Banana Chocolate Caramel Bundt Cake {One Bowl}
This spiced one-bowl banana chocolate caramel bundt cake is studded with dark chocolate & pecans and topped with homemade brown sugar-caramel glaze just as it comes out of the oven. It’s truly one-of-a-kind!
Wondering what to make with that bunch of brown bananas on your counter? Only one hour separates you from the most delicious banana bundt cake you’ll ever taste! This banana chocolate caramel bundt cake is decadent enough for a special occasion, but easy enough for an average weekend dinner. The recipe scores bonus points for using just a single bowl and can easily be mixed by hand.
Combining banana, chocolate chunks and pecans, this cake is accented with delicate undertones of spice from the nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and almond extract. Immediately after pulling the cake from the oven, it’s topped with a homemade brown sugar caramel sauce. Some caramel seeps inside of the cake and some glazes the top. The whole cake is then flipped onto a cake platter. One slice of cake, or two, and you’ll be sold!
What is a Bundt cake?
Named for the pan they’re baked in, bundt cakes are doughnut shaped with a hole in the middle. They’re often topped with a glaze or light icing, or simply dressed up with a dusting of powdered sugar. Often bundt cakes are more dense in crumb than their sponge cake relative, similar to that of a pound cake. I love bundt cakes because they are so effortlessly beautiful and don’t require the work of a layer cake. Plus, they take on many interesting flavor combinations, all baked into one amazing concoction. This easy banana bundt cake recipe is no exception.
What Makes This The Best Banana Bundt Cake Recipe?
- Gorgeous no-fuss cake made in one bowl
- So easy! Mix this beauty by hand – no electric mixer required
- Scents of cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves and almond extract make the banana flavor sing
- Dark chocolate + banana equals a match made in heaven
- Homemade brown sugar glaze/caramel sauce to top it all off
Ingredients for Banana Chocolate Caramel Bundt Cake
Cake Ingredients
- All-purpose flour – Some for the cake and more to flour the pan
- Butter – A few tablespoons to grease the bundt cake pan
- Baking soda – Key leavener in this recipe
- Sugar – Plenty of sugar in this cake and it makes for the unique texture. Your sweet tooth will thank you!
- Salt – Flavor enhancer and balances the sweetness
- Eggs – Room temperature and beaten slightly, as you want them to be broken up when they go into the dry ingredients
- Neutral Oil – This lends moisture and richness to the finished cake. I like using avocado oil.
- Almond & vanilla extract – Purely flavor elements
- Cinnamon, cloves & nutmeg – The banana flavor is soooo good with this combination of spices. It’s that subtle flavor that makes it stand out. You’ll want the ground variety of all three of these. Use freshly ground nutmeg if you have it!
- Bananas – Over-ripe bananas are best for this recipe. See tip at bottom of this post if you have unripe bananas.
- Chocolate – Chocolate chips or chunks will both work! Use your favorite chocolate. I love a good bittersweet bar, chopped. I have also used semi-sweet chocolate chips.
- Pecans – Toasted and coarsely chopped. These are optional, of course.
Caramel Sauce Ingredients
- Light brown sugar – Starting with brown sugar just makes the caramel super easy to get right and gives it a butterscotch/toffee flavor as brown sugar is made with molasses.
- Butter – The butter adds flavor to the caramel sauce.
- Whole Milk – Thins the sauce down a little for a pourable consistency
- Salt – Who doesn’t love a little salty-sweet caramel?
How to Make Banana Chocolate Caramel Bundt Cake
1. Preheat oven and grease Bundt pan
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and center an oven rack. Next, butter and flour a 10-inch (12 cup) bundt cake pan. Using a large pat of butter, rub butter into every nook and cranny of your bundt pan. You can use a small piece of parchment or wax paper to do this to save your hand. Just make sure you’re generous with the butter. This will guarantee a perfect release after the cake is baked. Shake a little flour into the greased bundt pan and tap all around the perimeter and up the sides of the pan. Lastly, turn pan upside down and give it a good bang against the side of the sink to remove the excess flour from the pan.
2. Mix cake batter
In a large mixing bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves together until all the dry ingredients are well incorporated. Add beaten eggs, oil, granulated sugar, vanilla and almond extracts to dry ingredients, mixing thoroughly with a rubber spatula until all flour has been absorbed by the wet ingredients. Lastly, fold in diced bananas, chocolate chunks and pecans. Do not overmix. Spoon batter (this will be quite thick) into the prepared bundt pan, and spread with a rubber spatula to even it out as much as possible. Place bundt pan on a baking sheet.
3. Bake cake
Bake cake for 50-60 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick or skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
4. Make caramel sauce
Meanwhile, about 5 minutes before pulling cake from oven, begin making caramel sauce. Place butter, and brown sugar in small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, swirling pan gently to mix as sugar melts into butter. Remove from heat once it’s darkened a little and is amber in color.
5. Unmold warm cake from Bundt pan
With a long skewer (I use a metal grilling skewer), poke holes all over the top of the cake immediately after removing from oven. Pour the hot caramel on top of the cake, encouraging some caramel to soak into the holes and some to remain on the surface of the cake. Cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes. Using a thin knife, loosen the outer and inner sides of the cake from the bundt pan. Next, place a large round platter or cake stand on top of warm cake, and in one quick motion, flip the cake over. The caramel layer will now be on the bottom. Once completely cool, using a sieve, dust top of cake with powdered sugar before serving.
How to store banana chocolate caramel cake
Any leftover cake can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. It will stay moist and delicious for days, if it lasts that long!
Help! My Bananas Aren’t Ripe Enough
You can place your unripe bananas in a brown paper bag for a few hours to soften and ripen.
More Delicious Dessert Ideas
Easy Berry Pavlova with Vanilla Bean Whipped Cream
Jen’s Chocolate (French) Silk Pie
Blueberry Streusel Pie
Banana Chocolate Caramel Bundt Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg freshly grated preferred
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 3 large eggs beaten
- 1 1/4 cups avocado oil or other neutral oil
- 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 1/2 cup pecans toasted and coarsely chopped
- 3 oz bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate chopped – chips OK too
- 1 1/2 cups ripe bananas small diced into 1/4-inch pieces (about 2 bananas)
Brown sugar-caramel sauce
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar packed
- 2 tbsp whole milk
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter cut into chunks
- pinch of salt to taste
Instructions
- PREHEAT OVEN AND GREASE BUNDT PAN – Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and center an oven rack. Next, butter and flour a 10-inch (12 cup) bundt cake pan. Using a large pat of butter, rub butter into every nook and cranny of your bundt pan. You can use a small piece of parchment or wax paper to do this to save your hand. Just make sure you’re generous with the butter. This will guarantee a perfect release after the cake is baked. Shake a little flour into the greased bundt pan and tap all around the perimeter and up the sides of the pan. Lastly, turn pan upside down and give it a good bang against the side of the sink to remove the excess flour from the pan.
- MIX CAKE BATTER – In a large mixing bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves together until all the dry ingredients are well incorporated. Add beaten eggs, oil, granulated sugar, vanilla and almond extracts to dry ingredients, mixing thoroughly with a rubber spatula until all flour has been absorbed by the wet ingredients. Lastly, fold in diced bananas, chocolate chunks and pecans. Do not overmix. Spoon batter (this will be quite thick) into the prepared bundt pan, and spread with a rubber spatula to even it out as much as possible. Place bundt pan on a baking sheet.
- BAKE CAKE – Bake cake for 50-60 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick or skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- MAKE CARAMEL SAUCE – Meanwhile, about 5 minutes before pulling cake from oven, begin making caramel sauce. Place butter, and brown sugar in small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, swirling pan gently to mix as sugar melts into butter. Remove from heat once it’s darkened a little and is amber in color.
- UNMOLD WARM CAKE FROM BUNDT PAN – With a long skewer (I use a metal grilling skewer), poke holes all over the top of the cake immediately after removing from oven. Pour the hot caramel on top of the cake, encouraging some caramel to soak into the holes and some to remain on the surface of the cake. Cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes. Using a thin knife, loosen the outer and inner sides of the cake from the bundt pan. Next, place a large round platter or cake stand on top of warm cake, and in one quick motion, flip the cake over. The caramel layer will now be on the bottom. Once completely cool, using a sieve, dust top of cake with powdered sugar before serving.
Can’t wait to try it!