Chocolate Banana Cake

It has been quite awhile since I last baked. With Shern birthday party preparation and all, I was quite busy for the past few weeks. This week, my hands were itching to bake and guess what? I baked twice this week.

First Bake of The Week is Chocolate Banana Cake with Chocolate Ganache Frosting. (I'll blog about my second bake later.)

Chocolate. Bananas. My favourites.
This is another recipe from Joy Of Baking which calls for two of my favourite ingredients.

Chocolate Banana Cake is a snap to put together. I like this recipe because it is simple and easy. No mixer needed. Just a bowl for the dry ingredients and another for the wet ingredients.
This recipe also do not call for butter, only corn oil which yields a soft, moist and tender crumb.

A piece of the Chocolate Banana Cake I baked - 9 June 2010

This recipe is strictly for chocolate lovers as the Chocolate Ganache frosting makes the cake very chocolate-y rich. I love it.

However, the recipe says one cup of mashed bananas. I find it too little as the rich chocolate kind of overpowered the banana tastes in the cake. I will definitely throw in another cup of mashed bananas the next time I bake this again.

Everyone loved this cake so much that my cousins who came over to stay for this 2 weeks school holidays asked me for the recipe.


Recipe: Chocolate Banana Cake (from joyofbaking)

Chocolate Banana Cake:

2 cups (400 grams) granulated white sugar
1 3/4 cups (245 grams) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (75 grams) cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 medium sized bananas)
1 cup (240 ml) warm water
1/2 cup (120 ml) milk
1/2 cup (120 ml) corn, safflower or canola oil
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Chocolate Ganache Frosting:

8 ounces (227 grams) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup (180 ml) heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon (14 gram) unsalted butter

Chocolate Banana Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place rack in the center of the oven. Butter, or spray with a non stick vegetable spray, a 9 x 13 inch (23 x 33 cm) pan. Set aside.

In a large bowl whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In another large bowl, whisk together the eggs, mashed bananas, water, milk, oil, and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir, or whisk, until combined. You will notice that the batter is quite thin. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. When completely cooled, frost with the Ganache.

Ganache: Place the chopped chocolate in a medium sized stainless steel, or heatproof bowl. Set aside. Heat the cream and butter in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil. Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Stir until smooth. When Ganache has completely cooled, beat until soft and fluffy. Then spread the frosting on top of the cake. Can garnish with dried banana chips.

Serves 16 people.