This is SUCH an easy Banana Cake recipe! Whether you’re in a hurry, are a baking beginner or simply want to use up your overripe bananas, THIS is the cake recipe to try.
It’s all mixed together in one bowl in less than 10 minutes, is a fantastic one to make with the kids, it’s totally failsafe and completely delicious!

There are many reasons why I love this easy banana cake recipe, not least because it involves being frugal and resourceful because we throw this together when there are bananas that are past their best and need using.
It’s then baked in a loaf tin with chocolate chips and melted chocolate on top. Honestly, what else do we need really?!
There is always a call for cake, but owning over ripe bananas is the perfect excuse if we need one. Whether it’s to enjoy with friends and a cuppa, an after-school snack or a packed lunch, believe me when I say it probably won’t last long before it’s all scoffed.
Other easy loaf tin cake recipes you could try are:
- Yoghurt Pot Cake – Measure everything in the pot, no need for scales!
- Lemon Drizzle Cake – Solid, failsafe and easy-to-follow recipe
- Pumpkin Cake – Better than Starbucks!
- Courgette Cake – Honestly so good. Give it a try.
- Nutella Cake – Delicious and easy swirl loaf
- Mini Pumpkin Bread Loaves – Cute and warming for autumn
Why you’ll love this Banana Cake recipe
⭐️ One bowl, no faff
⭐️ Uses up sad-looking brown bananas
⭐️ Makes an energy-packed snack

Other baking recipes with ripe bananas
- Peanut Butter & Banana Breakfast Cookies
- Banana Muffins
- Homemade Frozen Banana Lollies
- Banana & Peanut Butter Cupcakes
- Banoffee Pie
Chocolate Chip Banana Cake Ingredients
- Butter – For the cake and for greasing the tin
- Caster sugar
- Eggs – I use medium free-range
- Self-raising flour
- Bananas – These need to be very ripe for mashing
- Chocolate chips
- Chocolate – For melting. You can use dark, milk or even white – whichever you prefer
Variations on this easy banana loaf
(with just a few tweaks)
- Banana and Walnut Loaf (or Banana and Walnut Cake) – Follow the same recipe but add in 85g of chopped walnuts (you could also try pecans or hazelnuts).
- Peanut Butter Banana Bread – Add 100g of peanut butter and, for added peanut crunchy goodness, 50g of salted peanuts. Or you could simply follow this recipe and drizzle some peanut butter icing (peanut butter, butter and icing sugar) over the top for banana cake with peanut butter icing.
- Banana Bread with Nutella – Swirl in 100g of Nutella when you’ve put the batter in the baking tin.
- Gluten-Free Banana Bread – Substitute the self-raising flour for a gluten-free variety.
- Banana Bread with Raisins – Add in 100g of raisins instead of chocolate chips.
Storing
The Banana and Chocolate Cake will keep in an airtight container for up to a week (by which time it’ll have been devoured anyway!)
In the freezer You can also cook it and freeze it, either whole or in slices. Just make sure it’s completely cooled before doing so and defrost it thoroughly before eating.
Top tip for making Banana Cake
A shortcut to melting and drizzling chocolate on top is just to sprinkle extra chocolate chips on top of the cake for the last 2 minutes in the oven.
When you remove the cake from the oven they will have melted, and you can spread them if you want to.
Banana Cake FAQs
To make banana cake, your bananas need to be very ripe.
As they ripen, they get softer and sweeter. This is what gives the banana cake its texture and flavour. Please don’t try to make this with green or very firm bananas as it just won’t work in the same way.
The banana skins should be very speckled, or (ideally) almost totally brown or black on the skins. When you peel the bananas they will be very soft.
This is the size of loaf tin I like, plus these loaf tin liners to make it even quicker!
Make sure those bananas are nice and squidgy and you’ve mashed them up well. Also double check you’ve got the right amount of butter and eggs to make sure you get the right consistency.
This might be because you’ve not let it bake for long enough. Always make sure a skewer comes out clear from the middle – if it doesn’t, it’s not quite there yet so leave it in for a few more minutes and check again.
If the top of your cake is cooked but it’s not inside yet, you can cover it with tin foil to stop it from burning.
Let me know how you got on and what you thought of these recipes. Please rate the recipe using the ⭐️ below.
Also I’d LOVE to see your cooking creations. If you’d like to share yours with me, you can tag me on Instagram (@tamingtwins).

Banana Cake {with Chocolate Chips}
Ingredients
For the Banana Loaf:
- Butter for greasing the tin
- 75 g Butter Melted.
- 100 g Caster sugar
- 2 Eggs Medium free-range.
- 225 g Self-raising flour
- 3 Large bananas (very ripe) Peeled and mashed.
- 100 g Chocolate chips
To drizzle:
- 75 g Chocolate (dark, milk or white) Melted.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C.
- Grease the tin with soft butter (or line with baking paper).
- Break the eggs into a mixing bowl. Add the melted butter, sugar, flour, mashed bananas and chocolate chips.
- Mix very well either by hand or using a mixer.
- Spoon into the tin, smoothing out with the back of the spoon.
- Bake for 40-50 mins at 180C.
- When cool, drizzle with the melted chocolate.
Notes
- A shortcut to melting and drizzling chocolate on top is just to sprinkle extra chocolate chips on top of the cake for the last 2 minutes in the oven. When you remove the cake from the oven they will have melted, and you can spread them if you want to.
Jan Walter says
Lovely recipe Sarah! It’s so lovely to hear about your little ones & see them growing up!
Can you just tell me, are the oven temperatures you quote for fan ovens?
Marion cottage says
This recipe came out perfect and tasted delicious i will defiantly use this recipe again
Charlie @ The Kitchen Shed says
Yes! One bowl baking is the way to go. I am a rubbish baker, my kids would love to bake more I am sure, but banana bread and simple one bowl muffins we do! This looks delicious.
Mummyccino says
I always have loads of bananas leftover so will defiently have a go at this!
Kara says
I love banana bread, I sometimes buy bananas to go off just to make it. I am going to give your recipe a try. I love these beautiful photos xxx
Mandy says
Looks like a great recipe to make with the kids – I don’t think I’ve ever made a chocolate chip banana bread with mine before.
Rinky says
How much flour did you use please?
Sarah Barnes says
So sorry, I’m not sure where it went – I’ve added it back in!
Sarah says
Looks yummy but the flour quantities are missing from the ingredients list?
Sarah Barnes says
Sorry I’ve updated the recipe. Enjoy!
Karen says
Hi
How much flour is required ?
Sarah Barnes says
Sorry it had disappeared for some reason – I’ve put it back into the recipe. 🙂
Rinky says
The measurement of the flour is missing.
Please add this in.
Thank you
Sarah Barnes says
So sorry, I’ve updated it now 🙂
Nancy Perine says
Hi there! I really enjoyed cruising around your website/blog. Your recipe for Banana Cake With Chocolate Chips caught my eye. I LOVE banana bread … or banana cake, as you called it. I always have bananas on hand and like you, I keep them until they are very, very ripe with almost black skins. So I had everything on hand to make this and it turned out very yummy. Had friends drop by for coffee and this was perfect along with the cups of coffee. Thanks for sharing your recipes. I’ll be back to try some of the other ones.
Sarah Barnes says
Ahh so pleased you liked it!
Georgette says
This recipe is so easy to make and really delicious. I’ll definitely be making it again.
jessica harvey says
Fantastic and really yummy recipe. It’s so easy to do I was able to do it with 2 small children and still tasted delicious
Vanessa says
Hi have just made your banana chocolate chip cake it was so simple and tasted heavenly.
Thank you for recipe, will be trying some of your other recipes as have just found your site.
Krishna Baruah says
My daughter tried your banana loaf with
Chocolate chips and send me photo and looks
beautiful and yesterday I pop in her house and
tried the cake as well and it is delicious .
I am not a baking person but she convinced me
to make and I am going to give it a go .
I like to ask you can I try without sugar and
chocolate chip or would u recommend any
substitute for sugar and chip . Thanks.
Graham says
This is the best banana cake recipe that I have made. Really.
Thanks
Graham
Carol Wilson says
Loved this recipe. I had no chocolate chips and no way to get them so popped a Galaxy caramel chocolate bar in the freezer for 15 minutes whilst assembling and mixing everything else and then chopped the Galaxy bar up into small pieces and used that instead. Had to bake it for an extra 10 minutes as this made it slightly runnier whilst cooking (and I only had large eggs as well). It is really great and my son loves it.
Sarah says
This is hands down the best recipe we’ve tried for banana chocolate chip cake! Thank you. I’ve save it! Some of mine have turned out like bread pudding in the past!! Lovely thank you ❤️
Jenna Moore says
So tasty and so simple to make!
K Chapman says
This has been our lockdown fave!!!! We’ve made this most weeks!! Lovely and moist with the added bonus of chocolate 😊
Jill Green says
Best banana bread recipe I’ve ever made – and by far the easiest! Everyone loves it.
Linda Kitley says
I have always loved Banana Bread, but never been very successful at making it, BUT this recipe is super quick and easy and the end result was delicious!! I will definitely be making this again…
Sarah Barnes says
Hurrah! So happy to hear that!
Jennifer Green says
Do you use salted or unsalted butter in your recipe?
Sarah Barnes says
I prefer unsalted but either will be fine really.
Marie says
I love this banana bread, super easy to make and freezes well.
Julie says
My daughter would never eat banana bread. Tried this recipe and she absolutely loves it. Keeps craving it – she’s tried Starbucks and apparently it’s not a patch on this recipe.
Felica says
Yuuuuuuummmy😋😋😋
Mrs Whitehead says
Very quick and easy to make. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Julie Scanlon says
This was incredibly easy and it baked beautifully. The chocolate drizzle on the top
made it look and taste extra special!
Kim Cartledge says
I make this Banana Cake often along with my favourite Lemon Drizzle Cake. It’s so easy and quick to make!
These are our two one bowl favourites !!
Cathy says
This is the only banana loaf I will ever make from now on. This is the second TT recipe I’ve made today. Sarah is my guru x
Sarah Barnes says
So glad you like it Cathy! Thanks for your lovely comment, I really appreciate it so much x