Chocolate Chip Banana Cake

PREP TIME 20 minutes COOK TIME 27 minutes

ADDITIONAL TIME 30 minutes TOTAL TIME 1 hour 17 minutes

Ingredients

Banana Cake Layer Recipe (adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction)

 1 1/2 cups mashed bananas - about 3 large bananas (375 grams)

 2 tsp lemon juice (8 grams)
 3 cups all-purpose flour (360 grams)
 1 tsp baking powder (4 grams)
 1 tsp baking soda (6 grams)
 1 tsp salt (6 grams)
 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (170 grams)
 1 cup granulated sugar (200 grams)
 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar (150 grams)
 3 large eggs, room temperature (168 grams)
 2 tsp vanilla extract (8 grams)
 1 and 1/2 cups sour cream, room temperature (380 grams)
 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips - tossed with 1 tsp flour (130 grams)

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

 2 cups (or 4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature (434 grams)

 1 cup sifted, unsweetened baking cocoa (80 grams)
 1 tsp vanilla extract (4 grams)
 1/2 tsp fine table salt (3 grams)
 5 cups powdered sugar (625 grams)
 1/2 cup heavy cream (120 grams)
 1 cup of melted semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted and cooled (180 grams)

Chocolate Ganache

 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (46 grams)

 1/4 cup heavy cream (40 grams)
Additional Filling / Decorations

 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

 2 fresh bananas, sliced

Instructions
Banana Cake Layers
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and line 3 round 8-inch cake pans and set
aside.
2. Use a fork or mixer to mash the bananas with the lemon juice. This will prevent
them from browning. Set aside.
3. Sift or whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large
bowl. Set aside.
4. Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter,
granulated sugar, and brown sugar together on high speed (about 2 minutes). The
mixture should become lighter in color. Use a spatula to scrape the sides
and bottom of the bowl as needed.
5. Mix in the eggs one at a time, at a medium speed until combined.
6. Next mix in the mashed bananas and vanilla extract on a medium speed. The
batter might break or look clumpy, but don't worry! It'll come back together once
we mix in the dry ingredients.
7. Add in half the dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated on a low speed.
8. Mix in the sour cream on a medium-low speed, then mix in the rest of the dry
ingredients until combined.
9. Carefully fold in the flour dusted mini chocolate chips with a rubber spatula until
they're evenly distributed throughout the batter. The batter will be on the thick side,
but that's exactly how it should be!
10. Divide batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake for 26-28 minutes or until a
toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Remove the
cakes from the oven and set on a wire rack. Allow the layers to cool in the pans for
10 minutes, then flip them onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

1. Beat the butter on a medium speed for 30 seconds with a paddle attachment until
smooth. 
 2. Add in the sifted cocoa, vanilla extract and salt, and mix on low until the
ingredients are fully incorporated.
3. Slowly add in the powdered sugar. Half way through, add in the heavy cream to
make the frosting easier to mix.
4. Mix in the cooled, melted semi-sweet chocolate on a low speed until the
ingredients are fully incorporated and the desired consistency is reached. Cover
with plastic wrap to prevent crusting and set aside.

Chocolate Ganache

1. Place 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl and set aside.
2. Heat 1/2 cup of heavy cream in a heatproof bowl in the microwave for 45 seconds
to 1 minute, until it's steaming and just starting to bubble. If you don’t have a
microwave or prefer to use the stove top, you can heat the cream over a medium
heat in a pan until it begins to simmer. Remove from heat.
3. Gently pour the heavy cream over the chocolate, making sure it's fully covered with
cream. Allow the mixture to sit for 1-2 minutes.
4. Stir slowly until the cream and chocolate are fully combined and mixture is smooth.
5. Set aside to cool for about 10 minutes, until the mixture thickens and is just
slightly warm to the touch.

Assembling This Chocolate Chip Banana Layer Cake

1. Stack and frost cake layers on a greaseproof cake board, using a dab of chocolate
buttercream to help stick the first cake layer to the board.
2. Spread an even layer of chocolate buttercream on top of each cake layer as you
stack them with a large offset spatula, and sprinkle 2 Tbsp of mini chocolate chips
on top of the frosting.
3. Cover the cake in a thin coat of chocolate buttercream. Smooth using a bench
scraper, then chill the cake in the fridge (20 minutes) or freezer (10 minutes) until
the buttercream is firm to the touch.
4. Add a second, thicker layer of chocolate buttercream to the cake, and smooth
using a bench scraper. Chill the cake again in the fridge (20 minutes) or freezer (10
minutes) until the buttercream is firm to the touch.
5. Swipe diagonal lines of the cooled, thickened chocolate ganache around the base
of the cake with a large offset spatula. Top the cake with banana slices, a swirl of
additional chocolate ganache, and the remaining mini