Banana Cake with Chocolate Frosting

Anyone who has been following my blog for a while now will know that I have a weakness for banana cake, bread, etc. I love trying different banana cake recipes and it helps since I always, always have bananas in my kitchen. My favorite fruit, but they can't be too ripe. I like them with a tinge of green. So, needless to say, once they get beyond having a few little brown specs on them, they are recipe ready!

I found this recipe at Lick the Bowl Good. Monica has a fabulous site with the most delicious looking cakes. My mouth waters every time she has a new one posted. This lady not only has great tasting cakes but they are decorated beautifully. My goal is to be able to present as pretty a cake as she does. Please check out her site if you are not familiar with it. You will not be disappointed.

I've made quite a few banana cakes and breads in the past and this has become one of my favorites. It is a bit lighter than the usual banana cakes and breads and has a wonderful flavor. I found the frosting to be a bit more of a thick glaze but that could be because I "fooled" around with it a bit. I made this into a bundt cake rather than a layer cake and did not need too much frosting. Regardless, it is delicious. I used a dark cocoa powder and I also added chocolate chips to the cake batter so it was very chocolatey indeed. I find with banana recipes you cannot go wrong adding chocolate and it would be really hard to add too much. The combo is just perfect.

We are headed to the beach again this weekend. They are having an oyster festival and I love fried oysters. Not raw, they MUST be fried!!! The weather here in Virginia is supposed to be just perfect - mid to high 70's......does it get any better than that? Good food and weather! I will try to remember to take some pics and post them when I get back. I always seem to get caught up in the moment and forget to take out my camera.....the food gets eaten rather quickly!!!

Have a great weekend everyone, and thank you Monica for a terrific cake!!!

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softenend

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas

Chocolate Frosting

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1/3 cup evaporated milk or half in half

4 cups sifted confectioners sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

To make the cake, heat the over to 350F. Grease and flour two 9 inch cake pans (I used a Bundt pan). Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl and stir with a fork to combine well.

In a large bowl, combine the butter and sugar and beat well, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one by one, and then the vanilla. Beat well for 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down the bowl occassionally until you have a smooth batter.

Using a large spoon, stir in half the flour just until it disappears into the batter. Stir in the buttermilk and then the remaining flour the same way. Quickly and gently fold in the mashed banana and then divide the batter between the 2 cake pans.

Bake at 350F for 25 to 30 minutes until the cakes are golden brown, spring back when touched lightly in the center and begin to pull away from the sides of the pan.

Cool for 10 minutes in the pans on wire racks. Then turn out onto the racks to cool completely.

To make the frosting, combine the butter, cocoa and evaporated milk in a medium saucepan. Place over medium heat and bring to a gentle boil. Cook, stirring often for about 5 minutes, until the cocoa dissolves into a dark shiny essence. Remove from the heat and stir in the confectioners sugar and vanilla. Beat with a mixer at low speed until you have a thick, smooth frosting.

To complete the cake, place one layer, top side down, on a cake plate and spread about 1 cup of frosting evenly over the top. Cover with the second layer placed top side up. Spread the rest of the frosting evenly first over the sides and then covering the top of the cake.

For a Bundt cake bake at 350F for 55-60 minutes.