I don’t know about you, but I’m kind of tired making bread or muffins every time I have over ripe bananas that I’m trying to save from the garbage. 
The breads and muffins, although tasty, never seem to be completely eaten by the time they need to go into the garbage, so it’s really a wasted labor. So, what will taste good…and not go to waste? What goes well with bananas? CHOCOLATE! I looked around to find some kind of recipe and found a chocolate banana cake. I made it and it was a hit…all gone before any mold set in. Well, one day, after the fruit flies told me it was time, I was about to pour that morning’s leftover coffee down the drain, when I thought, “Why not a MOCHA BANANA CAKE?”
Now, this recipe calls for it to be baked in a 9” x 13” pan, but, that’s a lot of cake for just two people, so I use two 8” x 8” pans and either give one away, or wrap it tightly and freeze it. One of the best parts of this recipe is there’s no mixer needed, just a whisk. Not enough ripe bananas for the recipe? Cut the recipe in half and make one 8” cake. I hope you enjoy.
MOCHA BANANA CAKE
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 ¾ Cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ Cup unsweetened cocoa
- 1 ½ Tsps. baking powder
- 1 ½ Tsps. baking soda
- ½ Tsp. salt
- ½ Tsp. cinnamon
- 1 ¾ Cups granulated sugar
- 2 Large eggs (at room temperature)
- 1 Cup mashed ripe bananas (the riper the better)
- 1 Cup brewed coffee (at room temperature)
- ½ Cup milk (at room temperature)
- ½ Cup vegetable oil
- 1 ½ Tsp. vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and place a rack in the center of the oven. Grease your pan(s) with butter or cooking spray and line the bottom with parchment paper. No parchment? Then flour the pan after greasing.- Mash your BANANAS in a small bowl.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the FLOUR, COCOA POWDER, BAKING POWDER,
BAKING SODA, SALT and CINNAMON. - In another large bowl, whisk the EGGS. Then whisk in the MASHED BANANAS, COFFEE, MILK, OIL, and VANILLA EXTRACT.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk together until just combined. The batter will be thin. Pour the batter into the prepared pan(s).
Bake on the center rack in your preheated oven for 35-40 minutes for a 9×13 or 25-30 minutes for 8×8’s or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. - Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack. After cooled, flip the cakes out of the pan, remove the parchment paper, and put them right back in the pan again.
If you didn’t use the parchment, skip this step. - Either sprinkle with powdered sugar, or frost with your favorite frosting.
I use an Ermine (boiled milk) frosting, because I always have the ingredients, but a butter cream, or even a chocolate ganache works beautifully. Cover and refrigerate any leftovers. Enjoy!
