy with friends.
If you have ever seen the very tall chocolate cakes they serve at restaurants, then you know this cake. I layered it into five delicious layers and used my small Wilton cake pans that come in a set. These cake pans are non-stick and they can be used with pretty much any cake batter recipe. I made the caramel pear pecan tall cake with this cake pan set and it is an equally scrumptious cake that most people have never tried.
Chocolate Banana Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
The layers of the chocolate banana cake were frosted with a dreamy chocolate buttercream frosting which is my go-to frosting for cakes and cupcakes. It is very easy to make and you can make it as stiff or creamy as you like by just adjusting the amount of powdered sugar. There is nothing more tempting than a chocolate cake covered in chocolate frosting. But wait, there’s more!
The entire cake was baked with chocolate chips inside AND chocolate chips cover the frosting! Oh yes! We went there! Imagine biting into the moist chocolate cake and hitting little pockets of melting chocolate chips. And then crunching on chocolate chips covered in frosting!
Probably the most interesting part about this cake is one of the main ingredients (which is not chocolate). This cake is made with three ripened bananas. If you are like me and you buy too many bananas at a time, you find yourself with bananas that go bad too soon. Here’s a great tip! Store the browned bananas in Ziplock bags in the freezer. You can use them in smoothies, to make pancakes, or to bake up in recipes. We have a number of recipes on this site where you can use these ripened bananas. One of my favorite breakfast recipes are the Banana Walnut Muffins. You never have to toss out brown bananas ever again! YAY!
Tips for Making the Chocolate Banana Cake
- Grease the non-stick pans with cooking spray to make the cakes super easy to remove.
- Use ripened bananas for this cake. If your bananas are frozen, you can set them out for a few minutes or slip them in a toaster oven on a tray for just a few minutes. Then slice down the side and the entire banana should just fall out.
- Mix your dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ones in another and then combine.
- Measure out the batter with a third cup measuring cup. Scoop equal amounts into each of the small cake pans and divide the rest of the batter equally.
- Dot chocolate chips on top of the batter before putting the pans in the oven.
- If you are baking this as a cake in bigger pans (or as a loaf), then bake at 350 degree F for about 50 minutes. If you are baking the cakes in smaller pans, check the cakes at 30 minutes. Insert a toothpick or shape knife and if it comes out clean, the cakes are done.
- Allow the cakes to cool before frosting the cakes.
- Use a small amount of frosting in between the cakes to help hold the cakes in place.
- Frost the outside of the cake starting with the top and then use the remaining frosting to dress the sides of the cake. Dot the top of the cake with chocolate chips. Enjoy!
- Hint: you can store pieces of this cake in Ziplock bags in the freezer. Simply defrost on the counter and heat up in a toaster oven for a few minutes. This will cure your chocolate cake cravings without having to bake a whole cake!!!
| Prep Time | 20 minutes |
| Cook Time | 30 minutes |
| Servings |
people
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- 1 cup All-Purpose Flour
- 1/2 cup Hersheys Dark Chocolate Cocoa Powder
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 3 ripened Bananas Mashed
- 1/4 cup Butter We use salted Kerrygold, but you can use unsalted
- 1/4 cup Vegetable Oil or Coconut Oil
- 3/4 cup Light Brown Sugar Packed
- 1 Egg At Room Temperature
- 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
- 2 cups Semisweet Chocolate Chips Divided
- 1 cup Butter 2 sticks, we use salted but you can also use unsalted butter
- 1 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 1/4 cup Milk More if needed more creamy
- 1 cup Powdered Sugar More if needed more stiff
- 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
- 1/2 tsp Instant Coffee Granules Can be omitted, coffee helps to accentuate the chocolate flavor
Ingredients
Chocolate Banana Cake
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
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- Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease small pans with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
- In a bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In another bowl, mash the ripened bananas. Add the melted butter and oil and stir until combined. Stir in the brown sugar, egg, vanilla. Stir until smooth.
- Stir the dry ingredients into the wet without over-mixing.
- With a 1/3 cup measuring cup, scoop the batter into each pan and divide the rest of the batter evenly. Sprinkle chocolate chips over the batter and push a few into the batter.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick or knife comes out clean. There might be some melted chocolate chips on the toothpick, but as long the the cakes are firm, they are done. If the batter still seems gooey, cook an additional few minutes and keep checking.
- Remove the pans from the oven and allow the cakes to cool in the pans for the first few minutes. Run a knife along the edge of the cakes and carefully remove from the pans. Let the cakes cool completely before setting them to frost.
- Allow the butter to sit out for a few minutes to become soft. Whip the butter on medium speed until it turns lighter color. Shift the speed to low and add the cocoa powder slowly until incorporated. While on low, add the powdered sugar a little at a time. Add the milk, vanilla and coffee crystals. Beat on medium until light and fluffy for about 3-5 minutes. You may add more powdered sugar if the consistency is too thin and gooey. Or add more milk if the consistency is too stiff. You only need a tiny bit of milk to make a softer consistency.
- Add a spoon of frosting to a cake holder base in the middle. Place the first cake on top. Then add a bit of frosting to the top of this cake and add another cake on. Continue adding frosting and cakes until the tall cake is created. Now add frosting to the top of the cake. Use a cake trowel to scrape frosting along the sides of the cake. Decorate the top of the cake with chocolate chips. Use any remaining frosting to create designs and add chocolate chips where desired.
- Freeze leftover cut pieces of cake in Ziplock bags to enjoy at later times. Simply allow the cake to defrost on the counter. Enjoy!
Delicious and moist and fudgey! I used white whole wheat flour since It is what I had on hand, and substituted buttermilk for the sour milk. Fantastic!