Banana Chocolate Chip Cake with Nutella Cream Cheese Frosting

**Note- this recipe was completely updated with new photos and directions in 2014. Please click here to see the revised version. Thanks!

This is literally a recipe I just stumbled upon in my Drafts last week.  I originally shared it as a guest post on Pamela's Heavenly Treats some time last year.  I had every intention of posting it here to my blog for all of my readers to see as well- I mean, it is entirely too good not too share with you-  but it must have got lost in my jumble of Draft posts.  Am I the only blogger with a jumbled mess of half finished Draft posts?? ;)

I don't know about you all, but it seems like every time I buy bananas I will undoubtedly have at least two that will get all brown and mushy.  We all know that the brown and mushy ones are perfect for banana bread.  But let's get real here... how much banana bread can we REALLY make in a month? ;)  I am always looking to do something a little different with my overripe bananas.  Recently I came up with the idea for a Chocolate Chip Banana Cake with a Nutella Cream Cheese Frosting.  

What you will need to make some for yourself:

For the cake-

3/4 cup wheat flour

3/4 cup white flour

1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla

2/3 cup light sour cream

1/3 cup canola oil

2 ripe bananas, mashed

1 egg

1/2 cup chocolate chips

For the frosting-

4 oz of 1/3 less fat cream cheese

2 tbsp butter, softened

1/2 cup Nutella

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.  In a medium bowl, whisk all the dry ingredients together- the wheat flour through the cinnamon.  Set aside.  In a large bowl, beat all of the wet ingredients- the sour cream through the egg- until well mixed.  Beat in the dry ingredients mixture into the wet ingredients mixture a third at a time, until well incorporated.  Mix in the chocolate chips.

Pour the batter into a greased 9x9 baking pan.  Bake for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick through the center comes out clean.  Allow the cake to cool completely before frosting.

To make the frosting, beat the cream cheese, butter, and Nutella in a medium bowl until well mixed.  With your mixer on low speed, add the powdered sugar and cinnamon.  Beat until the frosting is smooth and creamy.

Once your cake is cooled, frost it with your Nutella Cream Cheese Frosting.  Cut and then serve!  

Much better than your average banana bread, right? ;)

Banana Chocolate Chip Cake with Nutella Cream Cheese Frosting

by Frugal Foodie Mama

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 25-35 minutes

6045353

Ingredients (serves 10)

For the cake

• 3/4 cup wheat flour
• 3/4 cup white flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2/3 cup light sour cream
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 2 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

For the frosting

• 4 oz of 1/3 less fat cream cheese
• 2 tbsp butter, softened
• 1/2 cup Nutella
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk all the dry ingredients together- the wheat flour through the cinnamon. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat all of the wet ingredients- the sour cream through the egg- until well mixed. Beat in the dry ingredients mixture into the wet ingredients mixture a third at a time, until well incorporated. Mix in the chocolate chips.

Pour the batter into a greased 9x9 baking pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick through the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool completely before frosting.

To make the frosting, beat the cream cheese, butter, and Nutella in a medium bowl until well mixed. With your mixer on low speed, add the powdered sugar and cinnamon. Beat until the frosting is smooth and creamy.

Once your cake is cooled, frost it with your Nutella Cream Cheese Frosting. Cut and then serve!

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Looking for a couple of other ways to use those overripe bananas?  How about my...

Pina Colada Banana Bread

Chocolate Banana Zucchini Bread

Pinspiration in the Kitchen- Banana Bars with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

You have a couple of over ripe bananas sitting on the counter.  What do you typically do?  Make banana bread, of course.  But there has to be something else you can do with over ripe bananas, right?  I have asked myself this question again and again.  But usually I end up sticking with a traditional banana bread with walnuts or maybe chocolate chips.  Or I will make Once Upon a Chef's super decadent Chocolate Banana Bread.  


I stumbled across a recipe for Banana Bars with Cinnamon Cream Frosting on Pinterest the other day, and knew I had to give it a try.  Pretty much anything with any kind of cream cheese frosting is a winner in this house. ;)  Click the link for the recipe- http://cookingclassy.blogspot.com/2012/01/banana-bars-with-cinnamon-cream-cheese.html

The recipe called to mix all ingredients (both dry & wet) all together in a large bowl.  I felt like I would be committing some cardinal baking sin doing that, so I did mix the dry and wet ingredients separate & then combined.  I had an extra ripe banana, so I added it in along with about a 1/2 cup extra of flour.  I also threw in a 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon to the batter.  


I actually brought this to a family barbecue and it was huge hit.  The kids especially seemed to love it- a few of them even went back for seconds.  By the end of the barbecue, only 2 small pieces of the 13x9 inch pan were left.  This is definitely an alternative for banana bread that I will be making again in the very near future.


To go directly to this pin for repinning, click here- 
http://pinterest.com/pin/203295370649518591/