This soft, moist and delicious Chocolate Banana Cake is simple to make and feeds a crowd — a tasty way to use overripe bananas that isn’t banana bread.
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When bananas go brown and spotty you usually think banana bread or muffins, but this chocolate banana sheet cake is a deliciously different option. The mashed bananas keep the cake incredibly moist and tender while the cocoa gives a rich chocolate flavor. The banana note is present but subtle, letting the chocolate and creamy frosting shine.
My family aren’t big banana-bread fans, yet they loved this cake. It’s also a hit at bake sales — slices disappear fast — so it’s a reliable crowd-pleaser.
Chocolate Banana Cake Ingredients
This recipe uses common pantry ingredients and can be made with a hand or stand mixer. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Bananas: very ripe, brown-spotted fruit. Mash with a fork or blend until smooth.
- All-purpose flour
- Light brown sugar
- Unsweetened cocoa powder
- Baking powder, baking soda and salt
- Large eggs (room temperature)
- Softened unsalted butter or baking spread
- A little milk, yogurt or buttermilk
- Vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- For the frosting: mascarpone or full-fat cream cheese, powdered sugar, chocolate chips, cinnamon and optional espresso powder
- Chocolate curls or shavings for decoration
How to Make Chocolate Banana Cake
Full measurements and a printable recipe card are included below. Read the overview and watch the video if you like, then follow the recipe steps.
Make the cake
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Prepare a 9×13-inch (23×33 cm) cake pan by spraying with cake release and lining with baking paper, letting the paper overhang the edges.
Combine flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir briefly to mix. Add the softened butter and beat on low until the mixture resembles coarse sand — a reverse-creaming method that helps the cake stay moist.
Whisk in the mashed bananas, eggs, milk (or buttermilk) and vanilla. Beat until the batter is smooth, scraping down the sides and base of the bowl with a spatula as needed.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and level the surface. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until the cake starts to pull away from the pan edges and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for five minutes, then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Prepare the frosting and assemble
Melt the chocolate gently in short bursts in the microwave or over a double boiler, then let it cool slightly. In a mixing bowl, beat the mascarpone (or cream cheese), powdered sugar, cinnamon, espresso powder (optional) and vanilla until the mixture holds soft peaks. Fold in the melted chocolate and beat briefly until smooth and uniform.
Spread the frosting over the cooled cake and finish with a generous scattering of chocolate shavings or curls. Cut into small squares for serving.
Recipe Notes and FAQs
- Storage: Keep the frosted cake at room temperature in a covered container, away from direct sunlight, for up to four days.
- Make ahead: You can bake the cake up to two days in advance, wrap it well at room temperature, and frost it when ready to serve.
- Kid-friendly version: Omit the espresso powder and decorate with sprinkles or colorful candies instead of chocolate shavings.
- Air fryer option: You can bake this in an air fryer if you use two smaller pans or have a large double-drawer unit. Try 160°C (320°F) for about 40 minutes, but check early since air fryer performance varies.
Related Recipes
- Air Fryer Chocolate Cake
- Easy Chocolate Cake Traybake
- Retro School Cake
- Strawberry Sheet Cake (From Scratch!)
Chocolate Banana Cake
Video
Equipment
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9×13 rectangular cake tin
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Cake release
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Digital scales
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Cordless hand mixer or stand mixer
Ingredients
- 300 g (2 ½ cups) flour
- 60 g (½ cup) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 330 g (1 ⅔ cups) light brown sugar
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- ½ tbsp bicarbonate of soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 200 g (7/8 cup) unsalted butter, softened
- 3 large eggs
- 180 g (3/4 cup) mashed bananas
- 2 tbsp milk or buttermilk
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
Chocolate Frosting
- 450 g mascarpone or full-fat cream cheese
- 120 g (1 cup) powdered sugar
- 175 g (1 cup) chocolate chips
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp espresso powder (optional)
To decorate
- chocolate shavings
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Mist a 9×13 cake pan with cake release and line with baking paper.
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Measure and combine the dry ingredients: flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
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Add the softened butter and beat on low until the mixture is sandy in texture.
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Add mashed bananas, eggs, milk and vanilla, then beat until smooth, scraping the bowl as needed.
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Transfer batter to the prepared pan, level, and bake for about 40 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.
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Cool in the pan for five minutes, then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.
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Make the frosting: melt the chocolate and cool slightly. Beat mascarpone, powdered sugar, cinnamon, espresso powder and vanilla until light and peaked, then mix in the melted chocolate until smooth.
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Spread the frosting over the cooled cake, top with chocolate shavings and cut into squares to serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is approximate and will vary with ingredients and serving sizes.
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