Chocolate Banana Cake Bread
Well.. I couldn't find my cupcake liners, so what was planned to be chocolate banana cupcakes with cream cheese frosting wound up being chocolate banana bread shaped cake (I had a loaf pan handy, imagine that.)
It's dense,moist and chocolate-y but you can taste the bananas. I used a lot of bananas. Not too sweet because I don't like really sweet cake topped with easy frostings. The frostings are sugar-y enough.
4 large ripe bananas, a little overripe is fine for this. Mine were just edging into "banana bread" only stage.
1 egg
1/3 cup vegetable oil (I used canola, you could use melted butter. It might make it too rich though)
3/4 cup sugar- any kind, I used white because it was convenient. I think if I were using maple or brown I'd use 3/4 plus 1 Tbsp. I think Splenda will be workable with this. But I need to test it.
2 Tbsp vanilla extract (your mileage may vary, but I like a lot of vanilla)
pinch of salt
1 Tbsp. baking soda
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 cup flour I used my old standby organic white unbleached. Your cake may turn out lighter in color if you use white flour. I think since the leavening is baking soda no gluten flours will be fine.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Mash up bananas well with a wooden spoon. You don't have to be too picky, you can see banana chunks in mine. Mix in oil, sugar, egg, vanilla and mix it to a really disgusting gloppy looking mess. Stir in baking soda and salt, then mix in the dry ingredients. Cocoa first to get it well mixed in, then the flour.
Pour into greased loaf pan or into lined cupcake tins. It will just fill a greased loaf pan to 2/3rd full or thereabouts. Since I couldn't find my blasted cupcake liners, I have no idea how many cupcakes it will make. But figure 2/3s full for them as well.
Bake for 1 hour if using a loaf pan, 35 minutes for cupcakes.
Let set for 10 minutes or until the teenager in the house figures out something just came out of the oven and comes into the kitchen sniffing and looking like you've starved her for weeks. Or maybe that just happens here?
Frosting is the easiest thing on earth if you are just going with an easy sort of frosting. Whip up some cream cheese, creme fraiche, labneh.. you get the point. A soft creamy cheese of some sort.. after it's fluffy add vanilla to taste, then add powdered sugar until it's just at the right consistency/sweetness for you and your family, if it's too stiff, you can add a splash of milk and mix that in. Anything frosted this way will have to be kept cool, but tastes really good on fruity chocolate things. I'm planning to just keep frosting in the fridge and letting people frost their own slices to taste. Well.. with a rule that if you're under 20 you are not allowed to eat the frosting out of the container or have more frosting than cake.
This is the frosting I use on most cakes I bake. Sometimes with a bit of instant coffee or cocoa added for flavor. I'm sorry I can't give more exact measurements but I've never in my life measured this out, it's the same frosting my mom used and that's how she taught me to make it.