Chocolate Banana Cake Recipe

Decadent chocolate cake with the deliciousness of bananas <3 

Rich and moist chocolate cake baked with fragrant mashed bananas and melted chocolate chips, topped with a creamy chocolate ganache

> Origin: Chocolate
> Cost: Cheap
> Ease: Easy

Who doesn't love chocolate cake? Honestly, this is a REALLY rich chocolate cake. This is kind of just a basic chocolate cake recipe you can find anywhere on the internet, with some bananas and chocolate chips added in. *I got the adding in small chocolate chips from a site, but I can't remember for the life of me. If I find, I shall link you guys!* I found that the banana taste was a bit too weak, so next time I make it, I think I'll be more generous with the bananas, since banana chocolate cake is awesome. I might also do a layer cake, in which there's a center chocolate banana mixture for texture-sake. I loved the chocolate ganache, and I tend to make it and just pour like crazy whenever I make chocolate cakes now. I did make a mistake of pouring it on too soon with the first cake I made, it's a lot better to let it cool so it thickens a bit more, so it doesn't all pour off onto the plate :P ! 

Ingredients:

-          2 cups sugar

-          1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

-          3/4 cup cocoa powder

-          1 1/2 tspn baking powder

-          1 1/2 tspn baking soda

-          1/2 tspn salt

-          2 large eggs (room temperature)

-          1.5 cups mashed bananas

-     1.5 cups small chocolate chips (you can mix in some normal sized too)

-          1 cup warm water

-          1/2 cup (warm) milk

-          1/2 cup corn oil

-          1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1.       Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Spray your cake pan with nonstick cooking spray. 

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

3.       In another large bowl, whisk together the eggs, mashed bananas, water, milk, oil, and vanilla extract (all at room temperature). Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir/whisk until well-combined. Add in the chocolate chips and stir again. 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 'relatively' clean. (Tip: If your toothpick comes out completely clean, your cake is too well-done. Remember that it will continue to bake a little bit after you take it out of the oven due to the heat still trapped inside.)

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

Notes: 

> When baking a cake, make sure you don't open the oven all the time to check on your cake (no matter how tempting it is). Everytime you open the oven, the pressure changes and the heat distribution changes. In addition, if you slam the door shut afterwards, it could cause the air inside your cake to pop and the cake might be collapsed in the middle. Same with when you take it out of the oven, carefully place it down and no sudden movements! :D

Chocolate Ganache (Credits to [Insert Name and Link  ><;;]:

-          9 oz (0.26kg/1.15cups/266ml) bittersweet chocolate, chopped

-          1 cup heavy cream

1.       Place the chocolate into a medium bowl. Heat the cream in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil, watching very carefully because if it boils for a few seconds, it will boil out of the pot. When the cream has come to a boil, pour over the chopped chocolate, and whisk until smooth.

2.       Allow the ganache to cool slightly before pouring over a cake. Start at the center of the cake and work outward. For a fluffy frosting or chocolate filling, allow it to cool until thick, then whip with a whisk until light and fluffy.