The Best Banana Bundt Cake with Chocolate Glaze

This easy banana bundt cake recipe is sweet, moist, and proof that having too many leftover ripe bananas is a good thing. I featured a version of this delicious cake in my Bundt cookbook (more on that, below.) And since I have a habit of buying bananas every time that I go to the grocery store, whether we need them or not, I find myself with an "excuse" to make this beautiful, chocolate-glazed Bundt on a regular basis.

Why My Banana Bundt Cake is The Best Use for overripe Bananas

• Distinct banana flavor: The best banana cake should taste, well, like bananas! This Bundt boast 1-½ cups of mashed ripe banana, blended with warm spices and rich chocolate chunks.
• Moist texture: Some banana Bundts can be on the dry or crumbly side, either from overbaking or lack of ingredients that create a tender crumb. This recipe uses a combination of softened butter and oil along with my secret weapon of sour cream to ensure that every bite is deliciously moist.
• Chocolate glaze!: To take this recipe to the next level, I topped the cake with a rich chocolate glaze, which becomes fudgy when chilled, and a sprinkle of toasted almonds. The beautiful presentation, along with the fact that one cake serves a crowd makes this a great recipe to serve as individual slices at your next dinner party or holiday celebration.

Pro Banana Bundt Baking Tips

1. Use very ripe bananas: Ripe bananas not only add a more pronounced banana flavor to banana cake recipes, they are easier to mash and add to batter. See the section below, How to Properly Mash Ripe Bananas, for more details on choosing and mashing bananas.
2. Use room temperature ingredients: Softened, room temperature butter and room temperature eggs are easier to incorporate into your batter. Cold pieces of butter will never really blend into the batter.
3. Watch the baking time: If you've baked any of my Bundt cakes, you will know that they take about an hour (or more) to bake due to their depth and density. You will know this cake is baked when a toothpick or a thin knife inserted into the center of the cake emerges with just a few moist crumbs attached. Watch the cake closely towards the end of the baking process so that it does not overbake and result in a dry cake.
4. Make it one day ahead: This cake is best baked one day and glazed the next day, so that the crumb has time to settle and is easier to slice. Cool the cake completely on a wire rack, and then wrap the whole cake tightly in plastic wrap to store overnight.

Ingredients and Special Equipment

See full recipe card at the bottom of this post for specific quantities.

Banana Bundt Cake Ingredient Notes

• Bananas: Use very ripe, fragrant, almost brown bananas that have lots of speckles.
• Dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger
• Butter and oil: Vegetable oil, canola oil, safflower oil, and melted coconut oil are all good choices.
• Large eggs: Room temperature.
• White sugar and brown sugar: Light or dark brown sugar may be used.
• Sour cream: Use full-fat or low-fat, not fat-free.
• Vanilla extract
• Chocolate chunks: Substitute semisweet chocolate chips.
• Corn syrup
• Heavy cream

Special Equipment

• Bundt cake pan: I recommend a 12-cup classic Bundt pan for this recipe. You can use a 10-cup pan, but it will result in a much taller cake.
• Nonstick baking spray: I away use a nonstick baking spray for my Bundt cakes (Pam for Baking and Baker's Joy are two brands.) If differs from nonstick cooking spray in that it incorporates flour into the spray, which I find helpful in releasing Bundts seamlessly from their pans.
• Potato masher: Optional. See How to Properly Mash Ripe Bananas.

How to Properly Mash Your Ripe Bananas

The best bananas for mashing are fully ripe with yellow skins that may have some brown spots. Ripe bananas are softer and easier to mash. There are a few schools of thought as the best way to mash a banana for banana recipes:

1. Use a fork: Place bananas in a medium bowl (or a large bowl if you are mashing several bananas.) Using your fork, press down on the bananas and then use a stirring motion to mash them into a smooth consistency. Mash until there are no large lumps left.
2. Use a potato masher: If you have a potato masher, use it instead of a fork again mashing in a separate bowl and adding to the batter. It can make the process quicker and may result in a smoother texture.
3. Food processor or blender: If you're looking for a completely smooth texture, use a blender or a food processor to puree the bananas. I prefer to have some texture to my mashed bananas, so I usually don't use this method.
4. Zip-top bag: Place bananas in a large zip-top bag with the air squeezed out. Using your hands, squeeze the bananas to mash them. While this may be the most fun method, it's also the least efficient, as it's challenging to get all of the mashed banana out of the bag!

Step by Step Photos and Instructions

Prepare Banana Bundt Cake Batter

1. Preheat the oven to 350℉/180℃Spray a 12-cup Bundt pan with nonstick baking spray.
2. In a large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and salt.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or using a hand mixer and a mixing bowl, beat sugar, brown sugar, butter, and oil at medium high speed for 3 minutes or until light and fluffy.

4. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl as necessary.

5. Beat in the mashed bananas and the vanilla

6. With the mixer on low speed, alternately beat in half of the dry ingredients and half of the sour cream, followed by the other half of the flour mixture and sour cream, mixing until incorporated.

7. Beat in the chocolate chunks and then transfer the batter to the prepared Bundt pan; smooth the top.

8. Bake the cake in the preheated oven for 60-70 minutes or until the top is puffed and golden and a tester or thin knife inserted into the center comes out wiht only a few moist crumbs attached.

9. Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes, and then carefully invert it onto a cooling rack to cool completely. At this point, you can either wrap the cake tightly in plastic wrap and store at room temperature or in the refrigerator overnight before glazing, or you can glaze it right away.

Glaze the Cake

1. In a small saucepan, stir together chocolate, cream, and corn syrup over medium heat until melted and smooth. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Let the glaze cool slightly before drizzling over the cake.
2. Pour the glaze over the cooled Bundt, letting it drip down the sides of the cake. Optional: Sprinkle the top of the cake with sliced almonds. Let the glaze set for at least 20 minutes before serving.

Variations on Banana Bundt Cake

Baking Pan Variations

If you don't have a Bundt pan, bake the cake batter in a large (10X5 inch loaf pan) or several small loaf pans. For a sheet cake, bake the batter in a 9X13 inch baking pan lined with parchment. Baking times will vary based on the size and shape of your baking pan.

Topping Variations

Replace the chocolate glaze with a vanilla, almond, or cream cheese frosting, or simply give it a dusting of confectioner's sugar.

Mix-In and Flavoring Variations

The next time that you bake this Bundt, substitute peanut butter or butterscotch chips for the chocolate chunks, or mix in some dried cranberries, chopped nuts, or shredded coconut. Substitute greek yogurt for the sour cream and change up the spices by incorporating nutmeg.

How to Make a Gluten Free Banana Bundt Cake

The banana Bundt that I created for my Bundt cookbook was actually gluten-free, and it's de-licious!! To make this recipe gluten-free friendly, replace the 3 cups flour with 1-½ cups brown rice flour, ⅔ cup sweet rice flour, ⅔ cup potato starch, ½ cup almond flour, 6 tablespoon tapioca starch, and 1 teaspoon xanthan gum. Reduce the oil to ¼ cup and the sour cream to ½ cup.

Make Ahead and Storage Instructions

Make Ahead

Bake the Bundt one day in advance and store at room temperature overnight, tightly wrapped in plastic, before glazing. You can also freeze the unglazed cake for up to one month. Seal it tightly in a freezer bag or double wrap it in plastic before freezing. Thaw the cake overnight at room temperature and then glaze.

Storage Tips

Once glazed, this Bundt cake will last for 3-4 days at room temperature or in the refrigerator (for more humid climates, I recommend storing the cake in your refrigerator.) Store the cake in an airtight container or on a plate tightly covered in plastic wrap or aluminum foil.

Looking for some more delicious recipes to use with your Bundt pan? Here are some of my tried and true favorite Bundts:

• Peach Cobbler Pound Cake
• The Perfect Old Fashioned Pound Cake Recipe
• Mardi Gras King Cake with Lemon Glaze
• Chocolate Valentine's Day Bundt Cake
• Applesauce Bundt Cake with Spiced Sugar Topping

Tried this recipe and loved it? Take a photo and tag me on Instagram or give it a review!