Moist and Rich Chocolate Banana Cake

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.

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