Bananas for Bundts

Chocolate Banana Bundt Cake: The Recipe

I planned to write an essay that explained why Substack is a far better medium for recipes than the advertising-packed pages of food bloggers who must force readers to scroll and scroll before they arrive at the recipe in order to placate the Google algorithm beast. But then I’d be delaying you from this very, quite-good recipe.

Chocolate Bundt Cake Week continues apace, with a recipe for a chocolate banana cake. The cake is, as Hannah Montana might say is, “the best of both worlds,” with its blend of dark chocolate and banana flavors. If this cake were music, the dark chocolate cake, dappled with chocolate chips would be the melody; the banana, the subtle-but-ever-present harmony.

This cake is one of the few occasions I will use the word “moist” as an adjective and not cringe. It’s a magnificent cake, in all its elegant simplicity.

Okay! Enough! Here is the recipe:

CHOCOLATE BANANA BUNDT CAKE

What You’ll Need

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder (such as Droste. I used Guittard rouge)

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

1 3/4 cups granulated sugar

4 large eggs, room temperature

5-6 crazy-ripe bananas, mashed

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup sour cream, room temperature

12 ounces dark chocolate chips (I used Guittard. And no they aren’t a sponsor. I buy it all)

Optional ganache icing:

6 fluid ounces of heavy cream

6 ounces of semisweet chocolate chips (or chopped chocolate)

What You’ll Do:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Spray a large bundt cake pan (12 cup) generously with Baker’s Joy, or Pam for baking. These sprays are your best bets when it come to bundt pans. They are the secret to cakes coming out of the pan intact. Otherwise, diligently butter and flour the pan.

3. In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and cocoa powder.

4. With a hand or stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides as necessary.

5. Add the eggs, one at a time, and once all are added, please make me happy and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix the batter on medium for 10 seconds.

6. Add the mashed bananas and vanilla and mix on low speed until just incorporated.

7. Add the flour mixture and sour cream alternately, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl (I know you know this, but what if you don’t know this?) and give the mixture a 10-second whizaroo to make sure it’s all well-blended. Fold in the chocolate chips.

8. Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan and bake for 50 to 55 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

9. Cool on a rack for 15 minutes, then invert onto the rack and remove the bundt pan.

10. When the cake is cool, make the ganache: Heat the heavy cream over medium heat until it just comes to a simmer (small bubbles will appear at the edge of the pan). Remove from heat, add the chocolate chips and let sit for 5 minutes. The chocolate will melt. Whisk the mixture together until smooth. Pour over the bundt cake. (I also sprinkled crushed dried banana chips over the cake because I’m fancy that way. Also: I think it’s nice to give eaters a clue of what’s inside.)

Let me know what you think!

If you can, please support my recipe testing and development by becoming a monthly subscriber. Think of all the ads you’re not having to see. Instead you get cute/disgusting pictures of my cat trying to eat the cake!