chocolate-banana bundt cake with caramel glaze

I made this cake for the friend who has been sharing his mangoes with us. The mangoes that went into the mango surprise came from his trees. We have been enjoying them–Andy eats one for breakfast everyday. They make a marvelous accompaniment for sticky rice (ข้าวเหนียว) with coconut sauce. I admit I’ve been slowing down, and there is so much mango in the freezer for smoothies. That’s the trouble with mangoes: feast or famine. I know that I will miss mangoes when the season ends next month. I digress. Now back to this cake: it’s a banana cake with a chocolate center. The sweetness of the banana complements the bittersweet chocolate. So delicious.

Chocolate-Banana Bundt Cake with Caramel Glaze

Prep time: 30 minutes
Baking time: 40 minutes

1/2 cup (113g) plus 1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups (338g) superfine sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 ripe, medium bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)
2 cups (250g) plus 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream (or low fat Greek style yogurt)
1/4 cup cocoa powder, sifted

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Generously grease and flour the inside a 12-cup bundt pan (10-inch diameter) with 1 tablespoon butter and 1/2 tablespoon flour. Tap out excess.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in the eggs one by one, waiting until each has been incorporated to add the next. Beat in vanilla extract and mashed bananas.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add half of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir to combine. Add the sour cream or yogurt, followed by the remaining flour mixture, stirring after each addition.

Remove 1 1/2 cups of batter into a small bowl and stir in cocoa powder. Pour 2/3 of the plain batter into the prepared bundt pan, top with cocoa batter and spoon the rest of the plain batter on top. Smooth the top to cover the chocolate layer beneath.

Cake Baker’s Note: Run a skewer through the batter gently to swirl, using a figure eight motion to create a marbling effect. Or leave it as it is to create a chocolate “tunnel.”

If the pan has a dark non-stick finish, reduce heat at once to 325˚F after putting the pan in the oven. Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean and the top springs back when lightly pressed.

Let cake cool in the pan on a wire rack 10 minutes. Gently loosen the sides with a skewer. Turn cake out onto rack to cool completely before slicing. Wrap thoroughly cooled cake airtight in plastic if not going to be eaten right away. Serve plain or dusted with powdered sugar. Or serve it with a caramel glaze like I did!