Banana-Chocolate Chip Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting

From the kitchen of Carly

Ripe bananas and brown butter create a tender, deeply flavored cake studded with chocolate chips. The peanut butter frosting cuts through the sweetness with nutty richness, making this less dessert and more reason to bake.

Banana-Chocolate Chip Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting

Very ripe bananas and sour cream keep this cake tender, almost fudgy, while peanut butter frosting cuts through the richness with salt and savory depth. The mini chips disappear into the crumb instead of dominating it, letting the chocolate-peanut butter combo shine. Bake in two 8x8 pans for thicker, more manageable layers that stay moist for days.

Prep
n/a
Cook
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Total
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Servings
4
Difficulty
medium

Ingredients

4 servings

  • 1Nonstick vegetable oil spray
  • 3 cupall-purpose flour
  • 2 tspbaking soda
  • 2 tspkosher salt
  • 1 1/2 cupsugar
  • 1 cupunsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1/2 cuplight brown sugar
  • 3 largeeggs
  • 1 1/2 tspvanilla extract
  • 2 cupmashed very ripe bananas
  • 1 cupsour cream
  • 110-ounce bag mini chocolate chips
  • 2 cupcreamy peanut butter
  • 1 1/2 cuppowdered sugar
  • 1 cupunsalted butter, room temperature
  • 2 1/2 tspvanilla extract
  • 1Chocolate chips, mini chocolate chips, and chocolate kisses
  • 1Two 8x8x2" cake pans

Instructions

  1. Heat the oven to 350°F. Coat both 8x8x2-inch cake pans with nonstick spray, line the bottoms with parchment, then spray the paper too. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the sugar, butter, and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating to blend after each and scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as you go. Beat in the vanilla.

  2. Pour in the dry ingredients and beat on low speed just until blended. Add the bananas and sour cream and beat again just to combine. Fold in the mini chocolate chips, then divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans and smooth the tops.

  3. Bake until a tester inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Set the pans on wire racks and let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then invert them onto the racks, peel off the parchment, and let them cool completely.

  4. For the frosting, combine the peanut butter, powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla in a medium bowl and beat with an electric mixer until the mixture is light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.

  5. Set one cake layer on a platter and spread 1 1/4 cups of the frosting evenly over the top. Place the second cake on top, then cover the top and sides with the remaining frosting. Finish with a scatter of chocolate chips, mini chocolate chips, and chocolate kisses.

Tips from the kitchen

  • Use bananas that are almost black and smell sweet, not just yellow. They'll give you the most flavor and moisture; underripe bananas won't deliver.
  • Don't skip the sour cream. It's not about tang here, it's about tenderizing the crumb and adding a subtle contrast that keeps the cake from tasting one-note.
  • Fold the chips in by hand at the very end to avoid overmixing the batter. A few chocolate streaks are better than a dense, tough cake.
  • If your frosting seems too soft, beat it in a cold bowl for longer. Peanut butter frosting needs patience to reach that fluffy, spreadable state.
  • This cake is actually better on day two or three when the flavors marry and the frosting sets up completely. No shame in baking ahead.

Variations

  • Cinnamon swirl: Add 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg to the dry ingredients for warm spice notes.
  • Chocolate frosting swap: Replace peanut butter frosting with a simple chocolate buttercream using 1 cup softened butter, 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 3 cups powdered sugar, 1/4 cup heavy cream, and 2 teaspoons vanilla.
  • No sour cream: Swap in plain yogurt or Greek yogurt one-to-one. The cake will bake a few minutes faster, so watch it closely.
  • All-chocolate version: Use a chocolate cake base instead of banana and keep the peanut butter frosting for that classic salty-sweet pairing.

Make ahead and storage

Cover the frosted cake and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Let it sit at room temperature for 1 hour before slicing to restore the tender crumb and frosting texture. Do not freeze once frosted.