Banana Bundt Cake

This easy banana bundt cake is made with sour cream and a high amount of mashed bananas to keep it moist and soft for days. I added chocolate chips to make a banana chocolate chip bundt cake, but you can substitute with nuts or leave them out. It's an easy to follow recipe with step-by-step instructions and a video. By the way, have you tried my bananas foster cake yet?

Jump to:

• Ingredient notes and substitutions
• How to remove the cake from the bundt pan (step-by-step)
• Photo instructions
• Expert tips for success
• Storage and freezing instructions
• More banana recipes
• Recipe

Ingredient notes and substitutions

• All-purpose (plain) flour - you can substitute gluten-free flour for all-purpose flour 1:1. Use a blend with xanthan gum.
• Unsalted butter and oil - I added half unsalted butter and half oil because the butter adds a good flavor to the cake, and the oil makes it moist. You can only use oil if preferred. In this case, use 1 cup (240ml) oil. I prefer using a mild-flavored vegetable or canola oil, but you can use any oil you want, including olive or coconut. Keep in mind that the taste will be different with every change, though.
• Eggs - if you are on an egg-free diet, replace the two eggs with ½ cup (122g) mashed bananas or ½ cup (115g) sour cream.
• Chopped bananas - there are a lot of mashed bananas in the batter and also chopped bananas folded into the batter. I highly recommend adding the chopped bananas because they take the banana bundt cake to the next level, but you can leave them out.
• Sour cream - you can use Greek yogurt instead. Substitute 1:1.
• Chocolate chips - are optional. You can replace them with nuts, like pecans or walnuts, for example, to make a banana nut bundt cake or leave them out. When you add nuts, replace the chocolate chips 1:1. Also, a combination of nuts and chocolate chips works great. Whatever you use, stick to 1 cup.

How to remove the cake from the bundt pan (step-by-step)

Getting a cake out of a bundt pan can be tricky, and sometimes the cake rips apart when inverting the pan, or the top of the cake sticks in the pan, leaving you behind with a not-so-good-looking cake. However, it would be the same delicious.

The solution to this possible scenario is in the preparation. The best is to use a non-stick bundt pan for sure, but the following method works with any other bundt pan as well. I love to use shortening and sugar to prepare my bundt pan. If you use butter and flour, or just butter, and have great results, go with your method since it works well for you. But if you face troubles sometimes, you could try using shortening and sugar as I do.

You will need about 1 tablespoon (14g) of softened shortening and 2-3 tablespoon (30-45g) sugar for the pan. Use a piece of kitchen paper to grease the pan. This is the easiest and cleanest way.

Make sure that you grease it really well and also go into the details of the pan. Everything should be evenly greased without any spot left.

Then add the sugar, cover tightly with a piece of plastic wrap, and shake the pan until the inside of the bundt pan is fully covered in sugar and no spot is left. Make sure the sugar is everywhere, in all details of the pan.

Then remove the plastic and remove the excess sugar by tapping on the bundt pan. I do this with the open side down above the sink.

Then fill the pan with batter and bake the cake. Maybe you ask yourself now, how long to cool the bundt cake and when to flip it?

When you use sugar for coating the pan, you can't let it cool for 1 hour in the pan, or the sugar hardens and makes it impossible to remove the cake from the pan in one piece. So, after baking, remove the cake from the oven and let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes.

Then invert the pan onto a wire rack or plate. In most cases, the cake will come out of the pan right away. If not, let it rest for another 5-10 minutes to let gravity do its thing. Then lightly tap the pan to loosen the cake if necessary. Remove the pan and let the bundt cake cool down completely.

For me, this method is absolutely fool-proof. But as I said before, if you have great results with another method, please prepare your pan how you are used to. Here is another excellent tutorial on how to use bundt pans.

Photo instructions

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer fitted with a whisk or paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar on medium speed until it is a fluffy, soft-crumbly texture, about 2-3 minutes.

Note: If you wonder why it is not as creamy as you are used to, it's because half of the butter is replaced by oil. So you have a lower butter to sugar ratio that makes the butter-sugar mixture dryer at this point. It's completely normal that it's crumbly. Just make sure it's soft and fluffy.

Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix until incorporated and smooth, about 1-2 minutes.

Then add the mashed bananas, oil, and vanilla and mix until smooth and combined, about 1 minute.

Alternately add the flour mixture and the sour cream, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, and stir just until combined.

Fold the chocolate chips and chopped bananas into the batter until well distributed.

Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan, spread evenly, and bake.

Expert tips for success

• Don't mix the batter longer as the recipe says. Especially when the flour is already added, overmixing can lead to a rubbery and too dense texture. You will know that you overmixed the batter when the cake rises fast and high (out of the pan) while baking and deflates when you remove it from the oven.
• Baking times can vary from pan to pan and oven to oven. Be sure to check with a toothpick. It's a lot of cake, so it's normal that it takes 1 hour or even a little longer.
• Once you removed the cake from the oven, let it rest for only 10 minutes. Then invert onto a wire rack or plate. If you let cool down in the pan, the sugar hardens and acts like glue, and you won't get the cake out of the pan in one piece.

Storage and freezing instructions

Banana chocolate chip bundt cake doesn't need to be refrigerated. Store it in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

You can also freeze it (as a whole or single slices) for up to 2 months. In this case, I recommend skipping the chopped bananas in the batter because they could get mushy during the freezing and thawing process. If you freeze the cooled cake, place it in a freezer bag or container. To thaw, place it in the fridge overnight. Then let it come to room temperature.

More banana recipes

If you can't get enough of banana recipes, you'll love the following:

• Banana cream pie
• Banana cupcakes
• Chocolate banana muffins
• Banana nut muffins
• Air Fryer Banana Bread
• Banana Bread
• Sourdough Banana Bread
• Banana pancakes

Recipe