Banana Chocolate Chip Birthday Cake

Two Banana Chocolate Chip Cakes just out of the oven.

A Banana Chocolate Chip Birthday Cake is different, delicious and quick to make. I made it recently for a double-birthday celebration at the Wednesday Community Meal and it was a hit. Happy Birthday Jan and Linda!

Here's the recipe:


Banana Chocolate Chip Birthday Cake
(makes 2 9-inch cakes)

4 cups all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon sea salt
4 large over-ripe bananas
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon vanilla
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 cups mini-chocolate chips tossed with 2 tablespoons of flour

Prepare two 9-inch round cake pans with at least 2-inch sides by greasing them, lining the bottoms with greased parchment and then flouring them.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl sift together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer add the peeled over-ripe bananas. Use the beater attachment to mash and break down the bananas. Add the lemon juice, vanilla and butter and mix until well-combined. It will look soupy and the butter will look grainy.

Add 1/2 of the flour mixture and mix until a thick batter forms, scraping down the sides.

Add 1/2 of the buttermilk and mix until combined. Add the remaining flour and buttermilk and mix again until well-combined.

Finally, add the mini-chocolate chips tossed with the flour and stir them into the batter by hand.

Divide the batter among the two prepared cake pans and bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until brown and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes before inverting them onto a cooling rack.

Cool the cakes completely before frosting.

Here's the final frosted cake. I used my favorite Swiss Meringue Buttercream recipe from Julie Richardson of Baker & Spice. I love this frosting because it's easy to make and spread and isn't too sweet. To finish the cake off, I added a dark chocolate wrap around it for a little extra oomph. The chocolate wrap will get a post of its own so stay tuned....

Tim's Banana Birthday Cake

The picture my sister sent of the cake being sliced at the party.

My sister recently asked me to make a banana birthday cake for her boyfriend Tim's surprise party and I was happy to oblige. The whole family loves Tim.

I quickly got to researching banana cake recipes and found one that I liked from Bon Appétit called Double Banana Cake that called for sour cream (always a good addition to a cake) and three cups of mashed bananas which I knew would add lots of flavor and moisture. 

I also liked that the recipe called for a layer of sliced bananas between the cake layers. 

The only changes I made to the recipe was the addition of one teaspoon of vanilla extract to the batter and making an entirely different frosting. 

The original recipe called for a buttercream made with what I consider a sickly sweet amount of powdered sugar - 4 whole cups! I knew my lightly sweetened Vanilla Cream Cheese Icing made with one cup of sugar and tinted with a drop of yellow food coloring would be a much better addition to the cake. 

And, I'm pretty sure I was right. I didn't get to taste the cake but my sister sent pictures of the cake being sliced at the party and the following text:

"It's delicious Heidi! Everyone loved the frosting."

Here's the recipe:

Tim's Banana Birthday Cake

Banana Cake:

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter

2 1/4 cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

6 large eggs

3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3 cups coarsely mashed very ripe bananas (about 6 large)

3/4 cup sour cream

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and grease and flour two 8-inch cake pans with sides that are 2-inches high. Also, line the bottoms with greased parchment paper.

With an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and eggs one at a time, mixing well after each additon.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and soda.

Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, scraping down the sides of the bowl. 

Finally, add the mashed bananas and sour cream and mix until well-combined.  

Divide the batter between the prepared pans and bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

A cake ready for the oven.

Be sure to let the cakes cool in the pans for 20 minutes before inverting onto a cooling rack.

Let the cakes cool in the pans for 20 minutes before inverting onto cooling racks. Let the cakes cool completely before assembling.

Vanilla Cream Cheese Icing:

1 cup milk
1 cup sugar, divided
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened

a drop of yellow food coloring (optional)

2 ripe but not mush bananas, cut into 1/8 inch slices reserved for assembling the cake.

In a saucepan over medium heat, cook the milk and half of the sugar until simmering.
In the meantime, in a small bowl combine the cream, the other half of the sugar and cornstarch. Mix well with a whisk.

When the milk is simmering,  pour about half of it into the cream mixture and whisk well. Add it back to the milk in the saucepan and heat, stirring constantly until the mixture becomes very thick.

Remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla. Put the mixture into a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let the mixture cool completely.


When the buttercream base is cool, transfer it to a mixer and whip until smooth, add the butter and the cream cheese, a tablespoon at a time and whip until light and fluffy. Tint with yellow coloring if desired.

To Assemble:

Ice just the top of the bottom layer.

Add sliced bananas.

Top with the second layer.

Ice the entire cake. Chill the cake in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Rolled Banana Cake

The best thing about this rolled banana cake is that the custard filling is baked along with the cake so you just flip the baked cake out of the pan and roll it up and it's filled and ready to serve. This cake is light and flavorful and would make a great addition to your Easter table.

I first found the recipe on a card at Penzey's Spices. A few weeks later, I made the cake and my family loved it.

Well, I tucked the small recipe card away in a kitchen drawer and somehow it just disappeared. I looked and looked and never was able to find it again. I even searched online and inquired about the recipe at the store.

Nearly two years later, I mentioned to my friend Shannon how I once had this great banana cake recipe from Penzey's. Well, Shannon was the right person to tell.

I don't know how she did it but she tracked the recipe down in a Penzey recipe booklet and presented it to me. It was so nice of her and whenever I bake this cake I feel grateful.

Amazing Rolled Banana Cake
(recipe from Mary Harris; Penzey's One, Volume 3, Issue 5)

5 eggs, divided, room temperature
8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
3 tablespoons milk
1 large banana, mashed (1 cup)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

Lightly grease a 15x10x1 inch jelly roll pan. Line with parchment paper; grease paper. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a roomy bowl, cream together 1 egg, the cream cheese, 1/2 cup of the sugar and the milk until well blended. Pour into the prepared pan. Set aside.

Pour the cream cheese mixture onto a parchment lined and greased jelly roll pan.

Divide the 4 remaining eggs into whites and yolks. In a medium mixing bowl beat together the 4 egg yolks, banana and vanilla until well blended. Gradually add 1/3 cup of the sugar and beat well.

Beat the 4 egg whites, adding the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar gradually. Beat until stiff. Gently fold into the banana mixture.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and nutmeg. Gently fold into the banana mixture. Be careful not to beat down the egg whites.

Lightly pour or distribute over the cream cheese filling in the pan. Top with the chopped nuts at this stage, if desired.

Pour the banana cake batter over the cream cheese filling. Use a spatula to gently distribute it evenly.

Bake for 15 minutes. Keep a close eye on it. As soon as the top springs back lightly and pulls from the side of the pan it's done.

Pull from the oven. Dust liberally with sifted powdered sugar, if desired. Run a very thin knife around the edge of the  pan.

When the cake is done, dust it with powdered sugar. And run a thin knife around the edges of the cake.

Place a clean, smooth-textured kitchen towel on top of the cake and quickly flip it over. Gently peel off the parchment paper. If some of the filling sticks to the parchment, scrape it off with a flexible spatula and gently replace it on the cake.

Place a towel over the cake and quickly flip it out of the pan. Remove the parchment and scrape of any filling that is stuck to it and put it back on the cake.

Roll the cake up starting with the short side. Do not let the towel roll into the cake but act as a guide. Lift it in the towel and set it on a serving plate, unrolling just enough so it isn't sitting on the towel, but tuck the towel in on the sides while the cake sets.

Roll up the cake. Don't sweat this - the cake is amazingly flexible and giving.

Use the towel to lift the cake onto a serving platter. Dust with more powdered sugar if desired.

After 20 minutes, remove the towel. Very pretty and already filled.

A slice of banana cake.