Chocolate Chip Banana Bundt Cake
This chocolate chip banana bundt cake is moist, flavourful and the perfect excuse to eat cake for breakfast. A simple recipe for a simple cake that looks and tastes anything but!
Whether you’ve got a reason to celebrate or you just feel like making a quick and simple cake, this homemade banana bundt cake, which I discovered in Dorie Greenspan’s Cookbook Baking, is exactly what you need. It’s moist, flavourful and easy to make for beginners. Loaded with bananas and chocolate chips, this cake will be an instant hit!
This easy-to-follow recipe will have you eating cake in no time. You’ll need two bowls (one of them can be a stand mixer), a bundt pan, and just over an hour of spare time. Bundt cakes present beautifully not only whole as a table centerpiece but also sliced drizzled with your favorite type of frosting or garnished with slices of fresh fruit.
Customize this cake to your liking. Not a fan of chocolate chips? Replace them with nuts instead. Want to add more texture? Have both! A chocolate chips and nuts banana cake sounds pretty good to me!
However you make your banana cake, it’ll be a crowd-pleaser no matter what. It’s a delicious cake to serve guests for any type of gathering and it also works great as an after-dinner dessert at home. In fact, having a slice of leftover homemade banana cake in the morning for breakfast, or a snack in the afternoon might be my favourite way to enjoy it!
Let me know when you like to enjoy yours.
Table of Contents
How to Make It
Preheat the oven and grease and flour your bundt pan.
Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt, in a medium bowl. Set it aside.
In a mixing bowl, beat the butter until creamy, then add the sugar and beat until pale and fluffy.
Beat in the vanilla and egg, then reduce speed to add in the mashed bananas and continue to beat to combine.
Add half the flour and all of the yogurt. Beat to combine and add the other half of the flour. Add the cake batter to the prepared bundt pan,
Sprinkle with chocolate chips and bake until done. Check-in with it at 30 minutes, if it’s browning too much, cover loosely with foil for remaining bake time.
Tip: Toss the chocolate chips with some flour before sprinkling them onto the batter. This will help them stay evenly spaced out and not sink to the bottom.
How to quickly ripen bananas
How much time do you have? If you’re a couple of days ahead of schedule and just wanting to prepare to make this cake, but your bananas aren’t quite ripe enough, there is a way to speed up the process. Place them in a brown paper bag along with an apple and keep them on the counter. They should ripen within a day or so depending on how ripe they were to begin with.
If you are making this cake today only to realize your bananas aren’t as ripe as you’d like, don’t fret. Preheat your oven to 300. Place the whole banana(s) onto a baking sheet, skin and all, and bake for approximately 15-20 minutes. They will turn completely black on the outside. Once they are cool enough to handle, cut open the bananas and remove the mushy sweet interior.
What is a bundt cake?
The word bundt sounds fancy doesn’t it? It actually doesn’t refer to any type of cake in particular. It’s a way to describe a cake that’s been baked in a bundt pan, which is a circular pan with a whole in the middle. Once it’s done baking, you’re left with a beautiful cake in the shape of a ring!
Can I add a glaze to the top?
This cake is amazing all on its own, but a little extra icing never hurt anyone! A simple icing sugar such as the one in my strawberry scones recipe or a cream cheese glaze (minus the maple) in my cinnamon roll recipe would both work beautifully.
Tips for success
- Make sure to grease your bundt pan. The last thing you want is to ruin that signature shape.
- Use whole fat yogurt to create a rich moist texture. You’ll notice that a low or nonfat yogurt won’t produce the same consistency.
- The riper your bananas are the better. You’ll want that natural sweetness and banana flavour to shine.
- Bring your butter to room temperature ahead of time. It makes for easy blending and consistent baking.
More FAQs
Use the tried and true method of the toothpick! If you insert it into the centre of the bundt cake and it comes out clean, you’re good to go. It will be around the 50-60 minute mark, depending on your oven.
Keep covered in the fridge for up to 3 days. That is, if you’re lucky enough to have leftovers.
Yes! This banana bundt cake can be kept frozen for up to 3 months. Wrap in plastic wrap and place it in a freezer-friendly bag or keep it in an airtight container. Thaw overnight when you’re ready to serve it. 2
Chocolate Chip Banana Bundt Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour (260 grams)
- 1 ¼ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 pinch salt
- â…” cup butter (softened)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 large egg
- 3 bananas (ripe and mashed)
- â…” cup plain or vanilla yogurt (whole fat)
- 2-3 tablespoons coarsely chopped nuts (walnuts/hazelnuts/pecans) if desired
- 2-3 tablespoons chocolate chips*
*Toss the chocolate chips with 1 teaspoon of flour.
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350F (180C). Grease and flour a 10 inch (25cm) bundt pan.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.
- In the mixing bowl beat (with the flat beaters) the butter until creamy about 2-3 minutes, add the sugar, beat on medium speed until pale and fluffy approximately 3 minutes. Add the vanilla and the egg, beat 1 minute, reduce the speed to low, add the mashed bananas and beat to combine. Add half the flour and the yogurt, beat to combine, add the remaining flour and nuts (if using), beat to combine.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, sprinkle with the chocolate chips and bake for 50-60 minutes or until done. After 30 minutes (not before) check the cake if browning too much cover loosely with foil and continue baking, check with a toothpick for doneness. Let cool in pan. Enjoy!