Banana Chocolate Chip Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

Bananas and chocolate, a match made in heaven, wouldn’t you say? If you’re not convinced, try triple chocolate banana muffins or chocolate chip banana bread.

This banana cake is one of my absolute favorite things that my mom makes. It is so very moist, and topped with chocolate cream cheese frosting, it is just perfect.

Another totally excellent combination is banana cake with lemon cream cheese frosting but we’ll save that for another day.

The Best Banana chocolate Chip Cake

I took this recipe totally over the top. I did think about making the cake with less frosting. If you were making a layer cake with this recipe, the amount of frosting would be perfect. However, if you don’t have a HUGE sweet tooth, I’d suggest halving the frosting for a 9 x 13 inch cake.

My mother in law said this was “the best cake and frosting she ever had.” And let me tell you, the woman is no cake novice. I consider this an expert opinion.

My husband loves it, too. He keeps calling it banana bread. I like that because it sounds healthier than it really is. My kids love anything with chocolate so you can guess their opinion.

About This Banana Cake Recipe

It’s easy to make. All of us have made simple cake mixes from the box: pour the mix into a bowl, add eggs, oil, and water and beat with an electric mixer. Imagine a cake made from scratch that really isn’t all that much more difficult. There’s a bit more measuring but that’s about it. You’ll still need an electric mixer and one mixing bowl. You have to smush the bananas but that’s a pretty easy job. Use a fork or a pastry cutter to make quick work of the bananas.

All natural ingredients. Yes, cake mixes contain extra additives that your homemade cake doesn’t have. Take a look at some of the ingredients contained in a well-known brand. Things like wheat starch, sodium stearoyl lactylate, fractionated palm oil, cellulose gum, artificial colors and flavors, and other really nasty sounding stuff.

Lots of real bananas. If you look at that banana cake mix, you’ll see it contains less than 2% dehydrated banana flakes instead of the three real bananas in your homemade cake. I’d say the choice is pretty simple. Give this homemade cake a try and I think you’ll agree.

Helpful Tips

Use ripe bananas. How ripe should bananas be for banana cake? The riper the bananas are, the sweeter the cake will be, with so much banana flavor. The bananas should be completely yellow, with lots of brown freckles. Even if they are somewhat soft and maybe almost all brown, they’re just perfect for banana cake, banana muffins, or banana bread. If you happen to have an excess, freeze bananas to use later. It’s very easy. No more throwing away those overripe bananas on your counter!

Measure the mashed bananas. Be sure to measure the mashed bananas before adding them to the batter. Bananas vary widely in size and you may not need 3 bananas if your bananas are large.

Accurately measure the flour. Measure your flour correctly. Use a spoon to scoop the flour out of the storage container. Lightly fill the measuring cup and then level the top with a straight edge. Don’t shake the flour down to settle it or you’ll end up with too much flour. Too much flour results in a dry, heavy cake.

Keep the chocolate chips from sinking. One trick that I’ve used frequently is to toss the chocolate chips in a bit of flour or cocoa powder before adding them. You can use this tip when adding dried fruit or berries to a cake too. It’s not always 100% effective though.
A tip that I’ve been using more lately is a little different. Don’t add the chocolate chips to the batter right away. Pour half of the plain batter into the pan; fold the chocolate chips into the remaining batter and then add it to the top of the batter already in the pan. Don’t stir both layers together. Bake as directed. This trick works well and I think you’ll like the results.
P.S. Mini chocolate chips are light enough so that they don’t sink to the bottom.

Possible Recipe Variations

• Add ins: Instead of mini chocolate chips, add walnuts, pecans, or even raisins. You can make a plain banana cake with no chips or nuts too.
• Frosting options: Top your cake with vanilla cream cheese frosting or vanilla butter cream frosting. Try peanut butter frosting (who doesn’t love that classic combo: bananas and peanut butter?). If you’re in a pinch, a can of frosting is always an option.
• Skip the frosting. This cake is so moist and flavorful, a light dusting of confectioner’s sugar will do the job just fine and may be better for those who don’t have a big sweet tooth.

Storage Tips

Unless you’re serving the cake within a few hours of making it, it should be refrigerated to keep the cream cheese frosting fresh. It will keep for a few days in the refrigerator as long as it is covered well.