Chocolate Banana Cake

Chocolate and banana,sounds like an interesting combo,doesn't it?When whipped up into a cake with a smooth ganache on top,it definitely becomes a treat for the palates.I have quite a few Banana bakes in here,with Roasted Bananas flavored with Rum,Eggless Banana Muffins with Apples and a Plain fabulous Banana Cake but pairing it up with chocolate has never been tried before.

Despite me trying not to (over)bake with chocolate,I somehow end up with at least one chocolate post(if not more) every month.Anyone's complaining??

Just like this cake,this one's very easy to whip up too.Just two bowls,mixing dry ingredients into the wet and the batter is ready within minutes.I baked this for two kids at home now and they were relished with much gusto.Yes,the last crumb was polished off along with licking the ganache off the plate,what more could the happy baker in me want:). 

 
Chocolate Banana Cake
Recipe source - Joy of Baking

Ingredients

All purpose flour/Maida - 1 3/4 cup
Cocoa powder - 3/4 cup
Sugar - 2 cups(I pulsed the sugar in my mixer jar for 5 seconds)
Baking powder - 1 1/2 tsp
Baking soda - 1 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Eggs - 2
Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
Banana,mashed - 1 cup(I used 3 medium sized bananas)
Milk - 1/2 cup
Oil - 1/2 cup
Warm water - 1 cup

Method

Preheat oven to 180C.Grease and line a 9/13 rectangular pan.(I used a 9/9 square baking dish and baked the rest into cupcakes).
 
In a big mixing bowl,mix together the dry ingredients starting with flour,cocoa powder,sugar,baking powder,baking soda and salt.Whisk together with wire whisk and keep aside.  
 
In another mixing bowl,whisk together eggs,vanilla extract,banana puree,oil,milk and warm water.
 
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix together till you get a smooth,lump free batter.
Tip the batter into the prepared baking tin and bake for 40-45 minutes or till a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cool in the pan for 5 minutes and finish cooling in a wire rack.

Chocolate Ganache

Semi sweet chocolate - 200gms
Cream - 200 ml
Butter - 1 tbsp 
 

In a thick bottomed stainless steel pan,heat the cream until bubbles start appearing on the sides.
Mix in chopped chocolate and stir for a while.Switch off heat and let it sit for 5 minutes.
Whisk well till no chocolate lumps appear and the ganache becomes smooth and creamy.Mix in the butter.
Let it cool down to room temperature and use as required.


For finishing off-Pour chocolate ganache over the cake and smear on the sides too.Let it sit for a while till the ganache sets(you could refrigerate the cake too!).Serve chilled.
 
Notes

• The cake remains moist even after refrigeration because of the oil and the banana added into it.Makes for a perfect party cake.Bake it in a Borosil dish and serve it straight from the pan,makes for lesser cleaning up.
• The banana flavor is quite light but makes for a perfect pairing with chocolate.

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Another exciting news I've got to share with all my readers is that Easycooking was mentioned on Indulge(Indian Express)on May 4th,Chennai edition as one of the most followed food blogs in the city.

 
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