This banana chocolate chip cake is moist and filled with melty pockets of chocolate and topped with smooth chocolate frosting.
This moist and flavorful cake is a great way to use up those overripe bananas sitting on your kitchen counter.
This cake is perfect for snacking and will satisfy your sweet tooth! It is topped with a creamy and delicious chocolate frosting that is always a crowd-pleaser.
The burst of chocolate in every bite adds a decadent touch to this classic dessert.
Whether enjoyed with a cup of coffee for breakfast or as a sweet ending to your meal, this cake is sure to satisfy your cravings for something sweet and comforting.
If you are looking for more chocolate chip recipes, check out our bakery style chocolate chip cookies, chocolate chip bread pudding, chocolate chip blondies, and no butter chocolate chip cookies.
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Why this recipe works
- Texture- This cake is moist and has a soft melt in your mouth crumb from the ripe bananas, butter, and Greek yogurt, which makes this irresistible!
- One bowl cake- This delicious cake is made in one bowl! So there are minimal dishes to wash.
- Flavor- This cake has a delicious and delicate banana flavor with pockets of melty chocolate chip and chocolate frosting on top! The banana and chocolate combo is perfectly balanced.
- Chocolate frosting- This cake is topped with the most delicious silky smooth chocolate frosting.
- Great way to use ripe bananas- This recipe is perfect for when you have ripe bananas that are about to go bad.
Ingredients
Before you start to make this chocolate chip banana cake recipe, measure and prepare your ingredients so the cooking process will go smoothly and easily.
Full measurements are in the recipe card below.
Ripe bananas- Use only ripe bananas for this recipe! Overripe bananas are more sweet, moist, and easy to mash into a pudding consistency.
Flour– we used all-purpose flour for this recipe, self-rising flour, and cake flour will work great as well.
Baking soda and baking powder – baking soda and baking powder help the cookies rise and spread. Make sure that your levelers aren't expired.
Butter- use unsalted butter for this recipe. Only butter will work for this recipe, no margarine, and no coconut oil. Margarine has a weird taste and can ruin the flavor of this banana bread.
Greek yogurt- get your greek yogurt to room temperature. Any percent of fat will work for this recipe. If you don't have greek yogurt, you can use sour cream instead.
Sugar- we used granulated sugar for this recipe. You can use caster sugar as well.
Milk- use whole milk for this recipe. You can use plant-based milk as well.
Eggs- you will need 2 large eggs for this recipe. Make sure that your eggs are at room temperature.
Vanilla extract- adds extra flavor. 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract is what you will need for this recipe.
Kosher salt- you will need about ½ teaspoon of kosher salt for this recipe.
Chocolate chips- you can use any kind of chocolate chips for this, we like to use either dark chocolate chips or semisweet chocolate chips.
For the chocolate frosting
Butter- use unsalted butter for this recipe. Only butter will work for this recipe, no margarine, and no coconut oil. Margarine has a weird taste and can ruin the flavor of this delicious frosting.
Dark chocolate- I love using high-quality dark chocolate for baking and it's important to use the best quality chocolate for the best flavor and results!
Powder sugar- you will need powdered sugar for this recipe. you don’t have to buy powdered sugar, you can simply make it at home by blending granulated sugar in a blender or food processor.
Cocoa powder-You can use dutch processed cocoa powder or natural cocoa powder for this.
Kosher salt- to balance out the sweet flavor.
Vanilla extract- vanilla extract is an essential ingredient for frosting.
Milk- use whole milk for this recipe.
Instructions
Preheat an oven to 180c (350f) and prepare a 9 by 9 inch cake pan with parchment paper.
In a big mixing bowl, add the ripe bananas and mash them into a pudding-like consistency with a fork or a potato masher.
Add the eggs, yogurt, kosher salt, milk, vanilla extract, granulated sugar, milk, melted and cooled butter, and mix with a whisk until well combined.
Add the flour, baking soda, and baking powder, and mix until just combined.
Add the chocolate chips and mix until just combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake in a 180c (350f) preheated oven for about 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
Make the chocolate frosting
Into a big mixing bowl, add the soft butter, powdered sugar, heavy cream, cooled dark chocolate, kosher salt, and vanilla extract, and sift in the cocoa powder. Mix on low speed until the frosting comes together.
Increase the speed to medium to high speed and mix for about 3 minutes until the frosting is silky and smooth.
Top the room-temperature cake with the frosting and make a wave pattern with a spatula.
Expert Tips
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have moist cake and not dense and dry cake.
- Incorporate chocolate chips into the batter right before pouring them into the baking pan to evenly distribute them throughout the cake. This will ensure that each slice has a generous amount of chocolate in it.
- Mash the bananas thoroughly before adding them to the cake batter to ensure a smooth and even texture in every bite. Chunky banana pieces can affect the overall consistency of your cake.
- Use ripe bananas for maximum flavor. The natural sweetness of ripe bananas enhances the overall taste of the cake and adds moisture to the batter.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with a back of a knife.
- Be patient! I know it’s extremely tempting to eat and frost this cake as it's pulled out of the oven, but let the cake cool for at least an hour so it will be firmer and won’t crumble up. This step ensures that the frosting won’t melt off the cake. You never want to frost warm cupcakes or cakes.
Faq's
This can happen for various reasons, but the top reason for this is that you added too much flour, I always love to weigh the flour. Also, you may have overmixed the mixture and overdeveloped the gluten which made the cake dry.
If you want to make this banana cake, but you don’t have ripe bananas on hand, don’t worry! Bake regular bananas in a 200c (400f) preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, this will soften the bananas and make them a ripe banana texture.
We use all-purpose flour for this banana cake. Self-rising flour and cake flour will work great as well.
Storing
This cake will last up to 5 days stored in the fridge. Cover the cake with plastic wrap or foil to prevent it from drying out. This cake tastes amazing the day after.
Freezing
You can freeze this cake after it cooled completely in an airtight freezer-friendly container for up to 3 months.
You can freeze the whole cake or slice it into slices and then freeze it.
If you are freezing individual slices of the cake, I would recommend storing them in a ziplock bag and then transferring them to an airtight freezer-friendly container.
Make it ahead of time
You can make this cake ahead by freezing the cake layer ahead of time. Wrap the cake layer with a few layers of plastic wrap and freeze for up to 2 months.
Thaw at room temperature for 1-2 hours or in the fridge overnight.
When you are ready to frost and assemble the cake, make the frosting, and assemble the cake!
Substitutions
Gluten-free - if you want to make this recipe gluten-free, simply replace the flour with gluten-free flour.
Dairy-free- you can make this cake dairy-free by replacing the butter with vegan butter or using your favorite dairy-free chocolate frosting.
Variations
Frosting- you can use your favorite frosting for this cake like classic chocolate frosting, caramel frosting, chocolate ganache frosting, dark chocolate frosting, etc.
Chocolate chips- you can use your favorite type of chocolate chips for this recipe like milk chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, etc.
Double Chocolate- swap ⅓ cup of the flour with cocoa powder for a rich and indulgent chocolate flavor.
Nuts- Incorporate chopped nuts like walnuts or pecans into the cake batter along with the chocolate chips to add a crunchy texture and nutty flavor that complements the sweetness of the bananas.
Caramel Swirl- Drizzle caramel sauce over the banana cake batter before swirling it in with a toothpick to create a marbled effect. The combination of caramel, bananas, and chocolate chips is sure to be a crowd-pleaser.
Spices- Add warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves to your banana cake batter to create a cozy and aromatic twist on this classic dessert.
Equipment
- Mixing bowl (set of 3)
- Whisk Set (pack of 3) to whisk the ingredients together
- Brownie pan
- Rubber spatula
More banana recipes
Nutella banana bread- This incredibly moist and easy Nutella banana bread is full of ripe bananas and is swirled with plenty of Nutella. This might be my top 3 favorite banana bread recipes ever!
Moist banana mini muffins- These banana mini muffins are the most perfect bite-size snack! They are soft and moist and fluffy and are filled with banana flavor.
Best banana coffee cake- This banana coffee cake is made with soft cinnamon banana cake, filled with a cinnamon swirl filling, a cinnamon crumble topping, and a delicious glaze.
If you tried this recipe, don’t forget to leave a rating and a comment below. We love hearing from you.
If you liked this recipe
📖 Recipe
Banana Chocolate Chip Cake With Chocolate Frosting
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups Bananas melted and cooled
- ¾ cup Granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- ½ cup Butter
- 2 Eggs
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup Milk
- ¾ cup Yogurt
- 2 cups Flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking powder
- ½ teaspoon Baking soda
- ¾ cup Chocolate chips
Chocolate frosting
- 7.05 oz Butter softened
- 2.1 oz Dark chocolate melted and cooled
- 1 ¼ cups Powder sugar
- ⅓ cup Cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 2-4 tablespoon Milk
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 180c (350f) and prepare a 9 by 9 inch cake pan with parchment paper.
- In a big mixing bowl, add the ripe bananas and mash them into a pudding-like consistency with a fork or a potato masher.
- Add the eggs, yogurt, kosher salt, milk, vanilla extract, granulated sugar, milk, melted and cooled butter, and mix with a whisk until well combined.
- Add the flour, baking soda, and baking powder, and mix until just combined.
- Add the chocolate chips and mix until just combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake in a 180c (350f) preheated oven for about 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
Make the chocolate frosting
- Into a big mixing bowl, add the soft butter, powdered sugar, heavy cream, cooled dark chocolate, kosher salt, and vanilla extract, and sift in the cocoa powder. Mix on low speed until the frosting comes together.
- Increase the speed to medium to high speed and mix for about 3 minutes until the frosting is silky and smooth.
- Top the room-temperature cake with the frosting and make a wave pattern with a spatula.
Notes
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have moist cake and not dense and dry cake.
- Incorporate chocolate chips into the batter right before pouring them into the baking pan to evenly distribute them throughout the cake. This will ensure that each slice has a generous amount of chocolate in it.
- Mash the bananas thoroughly before adding them to the cake batter to ensure a smooth and even texture in every bite. Chunky banana pieces can affect the overall consistency of your cake.
- Use ripe bananas for maximum flavor. The natural sweetness of ripe bananas enhances the overall taste of the cake and adds moisture to the batter.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with the back of a knife.
- Be patient! I know it’s extremely tempting to eat and frost this cake as it's pulled out of the oven, but let the cake cool for at least an hour so it will be firmer and won’t crumble up. This step ensures that the frosting won’t melt off the cake. You never want to frost warm cupcakes or cakes.
Lisa says
What is 2-4 milk in the frosting instruction?
RichandDelish says
Hi! It's 2-4 tbsp of milk. Add it until you get a perfect buttercream creaminess.