Banana Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake With Chocolate Glaze

Name: Banana Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake with Chocolate Glaze
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 60 min
Ingredients: 1 C mashed banana (2-3 medium bananas); 3 large eggs; 3/4 C plain Greek yogurt*; 2 tsp vanilla extract; 1 + 1/4 C granulated sugar; 1 tsp baking powder; 1/2 tsp baking soda; 1/2 tsp salt; 2 Tbsp ground flaxseed; 1 C all-purpose flour; 1 C whole wheat flour; 1/2 C semi-sweet chocolate chips*; 1 C semi-sweet chocolate chips; 1/2-1 tsp neutral oil*

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This banana chocolate chip bundt cake with chocolate glaze is dense, moist, and so good with a cup of coffee. It’s hearty enough to serve for breakfast or brunch, and pretty enough to put in the middle of the table.

Top-down shot of a banana chocolate chip bundt cake with chocolate glaze with slices cut into the cake, and a separate slice on a plate next to the cake.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader Review

“Grandma’s pan is actually cast aluminum, it’s a keeper and the recipe is also a keeper! A little more dense than the average banana bread. Chewy with lots of good flavor (of course I added extra chocolate chips).” – Martha

Who says you can’t have cake for breakfast? That’s the whole idea behind this one. I’ve developed over 50 breakfast recipes for this website, and I pride myself on sharing recipes that have been thoroughly tested so readers can have a good experience in their kitchens.

What I was after here was a cake that could hold its own at a brunch table instead of disappearing like a light, fluffy layer cake. Whole wheat flour gives it structure and a nuttier flavor, Greek yogurt keeps it moist and tender, and ground flaxseed adds a subtle heartiness you notice in the texture more than the taste. The result is closer to a really good banana bread than a birthday cake, with a dense, chewy crumb and crisp edges from the bundt pan. Then it gets a chocolate glaze poured over the top, because why not.

This is also a great way to use up a bunch of overripe bananas. If you’ve got more than this recipe calls for, our banana bread, banana muffins, and banana pancakes are all in regular rotation around here for exactly that reason.

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⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader Review
Why You’ll Love This Breakfast Bundt Cake Recipe
Ingredients to Make a Chocolate Chip Banana Bundt Cake
Equipment Needed to Make Banana Bread Bundt Cake
Step-By-Step Instructions
How to Store Chocolate Chip Banana Bundt Cake
Banana and Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake Expert Tips
FAQs for Banana Bread Bundt Cake
Love This Recipe? Try One of These Easy Breakfast Recipes Next!
Banana Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake with Chocolate Glaze

Why You’ll Love This Breakfast Bundt Cake Recipe

Hearty enough for breakfast. Between the whole wheat flour, Greek yogurt, and ground flaxseed, this bakes up a little dense (in a good way) and substantial rather than light and airy. It eats more like a really good banana bread than a slice of birthday cake.

A great use for overripe bananas. Those brown bananas on the edge of their useful life on your counter are exactly what you want here. The riper they are, the sweeter and more banana-forward your cake will be.

Impressive with almost no effort. A bundt pan does the decorating for you. Pour the glaze over the top, let it drip down the sides, and you’ve got something that looks like it took real work.

Banana and chocolate in every bite. Mini chocolate chips are my pick here because they scatter through the batter instead of sinking, so you get chocolate in every forkful rather than a few lucky slices.

Made in one bowl. Wet ingredients, then dry ingredients, then chocolate chips. No creaming, no separate bowls, no mixer required if you’d rather do it by hand.

Feeds a crowd. One cake gives you 12 slices, which makes this a solid choice for brunch gatherings, holiday mornings, or having something on the counter all week.

Ingredients to Make a Chocolate Chip Banana Bundt Cake

Ingredients needed to make our banana bundt cake with chocolate chips.

Bananas. The star of this cake. You’ll need about 1 cup of mashed banana, which is roughly 2 to 3 medium bananas. The riper the better here, so this is a great recipe for those overripe bananas sitting on your counter. Riper bananas are softer, sweeter, and mash more easily into the batter.
Large Eggs. Three eggs give this cake its structure and richness. They also help it hold that dense, sturdy crumb rather than crumbling when you slice it.
Plain Greek Yogurt. Yogurt keeps the cake moist and tender and adds a slight tang that plays nicely against the sweetness. I generally use FAGE 2% plain Greek yogurt, but vanilla yogurt works well here too.
Vanilla Extract. Rounds out and deepens the banana and chocolate flavors.
Granulated Sugar. Sweetens the cake and helps create those crisp edges where the batter meets the pan.
Baking Powder AND Baking Soda. Using both gives this cake its lift. Baking soda reacts with the acidity in the yogurt and bananas, while baking powder provides steady rise throughout the bake.
Salt. A small amount to balance the sweetness and sharpen the banana and chocolate flavors.
Ground Flaxseed. Flax adds a subtle nuttiness and contributes to the heartier texture that makes this cake work for breakfast. You can use brown or golden flaxseed, though golden has a milder flavor if you’d prefer something less noticeable.
All-Purpose Flour AND Whole Wheat Flour. Using a mix of both is what gives this cake its character. All-purpose keeps the crumb from getting too heavy, while whole wheat adds structure and a nuttier flavor that pairs well with the bananas.
Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (I recommend mini chocolate chips for within the cake). You’ll need chips for two things here: ½ cup stirred into the batter and 1 cup melted down for the glaze. For the batter, I recommend mini chocolate chips if you have them, since they scatter evenly through the cake instead of sinking toward the bottom.
Neutral Oil (for the glaze). Just a half teaspoon to a teaspoon thins the melted chocolate into a pourable glaze that sets up glossy instead of dull. Grapeseed, canola, or vegetable oil all work.

See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.

Equipment Needed to Make Banana Bread Bundt Cake

A bundt pan. Bundt cakes are beautiful and there are a lot of bundt pan designs to choose from! If you don’t already own a bundt pan, one cost-effective option is to see if your local thrift store happens to have any. Otherwise, here are three great bundt pan options:

Angled shot of a banana chocolate chip bundt cake on a wire cooling rack.

Step-By-Step Instructions

Preheat your oven and prepare the bundt pan: Preheat the oven to 350°F and generously grease a bundt pan with cooking spray. Set aside.

Mash the bananas: Mash the bananas (a few lumps are ok!).

Mashed Banana Tip

I like to mash my bananas in a liquid measuring cup so you can easily see when you’ve gotten to the appropriate amount.

Make the batter: In a large bowl, mix together the bananas, eggs, yogurt, vanilla extract, and sugar. You can do this with a stand mixer or hand mixer on medium speed, or by hand. Slowly add in the dry ingredients (baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground flaxseed, all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour) and stir to combine. Once combined, stir in the chocolate chips until well dispersed throughout the batter.

Bake the cake: Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan. Bake 45-55 minutes (check at the 45 minute mark) until the cake is done. You can tell the cake is done when the edges start to pull away from the pan and the top feels firm. You can also check it with a toothpick; it is done when the toothpick comes out clean.

Cool the cake: Allow the cake to cool at least 10 minutes, and then invert the cake onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the glaze and pour over cake: Melt the chocolate chips with neutral oil in a double boiler, or in a microwave, until it is smooth. Pour the glaze evenly over the top of the cake. If needed, use a spatula to help smooth it out and encourage it to gently drip over the side.

Slice and serve: enjoy! This breakfast cake pairs nicely with coffee and milk.

Top down view of a banana bundt cake with chocolate glaze.

How to Store Chocolate Chip Banana Bundt Cake

At room temperature: Once the cake has cooled completely and the glaze has set, store it in an airtight container or under a cake dome on the counter for up to 3 days. The whole wheat flour and Greek yogurt keep this cake moist longer than a lighter cake would.

In the refrigerator: If your kitchen runs warm, or you want to stretch it further, store the cake in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. The chocolate glaze will firm up, which some people like and some don’t. Let slices sit at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes before eating and the texture comes right back.

A Note on the Glaze Before Storing

Let the glaze set fully before covering the cake, or it will transfer to whatever you put on top of it. Give it at least 30 minutes at room temperature, or pop the cake in the fridge for 10 minutes to speed it up.

To freeze: Wrap individual slices tightly in plastic wrap, then place them in a freezer-safe container or zip-top bag for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature for a few hours, or overnight in the fridge. Freezing by the slice means you can pull out one at a time rather than committing to the whole cake.

Banana and Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake Expert Tips

Make sure to generously coat your bundt pan! Make sure to get into all the nooks and crannies with your cooking spray. This will help your cake release nicely from the pan. You can also use a pastry brush or paper towel to coat the pan with melted butter if you’d prefer. It is often recommended to also lightly dust the pan with flour after you’ve applied the cooking spray.

Use ripe (or overripe) bananas: Bananas that are past their prime for snacking are a great choice for baking. Ripe bananas are softer, sweeter, and great to mash into baked goods. Interestingly enough, ripe bananas also have a higher antioxidant content than unripe bananas (the more you know!).

Side-view of a banana chocolate chip bundt cake with slices cut up and two slices on white plates to the right of the cake.

FAQs for Banana Bread Bundt Cake

How do I keep my bundt cake from sticking to the pan?

This is the question I get most about bundt cakes, and the answer is to be more generous when greasing than feels necessary. Spray the pan thoroughly with cooking spray, getting into every nook and cranny of the design. You can also brush it with melted butter using a pastry brush, which lets you see exactly where you’ve covered. After greasing, lightly dust the pan with flour and tap out the excess.

The other half of the equation is timing. Let the cake cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before you invert it. Too soon and the cake is still fragile, too long and it starts to stick as it cools and settles.

Can I make this in a loaf pan instead?

I developed this recipe for a standard bundt pan, so a loaf pan would need some adjusting. A single loaf pan won’t hold all the batter, so you’d want to split it between two pans and start checking for doneness around the 35 to 40 minute mark. The bundt pan does give you more crisp edges, which is part of what makes this cake what it is, so the texture will be a bit different either way.

Can I use all all-purpose flour?

Yes, if that’s what you have, you can replace the portion of the recipe with whole wheat flour 1-for-1 with all-purpose. Doing so will give you a bit lighter, softer cake that’s closer to a traditional banana cake. Still delicious, just less hearty.

My bananas aren’t ripe enough. What can I do?

You have several options for quickly ripening bananas, including the warm spot method, the paper bag method, the oven method (my pick if you need this done fast), or the microwave method. I write about how to do each extensively in our banana bread recipe post.

Can I skip the glaze?

Absolutely. The cake is good on its own, especially if you’re serving it for breakfast and want something less sweet. A dusting of powdered sugar is a nice middle ground if you want it to look finished without the chocolate.

Do I have to use ground flaxseed?

You can leave it out and add 2 extra tablespoons of all-purpose flour in its place if desired. The cake will be slightly less dense and you’ll lose a bit of the nutty flavor, but it will still bake up well.

Recipe adapted from Frosting and Fettucine

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