Banana Cake With Chocolate Frosting

Chocolate and banana is easily one of the most delicious flavor combinations out there. This banana cake with chocolate frosting is absolutely incredible. The cake is so moist and fluffy and pairs perfectly with the light and airy, rich chocolate frosting. I truly hope that you enjoy this recipe as much as I do!

How To Make Banana Cake With Chocolate Frosting

• Prep the pans: Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and line two 8-inch round cake pans with non-stick spray and parchment paper.
• Mix dry ingredients: In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
• Mash bananas: In a small bowl, mash the ripe bananas until mostly smooth. A few small lumps of banana is perfectly fine :)
• Cream butter & sugar: In a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy.

• Add eggs & banana: Beat in the eggs one at a time, then mix in vanilla and mashed bananas.
• Combine: Alternate adding the flour mixture and milk to the banana mixture, starting and ending with flour. Mix until just combined.
• Bake: Divide the batter between the pans and bake for 25–30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
• Cool: Let cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

How to Store Banana Cake with Chocolate Buttercream

• Room temperature: Store covered for up to 2 days in a cool area.
• Refrigerator: For longer storage (up to 5 days), place the cake in an airtight container in the fridge. Let it come to room temperature before serving.
• Freezing: You can freeze individual slices or the whole frosted cake. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 2 months.

How to Decorate Banana Cake with Chocolate Buttercream

• Rustic swirl: Use a spatula to create natural, textured swirls in the buttercream. I used an offset spatula to create the swirl on top of my cake :)
• Nuts: Press chopped walnuts or pecans along the sides for a bakery-style finish. I ran out of walnuts, so I used hazelnuts :) Any kind will do! It also adds such a delicious crunch!!
• Drizzle: Add a chocolate ganache or caramel drizzle for a rich touch.
• Fresh bananas: Top with banana slices right before serving for a visual cue of the flavor. If you’re making this ahead of time and are afraid of the bananas browning, try using banana chips!

Recipe Tips

• Don’t overmix: Mix the batter just until the ingredients are combined. Overmixing can lead to a dense cake.
• Use ripe bananas: The riper the banana, the sweeter and more flavorful the cake.
• Check for doneness: Every oven is different. Insert a toothpick into the center of the cake—if it comes out clean, it’s done.
• Soften your butter: Make sure both the cake and buttercream butters are at room temperature for the best texture. This will help everything combine easier.

Why Are Ripe Bananas Better for Baking?

Ripe bananas are key to an ultra-moist and flavorful banana cake. As bananas ripen, their starches convert to sugar, giving your cake a naturally sweet, caramelized banana flavor. Overripe bananas also mash easily, blending smoothly into the batter for a uniform texture. Look for bananas that are speckled brown or almost black for the best results.

Banana Cake With Chocolate Frosting

Recipe by Maddison Koutrouba – thesqueakymixer.com

5.0 from 2 votes

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Servings

10-12

servings

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

25

minutes

Cook Mode

Keep the screen of your device on.

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups mashed ripe bananas (3-4 bananas)

• 3 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 tsp. baking soda

• 1 tsp. baking powder

• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon

• 1/4 tsp. salt

• 3/4 cups unsalted butter, softened

• 1 cup sugar

• 1/2 cup light brown sugar

• 3 eggs

• 2 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

• 1 1/2 cups whole milk

• Chocolate Buttercream

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened

• 3 cups confectioner’s sugar

• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

• 1/4 tsp. salt

• 3 -5Tbsp. heavy whipping cream

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and grease and line two 8″ round pans with non-stick spray and parchment paper. Set aside.
• In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
• In a small bowl, mash the ripe bananas until they are broken down for the most part and not in large lumps. Set aside.
• In another bowl, cream together the butter until smooth, then add in both sugars and continue to cream together until smooth.
  Add in the eggs one at a time mixing between each addition. Add in the vanilla with the last egg. Mix until the mixture is nice and smooth.
  Add the mashed bananas to the sugar mixture. Mix until smooth (there will be some banana lumps, that’s perfectly ok)
  
• Alternate adding the dry ingredients and milk to the banana mixture starting and ending with the flour. Between each addition, mix until just combined.
  Pour the batter into the prepared pans eyeballing the batter to divide it between the two pans as evenly as possible. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until set in the center and golden brown all over.
• Remove the cakes from the pan and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. You can prepare the chocolate buttercream in the meantime.
• To make the chocolate buttercream, cream together the butter, cocoa powder, and confectioner’s sugar using a stand mixer fit with the whisk attachment or a handheld electric mixer until the butter is broken down into small lumps.
• Add in the vanilla and heavy cream. Mix until the buttercream is soft and smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
• Once the cakes have cooled completely, place one cake half down onto the dish that you plan to serve it on. Scoop a generous amount of buttercream on top of this cake and spread evenly. Top with the second layer of cake. Decorate the cake however you wish with the remaining frosting. Feel free to add crushed nuts on the perimeter of the cake.
• Slice and enjoy!

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