Moist and Rich Chocolate Banana Cake Recipe- Frosting and Fettuccine (2024)

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This post might have affiliate links, please check out my full disclosure policy.

This one layer Chocolate banana cake is the perfect dessert to make when you have leftover bananas but don’t want to make banana bread. It’s rich, fluffy, and has double the chocolate flavor from chocolate chips that are added to the batter. This recipe uses 3 bananas and is easily made in a 9″ cake or loaf pan.

If you have 3 spotted bananas on your counter right now and are craving something chocolatey- this is the perfect cake to make!

What I love about it is that you can make it in a loaf pan, a 9″round cake pan, or spring form pan. It’s rich and chocolatey plus has an undertone of banana giving you that classic combo you love. Plus the whole cake is studded with chocolate chips because who doesn’t love more chocolate?

As a professional baker and someone who overestimates just how many bananas her family will eat in a week- baking with bananas is something I do very often. From moist banana bread, to banana cake, and even banana brownies, there is always a different dessert you can choose from.

This chocolate banana cake is also low maintenance. It’s so good that you can eat it on it’s own or you can take it over the top and frost it with chocolate fudge frosting, chocolate cream cheese frosting, or for a fun twist try Nutella Frosting.

Using overripe bananas

Don’t throw away your overripe bananas! Use them instead to bake with, or peel them, wrap them in plastic and then freeze for another baking session.

An overripe banana is perfect for baking with. The darker and more spotted and bruised it is, the sweeter it will be in the recipe. This means you no longer have to waste them!

Making the cake from scratch

You can either make this recipe by hand in a medium sized bowl, or in your mixer. I prefer to make it by hand, but it is up to you!

Mash the banana in the bowl you are making the cake in. This can be a one bowl cake! The bananas don’t have to be totally mashed up. There can be some lumps. Add the butter with the sugars and mix with a spatula (or the paddle attachment if using a stand mixer) until a think paste forms.

Next add in the eggs one at a time, mixing in between. Add in the vanilla and give it a good stir. Then add in the dry ingredients but don’t mix just yet!

Chocolate chips in the batter

Add the chocolate chips right on top of the flour and dust them around lightly with your fingers.

Pro tip: Chocolate chips need to be dusted with flour before adding them to any cake batter or else they will sink to the bottom of the cake. Dusting them with flour allows for the chocolate chips to disperse evenly throughout. This goes for any kind of add ins- nuts, dried fruit, etc.

If you are using your stand mixer I recommend adding in your chocolate chips by hand so they don’t get crushed up.

Spray a 9″ cake pan or spring form pan with baking spray or line with parchment paper. Pour the batter in and dot with a couple extra chocolate chips.

Bake on 350° for 40-45 minutes or until the edges of the cake start to break away from the cake pan and a toothpick inserted comes out with moist crumbs

Remember that the darker your pan is the quicker the loaf will bake, so if you are baking in a glass pan or a lighter colored pan, it may take a little longer.

Add ins

Feel free to add in other things like nuts. Just make sure to dust them first with a little flour so they don’t sink!

Storing instructions

Store this cake in an airtight container for up to 5 days. It is freezer friendly too and can last for 2 months in the freezer.

To freeze, wrap the cake well in plastic wrap or cut slices and wrap each slice well before placing in the freezer.

Loaf Pan Size

You can make this cake in a regular loaf pan too. The bake time is similar but will need an extra couple minutes- around 50 minutes.

5 stars (4 ratings)

Moist and Rich Chocolate Banana Cake

Prep: 10 minutes mins

Cook: 45 minutes mins

Total: 55 minutes mins

Servings: 10 people

This one layer Chocolate banana cake is the perfect dessert to make when you have leftover bananas but don't want to make banana bread. It's rich, fluffy, and has double the chocolate flavor from chocolate chips that are added to the batter. This recipe uses 3 bananas and is easily made in a 9" cake or loaf pan.

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Ingredients

  • 3 overripe bananas, mashed
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup chocolate chips

Instructions

  • Moist and Rich Chocolate Banana Cake Recipe- Frosting and Fettuccine (11)

    Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and spray a 9" round cake pan or loaf pan with baking spray and/or line with parchment paper.

  • Moist and Rich Chocolate Banana Cake Recipe- Frosting and Fettuccine (12)

    In a medium size mixing bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer, mash the 3 bananas with a fork. Lumps are ok. (To make this a one bowl cake make it in a large bowl, or mash the bananas in a smaller bowl and continue with a larger one.)

  • Moist and Rich Chocolate Banana Cake Recipe- Frosting and Fettuccine (13)

    Add the 1/2 cup softened butter, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup white sugar and whisk until a smooth paste forms. Alternatively you can use the paddle attachment in your stand mixer on low-medium speed for 1 minute.

  • Add the eggs one at a time, stirring to combine in between. Add 1 tsp vanilla extract and mix.

  • Moist and Rich Chocolate Banana Cake Recipe- Frosting and Fettuccine (14)

    Add in the 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup cocoa powder, 1 tsp baking soda, and 1/2 tsp kosher salt. Don't mix yet! Add the chocolate chips on top of the flour and lightly dust them with the flour. This helps them not sink to the bottom of the cake. Mix until just combined.

  • Moist and Rich Chocolate Banana Cake Recipe- Frosting and Fettuccine (15)

    Pour batter into the prepared cake or loaf pan and bake 40-45 mins or until the middle no longer jiggles. If you insert a skewer and it comes out with a couple moist crumbs, it's done!

  • Moist and Rich Chocolate Banana Cake Recipe- Frosting and Fettuccine (16)

    Leave unfrosted or top with Chocolate fudge frosting or chocolate cream cheese frosting.

Notes

  • If the bananas aren’t as overripe as you would like, just mash really well and add to mixture.
  • Try adding in nuts as a topping

Serving: 1slice, Calories: 330kcal, Carbohydrates: 50g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 14g, Saturated Fat: 8g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Trans Fat: 0.4g, Cholesterol: 59mg, Sodium: 325mg, Potassium: 236mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 34g, Vitamin A: 384IU, Vitamin C: 3mg, Calcium: 42mg, Iron: 2mg

Course: Dessert

Author: Sam Adler

Cuisine: American

Did you make this recipe?Please leave a star rating and review in the form below. I read them all!

Moist and Rich Chocolate Banana Cake Recipe- Frosting and Fettuccine (2024)

FAQs

What happens if you put too much banana in banana cake? ›

You Use Too Much Banana

Using too much banana could make your bread heavy and damp in the center, causing it to appear undercooked and unappealing. If you have bananas leftover, you can always freeze them for later use.

Why is my banana cake not moist? ›

If you use a yellow (or even worse a green) banana in your cake not only will it not have as much flavour it will be significantly drier. It's important to make sure your bananas are well mashed. If they aren't broken down well enough less moisture is released from the fruit, effecting the texture of your cake.

What do I do if my banana bread is too moist? ›

Using a lot of bananas adds excess moisture, and there are two ways to get rid of it. You could either add more flour or increase the baking time. Add a tablespoon of extra flour at a time into the batter and give it a good whisk until its consistency starts to look right: thick but runny enough to fall off a spoon.

Why is my banana cake soggy in the middle? ›

You incorrectly measured the ingredients.

If you do not measure the ingredients exactly (and just eyeball things) then the liquid-to-dry ratio of the ingredients could be off. Too much liquid can lead to banana bread that sinks in the middle. Of course, an excess amount of dry ingredients can also lead to trouble.

Which is better, baking soda or baking powder? ›

When to use which one. Baking soda is used in recipes that also include an acidic ingredient, such as cream of tartar, buttermilk, or citrus juice. Conversely, baking powder is typically used when the recipe doesn't feature an acidic ingredient, as the powder already includes the acid needed to produce carbon dioxide.

Can I use both butter and oil in cake? ›

If you're unsure, it's safest to use a 50/50 combination of butter and oil instead of replacing the butter completely. This way you'll get the added moisture from the oil without sacrificing the structural integrity that butter provides.

Does sour cream make cake moist? ›

Sour cream is one of the fattiest dairy products; the extra fat content (for example, adding sour cream to a cake instead of milk) will make the cake moister and richer, says Wilk. "Fat, in any form (butter, lard, cream, etc.) shortens gluten strands, which essentially leads to the most tender baked goods," she adds.

Why is my banana cake so heavy? ›

Using too much butter makes for a heavier cake with less banana flavor. Using double the amount of butter that the recipe called for left me with a loaf that was dry on the outside and moist on the inside.

How many bananas are in one cup? ›

1-1/2 bananas: 1 cup chopped | 3/4 cup mashed. 2 bananas: 1-1/3 cups chopped | 1 cup mashed. 3 bananas: 2 cups chopped | 1-1/2 cups mashed. 4 bananas: 2-2/3 cups chopped | 2 cups mashed.

Can I put bread back in the oven? ›

It is pretty simple to salvage an undercooked bread and create a decent loaf. Heat the oven to 350 F, return the bread to the oven, and bake for another 10 to 20 minutes. This will work even if the loaf has cooled, which is similar to par-baking bread.

What happens if you add too much butter to a cake? ›

Too Much or Too Soft of Butter

If the butter yields too easily to pressure and appears melted and oily, it will produce a silky batter that rises too soon and collapses. Your cake will have big air pockets and an uneven texture.

Why does my banana cake taste bitter? ›

If you purposely or accidentally used baking soda instead of baking powder without making any changes to your recipe, you'll definitely end up with a bitter taste. Remember, baking soda is an alkaline, or base, ingredient that naturally has a bitter taste. Baking powder is a multi-ingredient leavener.

Why is my banana cake so dark? ›

Too much baking soda in banana bread will inevitably lead to too much browning. Baking soda will increase the pH of your banana bread batter, making it more basic or alkaline. At higher pH, Maillard browning reactions occur, leading to a darker colour much faster.

How do bananas affect baking? ›

Ripe bananas are not only softer and easier to mash and blend into a batter, but they are also sweeter, which is why baking recipes specifically call for ripe bananas in ingredient lists. As the bananas ripen, the fruit converts starches to sugars, making them sweeter and more flavorful.

Can bananas be too overripe for baking? ›

Bananas can go from yellow with brown spots to totally black and still be okay to eat and use for baking. In fact, black bananas are some of the best for making banana bread because they have developed more sugar as they sit around and therefore taste sweeter. They may also be moister, which is perfect for baked goods.

Why is my banana cake watery? ›

Not measuring the flour correctly

If you use too much flour, you'll end up with really dry banana bread, and If you don't use enough flour, your banana bread will be way too wet. The secret lies in how you measure the flour.

What is the effect of banana in baking? ›

Bananas have several potential benefits when used in baking. They can improve the sensory preference of bread, enhancing flavors and textures . Banana peel powder (BPP) can be used as a low-cost substitute for wheat flour in cakes, providing nutritional value and acting as an antimicrobial and antioxidant .

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