Moist Chocolate Banana Cake

Instructions

Preparations

* Preheat the oven: to 365ºF (185ºC).
* Coat a thin layer of butter inside the pans. This prevents cakes from sticking to the pans.
* Sift all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and baking soda together.

The cake

Mix the dry ingredients with a whisk; sugar: salt, all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda. Set it aside.
14.1 oz Granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon Salt, 10.6 oz All purpose flour, 3.5 oz Cocoa powder, 1 tablespoon Baking powder, 1 tablespoon Baking soda
Mash ripe bananas with a fork or potato masher in a separate bowl until the chinks look like an oatmeal breakfast meal.
14.1 oz Banana (Ripe)
Add all the wet ingredients; whole eggs, oil, and vanilla extract to the mashed bananas. Mix them with a whisk until evenly mixed.
7 oz Egg, 7 oz Oil, 2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
Add the dried ingredients to the wet ingredients. The batter is quite thick at the very beginning. Fold it with a spatula until it is evenly incorporated.
Add hot simmering water: Add ⅓ - ½ of the whole amount first, mix well, and add the rest to prevent the cake batter from getting cooked. Mix until evenly incorporated.
14.1 oz Hot water
Pour the cake batter into the prepared pans and bake (Preheated) at 365ºF (185ºC) for about 40 minutes until the center cooks through. (Adjust the time & temperature, depending on the oven, the size of the pan, the thickness of the cake, etc.) Insert a toothpick and see if it comes off clean. You might see the toothpick is a little bit wet because of the mashed banana, which is fine. Just ensure it's not the wet batter. Or touch the center of the cake to check: It should be dry and bounce back gently. Let the cakes cool down on a kitchen counter until they feel slightly warm in touch before taking them out from the pans. Insert a spatula or a small knife around the cake to ensure it is not sticking to the pan. Push the spatula inward slightly to detach the side and the bottom.

Chocolate Ganache (Optional)

Make ganache (Optional). Melt chocolate with a water bath. Add slightly warm to room temperature heavy cream to the melted chocolate gradually and mix well with a spatula each time until the ganache looks smooth. (I usually divide it into 4 - 5 times.) Add honey and mix.
14.1 oz Dark chocolate, 14.1 oz Heavy cream, 1 tablespoon Honey
Spread ganache on top of the cake. Sprinkle toasted walnuts on top as an option. Slice & enjoy!
Some Toasted walnut

Tips

* Banana for chocolate cake: I highly recommend using ripe bananas to get the best results. Not only it's easier to mash it, but it also gives the cake a better texture and sweetness. You'll see brown stains around the skin when they are perfectly ripe. If your banana is not ripe enough, leave it outside in a warmer place. Or add apples in the same bag to speed up the ripening process.
* Taking out the cakes from a pan: They are very fragile when they are hot since they are so moist and soft. Always let the cakes cool down before you take them out from the pans.
* Simmering water: I usually start heating the water after mixing the wet ingredients. When heating the water too early, it starts boiling hard and evaporates too much.
* Baking pans: I used 2 1.5-QT loaf pans (8.5" x 4.5") this time.
* Ganache: I like to spread a generous amount of dark chocolate ganache on top to compliment this cake. The moist, soft cake and silky, smooth ganache match so well. It is optional, but I highly recommend trying it if you have extra time.
* The ganache might be too loose to coat on top of a cake right after it's made, depending on the temperature of the chocolate and heavy cream. In that case, set it aside for some time - It'll slowly get thicker!
* The ganache gets hard when it cools down completely. Do not chill the frosted cake in the fridge if you want to enjoy a smooth, soft ganache frosting. I recommend frosting it right before serving the cake!

Moist Chocolate Banana Cake

Equipment

Ingredients

Chocolate Ganache on Top

Instructions

Preparations

The cake

Chocolate Ganache (Optional)

Tips

Video

Notes

How to store it:

Nutrition