Banana bread meets chocolate cake and the rest is history. A deliciously indulgent and tender chocolate cake is packed with ripe, sweet banana and rich, mouthwatering chocolate chunks then topped with a smooth and creamy chocolate buttercream that could be eaten on its own with a spoon its so good!
WHY YOU WILL LOVE THIS RECIPE
Flavour Combination | Banana and chocolate are a match made in heaven. It’s hard not to love this combination when they taste this good together.
Chocolate Lover | There’s no hiding from the chocolate in this recipe. The chocolate banana cake is packed full of chocolate chips and chunks which create gooey melted pockets once baked. Then it’s slathered in a thick layer of chocolate buttercream and more chopped chocolate on top.
Perfect use of ripe bananas | We often think of banana bread when we see over ripe bananas on the kitchen side, but truth is there are so many more delicious bakes you can create like muffins, cupcakes and of course sheet cakes like this Banana Chocolate Cake.
5 TIPS FOR PERFECT CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM
Whip softened butter first | This gives the buttercream a head start to its smooth and creamy final destination. You want a softened butter at room temperature vs a fridge cold butter as the former will whip up really quickly and the latter will risk butter lumps.
Add melted dark chocolate | For an extra chocolatey buttercream, add 100g melted dark chocolate to the whipped butter so you’re essentially starting with a chocolate butter.
Gradually add sifted icing sugar and cocoa powder | For a super smooth buttercream, first sift the icing sugar and cocoa powder to remove any lumps and then gradually add them both in so you can beat the sugar in slowly and give the sugar time to break down.
Bring it all together with hot milk | The creamy element of this buttercream comes from the addition of hot milk which brings the whole mixture together. The heat of the milk helps break the sugar down so its super smooth and the creaminess of the milk adds to the flavour. Alternatively if you want to avoid milk entirely you can use hot water. This will have same effect on the smooth texture but you may miss out on the creamy flavour.
Beat the mixture together with a spatula | After all that whipping a lot of air has been incorporated into the mixture but with a simple switch of tools you can beat all the air bubbles out with a spatula by pushing the buttercream against the bowl.
WATCH HOW THE BUTTERCREAM IS MADE HERE
LOVE BANANA? TRY THESE
Chocolate Banana Cake
Ingredients
For the Banana Chocolate Cake
- 3 ripe bananas
- 100 ml vegetable oil
- 3 eggs large
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 175 g self-raising flour
- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate soda
- 50 g cocoa powder
- 175 g caster sugar
- 100 g dark chocolate chips
- 50 g dark chocolate chopped
- 50 ml milk
For the Chocolate Buttercream
- 150 g unsalted butter softened
- 100 g dark chocolate melted
- 50 g cocoa powder
- 250 g icing sugar
- 2 tbsp hot milk
- 50 g Dark Chocolate chopped
Instructions
For the Chocolate Banana Cake
- Preheat the oven to 160C/Gas Mark 3 and line a rectangle baking tin with non-stick baking paper
- In a large bowl mash the bananas and mix in the oil, eggs and vanilla
- In a separate bowl combine the flour, bicarbonate soda, cocoa powder and caster sugar, then add the chocolate chips and chunks and mix them through until well coated
- Add the dry mixture into the wet banana mixture then add the milk and fold them together until you have a glossy batter.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking tin and spread it out evenly into all corners. Bake for 20-25 minutes until risen, springy to touch and a skewer inserted comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin.
For the Chocolate Buttercream
- Whisk softened butter in a large bowl until light and fluffy
- Add melted dark chocolate to the softened butter and mix it through well, then gradually add sifted icing sugar and cocoa powder, combining well between each addition.
- The buttercream will feel quite stiff at this point so add in 2 tbsp hot milk (or boiling water) and beat it in to smooth the buttercream out.
- Continue beating the buttercream with a spatula (or with the flat beater of a standing mixer) for 3-5 minutes until it's super smooth and creamy.
- Top the cooled chocolate banana cake with the buttercream and spread it out with a spatula then top with chopped dark chocolate to decorate.
