We always have bananas in our fruit bowl. Gigi loves to eat her “nanas” in the morning while catching up with Curious George. I toss one into my breakfast smoothie along with frozen strawberries, almond butter and whatever else sounds good at the time. When my family is visiting, my dad takes at least 2 with him to snack on at the casino (or, as we call it: “the office.”)
As a result of our banana-fandom, I’ve gotten into a habit of buying a bunch every time that I go to Trader Joe’s….or Smith’s…..or Whole Foods. I just assume that we need them or that we will be running out of them, soon.
Last week, I had a lot on my mind, trying to juggle about 86 contractors at our house, a catering order and the fact that Gigi had developed some artistic abilities (translation: she started drawing on the living room walls with crayons.)
Because of this, I failed to notice (twice) that we already had bananas at home when I went to the store, and we ended up with about a dozen on our kitchen island, most of which were ripening faster than we could eat them (my dad wasn’t visiting.)
What’s a girl to do? What is a girl to do?
Did somebody say “pound cake?”
You simply cannot go wrong with the combination of bananas and chocolate. Just ask a banana split. Or chocolate-covered frozen bananas. Or Chunky Monkey. Fortunately, I happen to have just as much chocolate in my pantry as I do bananas in the fruit bowl. Shocking, I know.
It had been a while since I’d pulled out my Bundt pan, so I decided to dust it off and create a classic American bakery-worthy sweet treat: lightly spiced chocolate chunk-studded banana cake draped with a rich, bittersweet chocolate glaze and sprinkled with toasted almonds.
It’s sweet, moist and proof that having too many bananas is a good thing.
When life hands you over-ripened bananas......make Banana Chocolate Chunk Bundt Cake! Pureed bananas and sour cream make this lightly spiced cake extra moist, and the rich, bittersweet glaze is literally the icing on the cake.
Ingredients
- 2-1/2 cups (625 mL) cake flour
- 1-1/2 teaspoons (7 mL) baking powder
- 1 teaspoon (5 mL) baking soda
- 1 teaspoon (5 mL) ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 mL) ground cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 mL) ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 mL) salt
- 3/4 cup (175 mL) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup (250 mL) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) lightly packed light brown sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons (10 mL) vanilla extract
- 1-1/2 cups (375 mL) pureed very ripe bananas (about 3 medium)
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) sour cream
- 1-1/2 cups (375 mL) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chunks
- 1 cup (250 mL) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips
- 4 tablespoons (60 mL) unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup (75 mL) cream
- 1-1/2 tablespoons (22 mL) light corn syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon (1 mL) salt
- Toasted sliced almonds (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F degrees. Spray a 10-inch (25 cm) bundt pan with non-stick baking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and salt.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and both sugars at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla and the banana puree.
- Lower the speed to medium-low. Add half of the flour mixture, then the sour cream, and finally the rest of the flour mixture, mixing to blend after each addition. Fold in the chocolate chunks.
- Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan, smoothing the top with an offset spatula or a spoon. Bake until a cake tester or a thin knife inserted into the center of the cake emerges clean, 50-60 minutes.
- Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Loosen the cake from the sides of the pan and carefully invert onto a wire rack set over paper towels or foil.
- For the glaze: In a medium saucepan, heat the chocolate chips, butter, cream, corn syrup and salt over medium-low heat until melted and smooth, stirring frequently.
- Allow the glaze to cool slightly, and then drizzle it over the cake, allowing it to run down the sides. Sprinkle the top with toasted almonds (optional.) Cool the glaze completely or refrigerate the cake to set the glaze.
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