It’s chocolate and banana cake filled with maple caramel sauce and covered in more chocolate. It speaks for itself!
Chocolate Banana Caramel Cake
Chocolate Cake
- 2 ounces (60g) dark chocolate, chopped
- 3 tablespoons (30g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup boiling water
- 1/2 cup (120g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) sugar
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1 1/4 cups (150g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees with the oven rack positioned in the center.
Place the chocolate and cocoa powder in a heat resistant bowl and pour the boiling water over top. Stir until melted and set aside to cool.
In a separate bowl, beat the butter and sugar together with a hand mixer until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Beat in the cooled chocolate, milk, and vanilla.
Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into the wet ingredients and mix just until fully combined.
Lightly grease a 9″ cake pan and pour the batter into it. Place the pan into the oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick can be inserted into the center and come out clean. Remove the pan from the oven and allow to cool slightly before running a knife along the edges and turning onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
Banana Cake
- 1 3/4 cups (230g) all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup (150g) sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 1/2 cup (120g) unsalted butter, softened
- 3 large (450g) ripe bananas, mashed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees with the oven rack positioned in the center.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
In a separate bowl, beat together the bananas, eggs, butter, and vanilla with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just incorporated.
Lightly grease a 9″ cake pan and pour the batter into it. Place the pan into the oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick can be inserted into the center and come out clean. Remove the pan from the oven and allow to cool slightly before running a knife along the edges and turning onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
Maple Caramel Filling
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
- Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat, then stir in the maple syrup and sugar until dissolved. Slowly add the cream and bring the mixture to a boil.
Directions:
Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat, stir in the coarse salt and allow to cool before using.
Milk Chocolate Glaze
- 1 pound (450g) milk chocolate, roughly chopped
- 1/2 pound (225g) salted butter, chopped
- 2 tablespoons corn syrup
Place the chocolate, butter and corn syrup in a heatproof bowl. Prepare a double boiler with a small pot of water brought to a boil and reduced to a simmer, then place the bowl of chocolate on top of the pot, making sure the bottom does not touch the surface of the water.
Whisk the chocolate, butter, and corn syrup until everything is completely melted and it has achieved a pourable consistency. Use immediately.
To Assemble
Carefully slice both cakes in half horizontally. Begin with a layer of your choosing and top with 1/3 of the maple caramel. Alternate cake layers and caramel until the cake is assembled.*
While the milk chocolate glaze is still warm, position the assembled cake on a rack on top of a sheet pan. Quickly pour the glaze on top of the cake and tilt to coat all sides. Pouring in this manner instead of applying with a spatula keeps the surface smooth and shiny. Scrape up residual chocolate from the sheet pan and insert it into the stomach.
*Note: As pictured, I chose to only use half of the chocolate cake for a center layer.
