By National Chocolate Chip Day was Wednesday May 15 (the day actually fell back in May; this is a small belated-roundup-post because I had not made one in May). Brayden is one hundred and forty-eight weeks old. Eden is six weeks old. The roundup is a small fifteen-chocolate-chip-recipe collection drawn from the blog’s eight-year archive.
The roundup includes: the best chewy cafe-style chocolate chip cookies (the cookbook frontispiece), the chocolate-chip-gingerbread-cake (from week 283), the spinach-banana muffins (variation with chocolate chips), the chocolate-mousse-cheesecake-pie, the pumpkin-chocolate-chip-bars, the chocolate-chip-banana-cake (which is the small chocolate-cake Dustin has been requesting at his birthday since I have known him), and nine others. The roundup is the small archive-driven content that takes minimal-fresh-work but creates a small navigational-resource for the blog.
The chocolate-chip-banana-cake recipe at the heart of the roundup is Dustin’s favorite. The cake is a banana-cake (similar to a banana-bread but in a layer-cake format) with mini-chocolate-chips folded into the batter, finished with a vanilla-buttercream and a small drizzle of chocolate-ganache. Dustin has been requesting the cake at his birthday since 2019. The cake is the small Bryant-family-relationship-marker in our small kitchen.
Sunday I made the chocolate-chip-banana-cake for the small National-Chocolate-Chip-Day-roundup-post photo. Dustin had two slices. Brayden had a small piece.
National Chocolate Chip Day: 15 Recipes
Prep Time: 25 min | Cook Time: 35 min | Total Time: 1 hr | Servings: 12
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup strong brewed coffee, cooled
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 tsp vanilla extract, divided
- 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (for frosting)
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat and prep. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Mix dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt until fully combined.
- Mix wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, buttermilk, cooled coffee, vegetable oil, and 1 tsp vanilla extract until smooth.
- Combine the batter. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined — do not overmix. The batter will be thin. Fold in 1 cup of the chocolate chips.
- Bake. Divide batter evenly between the two prepared pans. Bake for 32–35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Make the frosting. Beat softened butter with a hand mixer on medium until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add cocoa powder and powdered sugar in batches, alternating with heavy cream. Add remaining 1 tsp vanilla and beat on high for 1–2 minutes until smooth and spreadable. Add more cream 1 tsp at a time if frosting is too thick.
- Frost and finish. Place one cake layer on a serving plate and spread a generous layer of frosting on top. Set the second layer on top and frost the top and sides. Press remaining 1/2 cup chocolate chips around the top edge or scatter across the surface. Slice and serve.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 490 | Protein: 6g | Fat: 24g | Carbs: 70g | Fiber: 4g | Sodium: 360mg