Chocolate Marble Banana Cake

What do you do when you have ripened bananas in your kitchen? Usually I make banana nut bread. Today I made chocolate banana cake instead. I made chocolate ganache and swirled it into the the batter, and baked it in a Bundt pan. Recipe adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction

Ingredients:

Chocolate ganache:

4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate bars, finely chopped

1/2 Cup heavy cream

Cake:

3 large ripe banana, mashed ( 1 1/2 cups)

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed light or dark brown sugar

3 large eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 1/3 cups buttermilk

Method:

Ganache:

1. Place finely chopped chocolate in a medium heat-proof bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until it begins to gently simmer.

2. Pour it over chocolate, then let it sit for a couple minutes.

3. Slowly stir until completely combined and chocolate has melted. Set aside.

                                                         

  

Cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degree F(177 C) and generously grease a 10- inch Bundt pan.

2. Mash the bananas until there's hardly any lumps. Set aside.

3.Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together. Set aside. 

                                               

                                                   

4. Using a hand held or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on high speed until smooth and creamy (1 minute).

                                

5. Add both sugars and beat on high speed for 2 minutes until creamed together. Scrape the sides and bottom.

                                 

6. Add the eggs and vanilla. Beat on medium-high speed until combined.

                                                        

7. Beat in the mashed bananas. Scrape the sides and bottom of  the bowl. The mixture would appear curdled.

                               

8. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk and mixing each addition just until incorporated. The batter will be thick with some lumps.

                               

                                                         

9. Pour about 1/3 of the batter evenly into prepared pan. Drizzle half of the ganache on top. Swirl with a knife or toothpick.

                               

       

10. Evenly pour another 1/3 of the cake batter on top, followed by the rest of the ganache, then the rest of the batter. Swirl everything together with a knife or toothpick.

                                 

11. Bake for 60-75 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Once done, remove from oven and allow to cool for 2 hours inside the pan. Then, invert the slightly cooled cake onto a cooling rack or serving dish. cool completely before serving.

                                         

Notes:

1. If you are topping the cake with ganache, double the recipe for ganache. Use two 4 ounce semi-sweet chocolate bars and 1 cup heavy cream.

2. Make sure you swirl the ganache and cake layer for marble effect. This was my first time making a marble cake, and I did not swirl it all the way through.

3. You can prepare the ganache up to 5 days in advance. Make sure to warm the ganache before using. Ganache for swirling should be slightly thicker and thin for topping.