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Desserts and Baking

One Bowl Banana Cake with Chocolate and Caramel

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 This one bowl banana cake with chocolate and caramel is delicious, easy to make and incredibly moist. Perfect with a cup of your favourite hot drink and the recipe everyone will be asking for!

Banana Bundt cake on wooden board with some slices

Fuss free baking

There is nothing that gets on my nerves more then the amount of washing up cooking and baking creates! I hate that I have to do that bit too. LOL. The great thing about this cake though, is that it is all made in one bowl.

Just one bowl

The best thing about this cake is that you just dump all of your ingredients into the bowl, mix it, and pour it into the pan.

How to make the one bowl Banana Cake with Chocolate

Start by mashing the bananas in a large bowl and add all the other ingredients minus the chopped chocolate. 

All the ingredients in a large bowl

Use an electric mixer to mix on very low speed initially, then mix on high briefly.

Mix in the chopped chocolate. 

Spray or grease and flour your tin, before pouring the batter into the tin. 

Cake batter in tin

Pop it in the oven at 190 C/GM 5, and bake for 40-50 minutes.  

Cake in tin

Allow to cool for 10 minutes.

To remove the cake from the tin, run a knife around the edges to loosen it up, and set a cooling rack on the surface of the cake.  Flip the cake out of the tin.

Banana cake cooling on wooden board

Using super ripe bananas really helps to make the most moist banana cake.

You can also use buttermilk, sour milk or yoghurt in your cake. I do this on occasion but not for this cake.

Some people bake the cake and then put it into the freezer for 30 - 45 minutes. I have never tried this method so I can't really speak for it but I have read good things.

You can substitute the butter for oil but it does take away from the overall flavour. 

Why is my banana bread/cake so dense?

Banana cake should be dense but there is such a thing as too dense.

There are several reasons why your banana cake/bread may be too dense, but I have shared the ones that are relevant here:

FIRST - As tempting as it is, DO NOT OVER MIX THE BATTER. Over mixing creates more gluten, which means a more chewy and dense cake.

Older eggs create a denser cake.

Too much liquid = too much moisture = dense heavy cake.

Banana cake can vary in cooking times by a full 10 minutes. One of the reasons that it may sink, is that it could be underbaked. Banana cake tends to look baked before it actually is. Make sure the top is firm to the touch and that a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. If the cake is looking really brown but is still not cooked in the middle, cover the top with some foil and bake a little longer.

Make sure that you are using the correct amount of banana as too much will increase the moisture and make it difficult for the bread to cook through properly.

Measure your baking powder/bicarbonate of soda carefully. Too much of these can cause the cake to rise and then sink as it cools.

The difference between banana bread and banana cake

Who knows?
The appeal with both banana bread and banana cake is that they are a really great solution to the bananas that are dying and fast becoming a drink, on your kitchen counter top.
 

Even David Leibowitz talks about this very subject in the introduction to his banana bread recipe. Turns out he doesn’t know the difference between banana bread and banana cake either and if he doesn't know..then who does?

I will say though, that years ago I remember trying a recipe for banana bread and being so disappointed because it was actually bread like. What did i expect? LOL. Apparently it was a recipe that was a staple in cafes across Australia and was usually served with a smothering of cold butter. To me it had a really distant taste of banana and was really bland otherwise. I think I was looking for banana cake flavour from a banana bread.

So I guess there is a difference and that is:

Banana cake is more sweet, less dense, less dry.

Banana bread can be made with strong white/wholemeal flour and banana cake is make with plain or self raising flour.

Add ins

Banana cake is forgiving and as such, you can add:

  • Pecans
  • Walnuts
  • Desiccated Coconut
  • Crushed, drained Pineapple chunks from a tin
  • Raisins

Storing Banana Bread/Cake 

If you don’t gobble it all up, you can  store banana bread in an air tight container for up to 3 days on the counter. It will last up to a week in the fridge.

Top Tips for Banana Cake/Bread

  • Bananas should be very dark and therefore very ripe. 
  • To ripen banana fast, preheat the oven to 150 C/Gas Mark 2. Place the bananas on a lined baking tray and bake for 15-20 minutes or until darkened. Baking times may vary depending on the size, thickness and current ripeness of banana. 
  • Use room temperature eggs. To quickly get room temp eggs place them in a bowl with warm water for about 10 minutes.  
  • Once you pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredient, GENTLY mix the batter just until combined. Do NOT over mix the batter.

Some more of my favourite baking recipes include:

 Jeera Shortbread, Pretzel and Salted Caramel Tiffin Bar

Banana Bundt cake on wooden board with some slices
5 from 1 vote
Print

One Bowl Banana Cake with Chocolate and Caramel

This one bowl banana cake with chocolate and caramel is delicious, easy to make and incredibly moist. Perfect with a cup of your favourite hot drink and great for a last minute cake request.

Course Baking
Cuisine American, English
Keyword Afternoon Tea, Banana Cake, Cake, One Bowl Cake
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Calories 518 kcal
Author Safira

Ingredients

  • 270 g Plain Flour
  • 250 g Caster Sugar
  • 4 Bananas Very ripe and lightly mashed with a fork if not falling apart
  • 115 g Butter
  • 2 Eggs
  • 2 ½ tsp Baking Powder
  • ½ tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
  • 1/8 tsp Salt
  • 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 300 g Milk or Dark Chocolate Chopped
  • 3 - 4 tbsp Caramel I use store brough Salted Caramel (Optional)
  • 1-2 tbsp Gold Sprinkle Sugar Linked below (Optional)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 190°C/Gas Mark 5.

  2. Spray or grease/flour your bundt/20cm round tin. Alternatively you can line, if you are not using a bundt tin.

  3. Seive the plain flour and sugar. (Optional).

  4. Mash the banana in a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer. Add all the ingredients except the chocolate to your stand mixer or to a large bowl.

  5. Beat the batter by hand or in your stand mixer/electrix mixer on low just to incorporate and then on high for 3 - 4 minutes.

  6. Stir in the chopped chocolate gently and pour into tin.

  7. Bake for 40-50 mins.

  8. Allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes, and loosen edges with a knife before tipping cake out of the tin.

  9. Once cool, spoon over the caramel and you can add sparkly sugar like my daughter did.

Recipe Notes

  • Bananas should be very dark and ripe - To ripen banana super quick, preheat the oven to 150 C/Gas Mark 2. Place the bananas on a lined baking tray and bake for 15-20 minutes or until darkened. Baking times may vary depending on the size, thickness and current ripeness of banana. 
  • Use room temperature eggs - To quickly get room temp eggs place them in a bowl with warm water for about 10 minutes.  
  • Once you pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, GENTLY mix the batter. Do NOT over mix.
  • Calories are calculated minus the caramel and gold sugar.
  • Banana cake can vary in cooking times by a full 10 minutes. Banana cake tends to look baked before it actually is. Make sure the top is firm to the touch and that a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. If the cake is looking really brown but is still not cooked in the middle, cover the top with some foil and bake a little longer.
Nutrition Facts
One Bowl Banana Cake with Chocolate and Caramel
Amount Per Serving
Calories 518
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

 

 

 

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