Rich, moist, and deeply chocolatey, this Chocolate Banana Bundt Cake combines ripe bananas, cocoa, and dark chocolate for an easy dessert with incredible flavor. Finished with a silky chocolate ganache, it’s the perfect way to turn overripe bananas into something far more exciting than another loaf of banana bread.

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Why This Recipe Works

This isn’t simply banana bread poured into a prettier pan. We’re using three different sources of richness and flavor that each have a job.

• Ripe bananas add moisture, natural sweetness, and unmistakable banana flavor.
• Cocoa powder distributes chocolate flavor throughout the entire cake without weighing down the crumb.
• Melted dark chocolate adds richness and gives the chocolate flavor more depth than cocoa alone.
• And then there’s that small amount of almond flour.

It makes the crumb especially tender while adding just enough nuttiness to work beautifully with both banana and dark chocolate. The result lands somewhere between classic banana cake and an unapologetically rich chocolate cake. Then we pour ganache over it because apparently moderation has already left the building.

What Does Chocolate Banana Bundt Cake Taste Like?

Chocolate definitely gets first billing here.

The cake is deeply chocolatey, rich, and moist, but as you eat it, the sweetness and fruitiness of ripe banana comes through underneath.
The banana isn’t overpowering.
It’s doing two jobs: adding flavor while also giving the cake that soft, moist texture you want from a Bundt cake.

The almond flour adds a subtle nutty background rather than an obvious almond flavor. Then the dark chocolate ganache gives the whole thing a smooth, slightly bittersweet finish.

So if you have people who think banana cake is merely banana bread wearing lipstick… Serve them this.

The Secret Is VERY Ripe Bananas

This is not where we want beautiful yellow bananas from a grocery-store commercial.

We want ugly bananas. Brown spots. Soft texture. Possibly bananas that another member of your household has already suggested throwing away. Those are cake bananas.

As bananas ripen, their starches convert into sugars, giving you more sweetness and stronger banana flavor.

For this recipe, you’ll need about 1 cup or 225 grams mashed banana.

And yes, I strongly prefer giving the measurement rather than saying “2 bananas,” because bananas apparently refuse to adhere to standardized sizing.

Why Use Almond Flour?

This ingredient survived the renovation. The original cake used a combination of all-purpose and almond flour, and I actually love that idea.

Almond flour contains fat and no gluten, so adding a modest amount helps produce a softer, more tender crumb.

It also brings subtle nuttiness that works naturally with chocolate and banana.

But we’re only using ½ cup.

Too much almond flour would change the cake’s structure and potentially make an already-moist banana cake heavy.

Half a cup gives us the benefit without turning the Bundt into chocolate-banana marzipan.

Can I Skip the Almond Flour?

Yes.

Replace the ½ cup (50 g) almond flour with ½ cup (60 g) additional all-purpose flour. The texture will be slightly different and a little less tender, but the cake will still work. That substitution is also useful for anyone who needs to avoid almonds.

Why Buttermilk?

The original recipe used regular milk, but I’m switching to buttermilk.

Chocolate loves acidity.

Buttermilk reacts with the baking soda, helps create a tender crumb, and provides enough tang to balance the sweetness of ripe bananas and chocolate. It also gives us moisture without making the batter excessively loose.

Chocolate + banana + buttermilk is a much more structurally sensible little ecosystem than the old 8 ounces butter + 8 ounces chocolate + milk + five eggs + good luck everybody situation. 😂

How to Keep Bundt Cake From Sticking

Our eternal Bundt enemy.

The decorative crevice.

Thoroughly grease every part of the pan, especially if you’re using an intricately designed Bundt pan.

A baking spray containing flour works particularly well.

After baking, let the cake rest for about 15 minutes before inverting it.

Too soon and the warm cake may be fragile.

Too long and the sugars can cool against the pan and decide they’ve signed a long-term lease.

Fifteen minutes is our diplomatic window.

Tips for the Best Chocolate Banana Bundt Cake

• Weigh the banana if possible. Too much banana can make the cake gummy or overly dense.
• Use very ripe bananas for maximum sweetness and flavor.
• Bring your eggs and buttermilk to room temperature for a smoother batter.
• Let the melted chocolate cool slightly before adding it so it doesn’t melt your beautifully creamed butter.
• Don’t overmix once you’ve added the flour.
• Start checking the cake around 45 minutes.
• Look for moist crumbs rather than waiting until the toothpick is completely bone-dry.
• Cool the cake completely before adding ganache or you’ll have a chocolate waterfall instead of a glaze.

Can I Make It Without Ganache?

Absolutely.

The cake is rich enough to stand on its own. You can simply dust it with confectioners’ sugar if you want something lighter.

But…

We’re already making Chocolate Banana Bundt Cake. And there is chopped dark chocolate sitting right there. I don’t understand why we’d suddenly discover restraint at this stage.

Make Ahead and Storage

This is actually an excellent make-ahead cake. Bake the Bundt cake one day ahead, cool it completely, and keep it tightly covered at room temperature. Add the ganache before serving.

Once glazed, store leftovers covered at room temperature for up to 2 days if your kitchen is cool.

For longer storage, refrigerate for up to 5 days.

Bring refrigerated slices closer to room temperature before serving for the softest texture and best chocolate flavor.

You can also freeze the unglazed cake. Wrap it tightly and freeze for up to 2 months, then thaw overnight before adding the ganache.

When to Serve It

Here’s another reason I like this republish.

It isn’t seasonal.

It can work for:

birthday → brunch → afternoon coffee → Mother’s Day → Father’s Day → back-to-school baking → Thanksgiving → Christmas → random bananas dying on Tuesday.

And visually, depending on photography, you can push it different ways.

Dark dramatic photography = holidays / entertaining.

Bright photography + bananas = everyday baking.

Add candles = birthday.

Which means this old lady can earn traffic twelve months a year instead of coming out of storage for six weeks.

FAQ

Can I use frozen bananas?

Yes. Thaw them completely and drain off excessive watery liquid before mashing and measuring.

Can I make this cake without a Bundt pan?

You can, but baking time and pan capacity will change. Since this recipe is designed for a 10- to 12-cup Bundt pan, I wouldn’t casually dump the full batter into a random loaf pan unless you’re interested in cleaning chocolate cake from the bottom of your oven.

Can I use chocolate chips instead of a chocolate bar?

Yes, although a good-quality chopped chocolate bar generally melts more smoothly. If using chips, bittersweet or semisweet would be my choice.

Can I add chocolate chips to the cake?

You could fold in about ½ cup mini chocolate chips.

But personally?

I wouldn’t.

We’ve already got cocoa, melted dark chocolate, and ganache. At some point “more chocolate” stops adding complexity and starts wearing three winter coats indoors.

Does the cake taste strongly of banana?

You’ll definitely taste banana, but chocolate remains the dominant flavor. Very ripe bananas give you the best balance because their flavor is stronger without requiring more banana puree.

A Little Catch-Up Before You Go

This recipe originally happened because I came home from vacation wanting to bake and discovered I didn’t have everything I thought I had.

So I improvised. Which apparently meant throwing dark chocolate, butter, bananas, almond flour, condensed milk, and whatever else was within arm’s reach into a Bundt pan.

2015 Linda had confidence.
Measurements? Debatable.
Confidence? Unshakable.
But there was a genuinely good cake hiding underneath all that chaos.

Chocolate and banana are already great together, and the little bit of almond flour was an idea I still love all these years later. So I kept what made the original interesting, rebuilt the cake around it, gave it a proper chocolate ganache, and retired the word Super from the title.

She has matured. Mostly. And if you currently have a few aggressively brown bananas sitting on your counter, consider this their promotion from banana bread. Thanks for catching up with me. 

Originally published in 2015. Updated in 2026 with new photos, improved instructions, and additional cooking tips.

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