Banana Chocolate Chip Cake

We've been told for years bananas are good for us, and now we're seeing articles and ads on diet/food sites that say they promote belly fat and aren't as healthy as they're cracked up to be. Who are you gonna believe? I can see both sides of this debate, but I'm going with the belief that bananas are good! Did you know they protect your heart, quiet a cough, strengthen your bones, and control your blood pressure? And that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to their good qualities. This is a recipe blog so I won't preach nutrition or diet since I'm neither a nutritionist or dietician. But I'm thrilled to share a super rich banana chocolate chip cake I made this weekend, topped with the most decadent chocolate frosting you've ever tasted. I lightened the cake up the best I could, eliminating much of the fat and sugar, and both the cake and the frosting are quick fixes, and so worth making.

Banana Chocolate Chip Cake
makes 16 small servings in an 8 x 8 inch pan

cooking spray
2 cups AP flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 T unsalted butter, room temp
2 T canola oil
3/4 cup Splenda no calorie sweetener
2 large eggs, room temp
1 egg white, room temp
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 very ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup light sour cream
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Dark Chocolate Frosting
this is Diane Smith's soon to be famous (although I think it's famous already) recipe using dark cocoa

1/4 cup butter, room temp
1/4 cup Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa
1/4 cup low fat evaporated milk
dash of salt
1-1/2 to 2 cups powdered sugar

The first thing I do is spritz my baking pan with cooking spray and pre heat my oven to 375 degrees. Then I combine my bananas with the sour cream and set it aside. I think the secret to some of the richness in this cake is due to the extra ripe bananas mixed with the sour cream.

In medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients with a whisk (flour, baking powder and salt). Set this bowl aside and get ready to cream your butter, canola oil and splenda. I use a large bowl for this because eventually all the ingredients end up in here. Cream the latter with a hand mixer for about 3 minutes, making sure to wipe down the edges of your bowl to incorporate all ingredients. Add the eggs, egg white and vanilla to the butter mixture.

Combine with hand mixer and add half the flour mixture. At this point I bring out my rubber spatula and fold in the flour. Once you're adding the dry ingredients, you don't want to mix too vigorously. Now fold in all of the creamy banana combo. When that seems to be combined, add the rest of the flour and gently stir, removing as many lumps as possible. Now fold in the chocolate chips.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 40-45 minutes. The cake puffs up quite a bit and then settles down as it cools.

While the cake is cooling, make the frosting. In medium size bowl combine butter, cocoa, evaporated milk and salt. I use my hand mixer for this. When all looks incorporated, add the powdered sugar and contiunue mixing until smooth. Take a taste or two and see if you need more powdered sugar. I've been happy with 1-1/2 cups, but you can adjust to your liking. When cake is completely cooled, pour on the frosting and frost away.

Dig in and enjoy. If you want to get a bit more decadent, sprinkle some additional chocolate chips on top of the frosting!