This super moist chocolate chip banana bundt cake is probably one of my favorite recipes! Now, that is saying a lot, but this is why I love it: it's so easy to make, it only takes 15 minutes to prep, it uses simple pantry ingredients, and it tastes better as the days go on.
I’ve made this banana chocolate chip Bundt cake at least five times! Can highly recommend this recipe! - Diane in the comments
This bundt cake is ridiculously good!
I will be honest: I was not a big banana fan a few years ago. But I knew I wanted to make a banana bread cake for you guys and once I made this, I completely changed my mind about bananas! This bundt cake is a fun twist on a classic, and it would be amazing for brunch or a birthday party.
This is like the bundt cake version of my chocolate chunk banana bread recipe - just as moist, soft, and packed with chocolate flavor! I even added a chocolate ganache topping to this banana bundt cake but you can also dust it with some confectioners' sugar.
And if you want bananas for breakfast, lunch and dinner (ok, maybe not lunch and dinner) you can try my banana spinach smoothie (I have this almost every weekday morning for breakfast!), oatmeal blueberry banana muffins and banana pudding in a jar!
Jump to:
Why this recipe works!
- Creaming Method: This recipe uses the traditional creaming method - butter and sugar are whipped together until light and airy, before adding dry ingredients and sour cream in three additions.
- Super Soft & Moist: I use sour cream and ripe bananas to give lots of moisture to the cake, and it has cinnamon and nutmeg in the batter to give you a hint of spice.
- Chocolate Flavor: this bundt cake is packed with chocolate chips and then covered in chocolate chips, but you can easily take both of those out if you're not a chocolate lover like me.
Recipe Ingredients
- Bananas: Use ripe bananas for this recipe as they'll be softer and sweeter. You want to use ones which are super brown and freckly! If I have bananas on my counter that look like that but I'm not ready to make banana bread or banana cake, you can pop them in your freezer and thaw them when ready to use!
- Sour Cream: Use full-fat sour cream for this recipe, it's going to make this banana cake super soft and moist.
- Butter: I always use European-style butter which is much creamier and richer due to the higher butterfat content.
- Spices: I use a pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg for extra flavor!
- Chocolate Chips: I'm using semisweet chocolate chips but you could also use mini chocolate chips or leave them out if you're not a chocolate fan.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions
- Sour Cream: You can substitute it for Greek yogurt or full fat yogurt if you don't have any sour cream.
- Mix-Ins: add in pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, peanut butter chips, butterscotch chips!
How to Make Chocolate Chip Banana Bundt Cake
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350°Fahrenheit and place a wire rack in the middle of the oven. Whisk the flour, spices, baking soda and salt in a large bowl and set aside.
Step 2: In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a handheld mixer, combine the butter and two sugars until light and fluffy.
Step 3: Add the vanilla extract and then the eggs, one at a time. Make sure you scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula so all of the batter is getting mixed!
Step 4: Add the mashed banana. The mixture might look kind of curdled or lumpy but that's fine!
Step 5: Add the dry ingredients in three additions, alternating with the sour cream.
Step 6: Fold in the chocolate chips, I like to do this with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon.
Step 7: Grease your 12-cup bundt pan (this is the one I used) with butter, making sure you get every nook and cranny. Pour the banana cake batter into the pan and use a small offset spatula to even out the top.
Step 8: Place in the oven for 65-75 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out with just a few crumbs. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then flip onto a wire cooling rack.
How to get a bundt cake out of bundt pan
How annoying is it when you make a bundt cake only for half of it to stick to the pan? Believe me, I have been there so many times! Here are a few tips I have to help you:
- Use a good quality pan. The majority of my bundt pans are from Nordic Ware because I know they're good quality! I also make sure to always hand wash my bundt pans so they don't get damaged.
- Prep the pan properly. I've tested this recipe with vegetable oil and then butter and found the butter worked better. I keep out some of the room-temperature butter and use a pastry brush to generously brush the inside of the pan! I know some people find vegetable shortening works better for them, so do whatever works for you! I've also tried making this cake goop which does work, but I found that using softened butter or shortening worked just as well!
- Prep just before baking. I only grease the pan just before I'm about to put the cake batter in. If you do it at the beginning of the recipe, I've found that all the grease or oil will just accumulate at the bottom!
- Getting the cake out. My method for getting the cake is as follows: let the cake cool in the pan for exactly 10 minutes (I put a timer on my phone). I use a small rubber spatula to loosen the edges, and I then place a wire cooling rack on top of the cake, and carefully (while using oven gloves) flip the cake over. I then let it rest for 5 more minutes, then gently try lifting the pan to see if it's coming out.
Recipe FAQs
I let my bundt cake rest for 10 minutes in the pan, then invert the cake and let it cool for another 5 minutes. I then carefully pull up the bundt pan. If that doesn't work, I use a small offset spatula to make sure nothing on the sides is stuck and give it a bit of a jiggle. You can also pop it back into your oven for 5 minutes (while the oven is off but still hot/warm) to help it come out! Worst case scenario - you cover the slightly ruined cake with a ton of ganache or frosting!
I promise you this cake is worth the wait! But if you need to get things going, make sure your bananas are in a warm area in a paper bag for a day or two. I have seen 'hacks' for cooking your bananas to make them ripen faster but this won't give you the same banana taste.
This cake tastes better and better as time goes on! Keep it wrapped up at room temperature for up to 4 days. You can also freeze slices of this cake for up to 3 months, defrost it in the fridge overnight and let it come to room temperature before eating.
Try these simple cakes next!
If you've made this recipe, make sure to leave a ⭐️ rating and review below! I love seeing when you make my recipes, so tag me on Instagram @alpineella so I can see! You can also follow along on Pinterest, Facebook and TikTok!
Recipe
Chocolate Chip Banana Bundt Cake
Equipment
- 12 cup bundt pan This is the bundt pan I used.
Ingredients
Banana Bread
- 384 grams bananas mashed
- 360 grams all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 227 grams unsalted butter room temperature
- 198 grams sugar
- 213 grams light brown sugar
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 227 grams sour cream room temperature
- 170 grams chocolate chips
Chocolate Ganache
- 113 grams semisweet chocolate chopped
- 120 grams heavy cream
- pinch salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C. Set aside your bundt pan, but do not grease it until almost ready to use.
- Mash your bananas until smooth, set aside. You can use a fork or a potato masher to mash them.384 grams bananas
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt and spices together in a large bowl. Set aside360 grams all purpose flour, 2 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- In your mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until creamy. Add your sugars and beat on medium speed until pale and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.227 grams unsalted butter, 198 grams sugar, 213 grams light brown sugar
- Add the vanilla, then add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.2 teaspoon vanilla extract, 2 eggs
- Turn the speed to low and add your mashed bananas, your mixture might be lumpy which is fine!
- Add the dry ingredients in three additions on low speed, alternating with the sour cream, starting and ending with the dry ingredients.227 grams sour cream
- Fold in your chocolate chips170 grams chocolate chips
- Use softened butter or vegetable shortening to grease your bundt pan, use a pastry brush to make sure all the nooks and crannies are greased.
- Pour the batter into your pan and tape it on the counter to remove any air bubbles.
- Bake for 65-75 minutes, a toothpick inserted will come out with a few crumbs. If it is browning too quickly, place some foil on top
- Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Use a small rubber spatula to help loosen the edges. Then, flip it onto a wire cooling rack and leave it for another 5 minutes. You should now be able to gently lift off the bundt pan.
- In a small saucepan, bring your heavy cream to a simmer (not a boil!). Place your chopped chocolate in a medium bowl, and pour the heavy cream on top. Leave for 3 minutes. With a rubber spatula, swirl the two together until it is completely smooth. Sprinkle over your salt. Let it sit until it is a pourable consistency, about 15 minutes. Pour over your cooled bundt pan.113 grams semisweet chocolate, 120 grams heavy cream, pinch salt
Diane says
I’ve made this banana chocolate chip Bundt cake at least five times! Can highly recommend this recipe! The cake is moist and so flavourful! If I have extra I freeze slices and wrap in plastic wrap. It keeps very well and tastes just as good once thawed! This is my go to recipe now to use up bananas!
Rina says
Ella! This bundt cake was amazing!! I had a few browning bananas leftover and I knew I had to make this when you had originally posted this recipe awhile back. This will be a go to!!!
Ella says
thank you so much for this lovely review!!