Today I’m sharing my recipe for a super was banana, chocolate and peanut butter cake. It’s got everything a cake needs, plus if you like the combination of flavours – this may be the cake for you!
I’ve been waiting to share this recipe with you for a while now – like seriously. It’s probably my favourite thing I’ve made this year so far and thats saying something, mostly because I don’t like cake very much (I know, a very unpopular opinion).
Starting with a banana and peanut butter sponge cake, which is filled with slices of fresh banana and finished with chocolate peanut buttercream that is perfectly sweet and buttery as I’m using my version of Italian buttercream (which is a egg based buttercream but is much smoother and less sweet than an American buttercream). If I’m being honest, it tastes similar to melted Reeses’ peanut butter cup – so its sweet and salty but tastes so darn good (not that I may have ate some purely for research purposes of course.
If you’re a fan of the peanut butter and chocolate combination – this is a recipe you’ll have to make soon. I promise that you won’t regret it!
Anyway, let’s get started, shall we?
Ingredients:
Cake:
250g butter.
250g granulated sugar.
4 eggs.
250g plain flour.
1 1/2 tsp baking powder.
1 tsp vanilla extract.
100g crunchy peanut butter (or smooth but I like the texture of crunchy peanut butter).
3-4 small/medium sized bananas.
Filling:
1 large banana, sliced.
Buttercream:
250g granulated sugar.
65ml water.
70g egg yolks.
1 whole egg.
500g butter, at room temperature.
100g dark chocolate, melted.
100g smooth peanut butter (I like the Pip & Nut brand).
30-50g cocoa powder, sieved.
Decoration:
8 individually wrapped small Reeses PB cups, unwrapped.
8 Banana chips, one for each slice of cake.
Milk or dark chocolate chips, for the border around the edge of the cake.
Method:
Before you get started on this recipe, you’ll want to do some prep work. I like to start by weighing up all of my ingredients, lining my 2×6 inch cake tins with parchment paper and get any equipment I may need ready, like a stand mixer and spatula. Don’t forget to preheat your oven to 180˚/350˚ƒ.
To start on the cake layers, take a mixing bowl and place in the butter and sugar. Beat the two together until they are lighter and fluffier in colour and consistency – this takes a short while at about 7-10 minutes buts its all worth it, trust me.
Once you’ve achieved the right consistency, you can start adding your eggs. One at a time, beating well in-between addition – this allows the egg to fully incorporate, stopping the mixture from splitting.
Next you can go ahead and give the bowl a good scraping down – this is just to incorporate any bits that may not have been fully incorporated in earlier on. You can now add in the vanilla and mix it in until its fully incorporated – give the bowl another good scraping down.
Add in the peanut butter and bananas and mix on a medium speed until everything is incorporated and fairly distributed throughout the cake batter. Give the bowl a good scraping down – this is just to incorporate any bits that may not have been fully incorporated.
Add in the dry ingredients, passing them through a sieve first just to remove any lumps that may be the dry mix. Mix on a low speed to start, working your way up to a medium-high speed until a clear cake batter has formed – roughly about 60-90 seconds.
Give the bowl one last scraping down and mix any bits in until they are fully incorporated.
Divide the cake batter between the cake tins, I use scales to get a more accurate result but feel free to eyeball it. Smooth and level it off as best you can, then place in your preheated oven and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a tester comers out clean when inserted into the centre.
While your cakes are baking in the oven, you can make the buttercream – which takes a little time but is totally worth it!
Before you get started on any aspect of the recipe, you’ll want to do some prep work. I recommend starting by weighing up all of your ingredients, grabbing your stand/hand mixer and don’t forget to grab a spatula and thermometer.
To start on the recipe, grab a small-medium saucepan and place in the water and granulated sugar and mix the two until combined, then place on the hob over a medium-high heat. You want this mixture to reach 121˚c, it takes a short while.
While you’re waiting for your mixture to come up to temperature, you can work on the egg part.
Whisk together the egg yolks and whole egg over a medium-high speed until everything is combined and the mixture is a pale yellowish colour and increased a significant amount.
Once your sugar mixture has come up to 121˚c, you can remove it from the heat and steadily pour it over the egg mixture over a low speed. Once all the mixture has been added, crank the speed upto a high and whisk until you can touch the bottom of the bowl with the back of your hand.
Now that the mixture has whisked together and is cool enough, you can start adding your butter, piece by piece. At first, you may notice the mixture looks quite loose and this is normal. As the butter is added and incorporated, the mixture will thicken and start looking like a buttercream.
Add in the vanilla, melted chocolate, cocoa powder and peanut butter and whisk together until everything is incorporated and the buttercream is rich and decadent. Scrape the bowl down and either use straight away or chill in the fridge.
If your cakes have a dome, level them out as best you can. I find a cake leveller works best for this but you can also use a serrated knife – whichever way works best for you!
Take your plate, board or stand and smear a small amount of buttercream – this will act as the glue to secure the cakes in place. On top of your first layer of cake, pipe on a generous amount of buttercream – then pipe another ring, then add a little less in the centre and spread it out.
Now take the slices of banana and place them in side of the ring of buttercream, then place the second layer of cake on top – pressing down a little to secure it in place.
Take the remaining buttercream and pipe it around the outside, ensuring you have fairly good coverage all over the sides and top. Level the top off with a small cranked/offset palette knife and a cake scraper around the sides of the cake – smooth until you’re happy with the results. Fill in any gaps with the remaining buttercream.
I also like to add a spiral on top fo the cake, so using the same small cranked palette knife, apply a little pressure starting at the outer edge and work your way into the centre of the cake.
Place all of the remaining buttercream into a piping bag, fitted with your nozzle of choice.
Around the bottom of the cake create a border with some chocolate chips – this is optional but I like it as it adds some flavour, texture and breaks up the boring looking brown colour.
Take your buttercream in the bag and pipe your rosettes on top of the cake – you can pipe as many or as few as you’d like. I went with 8 but the amount can vary by how many you’d like.
Top each of the rosettes with a individually wrapped small Reeses PB cups, unwrapped of course. Then in-between the rosettes place a banana chip – just to add colour and add a little flair of banana flavour.
That’s all for today guys, I hope you enjoyed. If you did, don’t forget to share this recipe with your family and friends and enjoy it. I’ll be back soon with another blog post and YouTube video, so join me then. In the meanwhile, don’t forget to check out my other social’s – Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. The YouTube tutorial will be linked down below.
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