These sweet little cakes are perfect.
They are single-portion size. They pair beautifully with homemade vanilla ice cream (See ice cream recipe here.) They are beautiful. And then, there is the combination of quality chocolate (Barry Callebaut chocolate) and ripe bananas–a sure-fire winner on the flavor scale.
I used my new mini bundt pan mold for the recipe and the little cakes came out great. I love this pretty swirl pattern.(I think this is Nordic Ware’s prettiest bundt pan. I also have their full-size swirl pattern bundt pan that I used on the lemon bliss bundt cake that I previously posted on Blue Cayenne. You can take a look here. While you are at it, you might want to try that recipe for the holidays. It is an outstanding cake.)
Have I mentioned that I’m a kitchen gadget junkie?
When we were traveling to exotic places, I sought out obscure local cookware stores and bought whatever intrigued me. I have Turkish kebap skewers, Greek retsina carafes, and a lot of other stuff I am still trying to identify. I used to have a semi-pornographic raw coconut grater from the Cook Islands (a gift from a friend), but, after years of storing it in the dark recesses of my closet where no one would see it, modesty finally took over and I tucked it away in a Goodwill donation. I can only imagine what a stir that one caused when it was unpacked in the Goodwill back room.
I have drawers full of kitchen gadgets. Call me if you need anything. No. Really.
Save RecipeIngredients
- 4 1/2 ounces King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- 1 t. baking soda
- 1/4 t. salt
- 3/8 ounce All-Purpose Baking Cocoa or Dutch-process cocoa
- 4 ounces soft unsalted butter
- 3 1/2 ounces sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 t. vanilla extract
- 8 ounces mashed banana (about 2 medium bananas)
- 4 ounces sour cream
- 6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips (chocolate mini-chips preferred)
- Powdered sugar and maraschino cherries to garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. If you are using loaf pans (9 x 5 inch), lightly grease them. If you are using a mini-bundt pan mold (as I did), spray they with oil. With the mini-bundt pans, be very sure to spray them carefully; there are a lot of nooks and crannies in those pans and you want your little bundt cakes to come out clean.
- Combine the flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa. Set aside.
- Using a separate bowl, beat the butter and sugar until they are light and creamy. I used a hand mixer for this. Then, beat in the egg and stir in the vanilla, banana and the sour cream.
- Gently, mix in the dry ingredients and the chocolate chips until they are well incorporated. I used Calliebut semi-sweet chocolate chips. (The original recipe recommended using mini chocolate chips. I think that is a good suggestion to ensure that the chocolate melts properly.
- If you are using a loaf pan, pour (or scrape) your batter into the pan. If you are using the mini-bundt pan form, put the batter into a gallon zip lock bag. Cut off the tip of the bag and pipe the bag into the bundt pan molds.
- Bake for 45 to 60 minutes or until a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean. I wanted my cakes to be moist and took them out of the oven at about 30 minutes. At that point, their internal temperature measured about 205 degrees on my ThermPro digital cooking thermometer. (Another gadget!) Ovens will vary, so you will want to watch your cakes carefully the first time you bake them in your own oven.
- Remove the cakes from the oven and allow them to rest in the pan for about 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, turn them out onto a rack and let them cool completely.
- Garnish with powdered sugar and a maraschino cherry.
This is a recipe adapted from the King Arthur Flour site. Here is the link: Double Chocolate Banana Bread .
