This banana cake with chocolate icing is super moist and delicious. A rich lightly spiced banana cake with chocolate chips covered in a creamy chocolate icing.
I love making this banana chocolate cake! It's a family favorite and a terrific recipe to make when having over ripe bananas that's no longer good for eating. It's best using very ripe brown skin bananas for this recipe as they have a richer flavor and they help keep the cake moist.
Part of being self sufficient is to minimize waste. When your bananas are turning brown and not great for eating, turn them into delicious baked goods instead of wasting them. You can freeze your brown bananas and use them later when it's convenient for you.
Read more ideas on Methods of food storage and preserving here
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Ingredients for banana cake with chocolate icing
Banana chocolate cake
- Butter
- sugar
- icing sugar (powdered sugar)
- Bananas - very ripe
- egg - free ranged
- flour
- baking powder
- cinnamon - ground
- ginger - ground
- salt
- chocolate chip or buttons
Chocolate Ganache
- heavy cream
- chocolate - best quality possible
Chocolate shavings decoration
- Block of chocolate
See recipe card for quantities.
How to make banana cake with chocolate icing
There are 3 steps to making this banana chocolate cake recipe
1. The cake
2. The ganache icing
3. Icing and decorating the cake
Make the cake
- Step 1: Turn the oven on to 175 Celsius. Grease a round cake tin and coat the inside surface with a thin layer of bread crumbs.
- Step 2: Whisk butter, sugar and powdered sugar white and creamy.
- Step 3: Mix the bananas to a puree and add them to the creamed butter while mixing. Add the eggs, one at the time.
- Step 4: Mix the dry ingredients with chocolate chip or buttons and fold it through the rest of the mixture.
5. Step 5: Fill the greased and breaded cake tin with the cake batter and bake in the middle of the oven for about 30 minutes.
6. Step 6: Test with a toothpick or wooden skewer. It should not be sticky but have a few moist crumbs on the stick or skewer, rather then be perfectly clean.
Let the cake cool on a wired wrack.
Hint: Very ripe bananas that has brown skin and are soft to touch are best for this recipe.
The ganache icing
A ganache is a rich, velvety, and dense mixture of chocolate and cream. It’s like a cross between a glaze and a frosting. It can be used as both or either depending on the temperature and thickness of your ganache. The warmer the ganache is, the thinner it is and the cooler the ganache is, the thicker it is. You want it to be a thick but spreadable texture for this banana cake chocolate frosting recipe.
Step 1: Break the chocolate into small pieces in a heat proof bowl.
Step 2: Heat the cream until very hot but not boiling.
Step 3: Pour the hot cream over the chocolate pieces and leave it for 5-10 minutes undisturbed to soften the chocolate.
Step 4: whisk the cream and chocolate mixture until the chocolate is fully combined into the cream. Whisk until smooth and glossy.
(The hot cream should have melted the chocolate and it should come together when whisking.)
Step 5: Leave the ganache to cool down before spreading it on the cake. It will thicken when it's cold. You can put it in the fridge to cool down quicker but make sure to check on it and whisk it regularly so it doesn't go too solid.
Step 6: The ideal consistency should be thick but spreadable.
Hint: The ganache will thicken as it cools. If it seems too runny, just pop it in the fridge until it hardens up a bit.
How to Ice and decorate the cake
Step 1: Make sure the cake is completely cool before adding the ganache.
Step 2: Spread the ganache evenly all over the top of the cake and all around the sides.
Step 3: Carefully remove the cake from the wired wrack using a large flat spatula or knife.
Step 4: Place the cake on a serving plate.
Step 5: Make chocolate shavings by scraping a sharp knife firmly along the bottom flat side of a chocolate bar towards you.
Step 6: Scatter the chocolate shavings on top of the iced cake. Enjoy!
This cake travels well making it lunch box and picnic friendly. It's also the ideal food choice to bring for a pot luck or shared dinner party.
Variations
- Nutty - Substitute walnuts for chocolate chip for a nutty tasty and great texture.
- Plain - Leave the chocolate frosting out. This cake is moist enough and can easily be served plain or simply dusted with icing sugar for a more simple cake.
Equipment
- Kitchen mixer
- kitchen scale
- measuring spoons
- mixing bowl
- sharp knife
- butter knife or palate knife
- wired wrack
Storage
This cake will keep well covered in the refrigerator. Good for 3-4 days, and it freezes well for 2-3 months (plain without icing). Wrap it well in cling wrap before freezing it.
Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then ice it and assemble it the same day that you want to serve it.
The ganache icing can also be made up to 10 days ahead and stored covered in the refrigerator. You might need to adjust the consistency by warming it gently in a pot or microwave before spreading, if it's gone solid in the refrigerator.
Top Tip
Don't over bake the cake - This will result in a dry cake. Keep an eye on the cake and test if it's ready with a toothpick or wooden skewer and take it out when a few moist crumbs remain, not when it is perfectly clean. Every oven is different and baking time can vary a fair bit.
Ganache chocolate Quality: Use chopped high-quality chocolate blocks (which have more cocoa butter) rather than chips or buttons, as they can contain stabilizers and less cocoa butter designed to hold their shape when baking rather then melting smoothly.
FAQ
Don't over bake: The oven time can vary from oven to oven. If the cake stays in the oven for to long it can dry out. Test if it's ready with a toothpick or wooden skewer and take it out when a few moist crumbs remain, not when it is perfectly clean.
Ripe bananas: Very ripe, brown-spotted bananas are crucial for moisture. If your bananas are not ripe enough the cake can come out dry
Don't over mix the batter: If the cake batter is mixed more then necessary it can come out tough and dry. Mix just until the ingredients are combined
Cool the cooked cake down quickly: Cooling the cake down quickly results in a moist cake. You can put it directly in the fridge once it's out of the oven for a faster cool down
Yes, frozen ripe bananas works well for this recipe. Thaw them completely and drain off excess liquid before mashing them.
Yes, this cake is even better the next day and keeps well for 3-4 days.
Banana and chocolate are a great flavor combination. This cake is extremely moist and the cinnamon and ground ginger provides a lovely warm flavor and the rich creamy chocolate frosting makes this cake irresistible and luxurious.
Did you make this banana cake with chocolate frosting?
Please leave me a rating and comment below!
Related
Looking for other baking recipes? Try these:
banana cake with chocolate icing
Equipment
- 1 kitchen scale
- 1 Kitchen mixer
- 1 set measuring spoons
- 1 Mixing bowl
- sharp knife
- butter knife or palate knife
- wired wrack
Ingredients
Banana chocolate cake
- 150 grams Butter softened
- 100 ml sugar
- 200 ml icing sugar powdered sugar
- 4 medium sized Bananas very ripe
- 2 egg free ranged
- 300 ml flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon ground
- ½ teaspoon ginger ground
- 1 pinch salt
- 75 grams chocolate chip
The ganache icing
- 200 ml heavy cream
- 200 grams chocolate - best quality possible
Instructions
Banana chocolate cake
- Turn the oven on to 175 Celsius. Grease a round cake tin and coat the inside surface with a thin layer of bread crumbs.
- Whisk butter, sugar and powdered sugar white and creamy.
- Mix the bananas to a puree and add them to the creamed butter while mixing. Add the eggs, one at the time.
- Mix the dry ingredients with chocolate chip or buttons and fold it through the rest of the mixture.
- Fill the greased and breaded cake tin with the cake batter and bake in the middle of the oven for about 30 minutes.
- Test with a toothpick or wooden skewer. It should not be sticky but have a few moist crumbs on the stick or skewer, rather then be perfectly clean.
- Let the cake cool on a wired wrack.
The ganache icing
- Break the chocolate into small pieces in a heat proof bowl.
- Heat the cream until very hot but not boiling.
- Pour the hot cream over the chocolate pieces and leave it for 5-10 minutes undisturbed to soften the chocolate.
- Whisk the cream and chocolate mixture until the chocolate is fully combined into the cream. Whisk until smooth and glossy. (The hot cream should have melted the chocolate and it should come together when whisking.)
- Leave the ganache to cool down before spreading it on the cake. It will thicken when it's cold. You can put it in the fridge to cool down quicker but make sure to check on it and whisk it regularly so it doesn't go too solid.
- The ideal consistency should be thick but spreadable.
Assembling the cake
- Make sure the cake is completely cool before adding the ganache.
- Spread the ganache evenly all over the top of the cake and all around the sides.
- Carefully remove the cake from the wired wrack using a large flat spatula or knife.
- Place the cake on a serving plate.
- Make chocolate shavings by scraping a sharp knife firmly along the bottom flat side of a chocolate bar towards you.
- Scatter the chocolate shavings on top of the iced cake. Enjoy!
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