Banana & chocolate peanut butter swirl cake
on May 19, 2014, Updated Aug 19, 2022
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In the course of preparing our apartment in Greece for renting before we left recently, we must have thrown or given away almost two thirds of its contents. For weeks and weeks, dust flew and bag after bag filled up as I rummaged through my belongings and wondered why on earth I had kept hold of most of it for so long. Or why I had even bought it in the first place! Among the items that I needed to find new homes (or rather bin space) for was a chest of drawers with the front part hanging off, a sparkly ‘party skirt’ that left glitter everywhere I went with it on and that I had worn a grand total of about twice since I bought it in about 1995 and an old film SLR camera with a mouldy lens. Truly essential keepsakes, you know (ahem).
There were also household bills, bank statements and the like stacked up (OK, to be honest, thrown in the bottom of drawers, cupboards and disintegrating supermarket bags) from the last I-don’t-know-how-many years. I did consider throwing some of these out but thought better of it as if there’s one thing I’ve learnt about Greek paperwork it’s that you never throw any kind of official or even semi-official paper out. Because if you do you can guarantee that’s the one paper you will then need to get this or that done. So, where did most of said rotten old papers end up? Yup, taking up literally half the space in my hold luggage and hand baggage when we caught our flight to the UK. And half the space in Mr. Scrummy’s luggage, too, which he was not exactly thrilled about.
There wasn’t much I could have done about the mountain of papers, but all this is really to say that it’s incredible how much ‘stuff’ I had collected over a relatively short space of time since my last move. I would definitely like to think that from now on I am going to be a minimalist. Time will tell, I suppose. One thing is for sure, though, and that is how satisfying it was to get things all clean and neat and organised and pared down.
Another thing that was very satisfying indeed was swirling peanut butter into the top of this banana, chocolate & peanut butter swirl cake! The cake was a total experiment. I’d seen something similar done on the top of brownies, but not on the top of a cake that would need to stay in the oven for quite a while longer. I had no idea whether the peanut butter would sink into the batter while cooking or, even worse, burn. Very happily, neither of these things happened and the swirly effect made by the peanut butter was still well and truly there on top of the cake after it was baked. Yippee!
I made this using a similar recipe to the one I used for this banana & pistachio loaf. Simply because I already knew that it resulted in a lovely light, moist and yet not overly sweet or butter-laden cake. Hey, if it ‘aint broke, don’t fix it. But certainly DO add chocolate and peanut butter, and plenty of it!
So what else did I like about this cake? Well, sorry to repeat myself, but I really am pretty excited about that slightly crispy & salty swirly peanut buttery top. It by no means overpowers the banana and chocolate in the cake, but adds another dimension that definitely holds its own.
I also loved that I could cut it into ‘proper’ squares of cake that would be equally as tasty served neat with your morning cup of tea or coffee or slightly warm with ice cream as a dessert for dinner guests. This is definitely one I’ll be making again, and next time I might even throw in a few chopped Reese’s peanut butter cups as well.
Why not? 😉
Banana & chocolate peanut butter swirl cake
Ingredients
- 12 tablespoons butter, chopped, (1 stick)
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2-3 ripe bananas, mashed (to make about 1 cup)
- 4 tablespoons Greek yoghurt
- 1 cup flour, I used 3/4 cup white & 1/4 cup brown
- 1/3 cup ground walnuts, or you can use ground almonds – I ground my walnuts up in my food processor until they became a fairly fine powder
- a pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3 1/2 ounces dark chocolate, chopped into chunks
- 1/4 cup peanut butter, plus 1 tablespoon
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 350F/180C and line your baking tin or dish with baking paper. (I used a medium-sized dish, about 12 inches by 8 inches
.) - Mix together the butter & sugar with a handheld mixer or in a food processor until creamy. Add the eggs one by one with the mixer/motor still running until well combined.
- Add the bananas & yoghurt and stir in well, then add the flour(s), walnuts/almonds, salt & baking powder and mix until combined. Don’t over-mix.
- Stir in the chocolate chunks, then pour the batter into your baking dish.
- Now for the fun part! ‘Melt’ your peanut butter by heating it in the microwave for ten seconds at a time (or in a bowl over some boiling water), then pour or spoon it over the top of your batter (in splodges, not evenly). Then take a knife and drag it pretty roughly through the batter in different directions so that the peanut butter and cake batter combine a little & form a swirly pattern.
- Bake for about 55 minutes (check after about 35 minutes and every 5 to 10 minutes after that) or until a skewer or knife poked into the cake comes out with cooked crumbs on it.
- Leave to cool, then cut into square pieces and serve. Alternatively, serve when still slightly warm, with vanilla ice cream.
.)
or in a 
until creamy. Add the eggs one by one with the mixer/motor still running until well combined.Notes
Nutrition
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Wow, Helen, this cake looks so yummy!
I know about all the stuff you collect. Within such a short time there are so many things you HAVE to keep, no way around it… Such a waste of time… 😀
It’s actually quite embarrassing when you start going through it all and realising how wasteful it is to own so many useless things. At least it was easy to recycle most of my stuff. 🙂
Helen I was curious to see your banana cake recipe! Really lovely, specially the combination with banana and peanut butter. And again, I have over-ripe bananas in the fridge. If I´m not coming too late from work today, I´m definitely going to try your recipe! I´m pregnant and craving banana cakes for 3 weeks now :/
Hey, congratulations on the pregnancy! With that news I will definitely give you my permission to bake one of these cakes and eat most of it yourself! 🙂
Helen, this looks unbelievably delicious! I love these flavor combinations. Yum!
I know all too well about moving and all the stuff you drag along, then have no idea what to do with it all. I can’t tell you now many times I’ve asked myself why do we still have this and that.. Haha 😀
Cindy, thanks so much. I have a feeling I’m going to feel like that, too, when my boxes arrive from Athens and I have only one small cupboard or thereabouts to put it in! The worst is when you find a ‘long-lost box’ in a cupboard and realise that you’ve lived without it for literally years but then still struggle to throw it away!! 😉
Moving is the pits. It’s when we move that we find all the important papers we never need. 🙂
The perfect combo of flavors, Helen. That swirl caught my eye. So pretty.
Thanks, Norma. This turned out exactly as I was hoping, actually. Moving does stink, doesn’t it, and I have a feeling that I’m not nearly done with all that either. Bleugh!
Hi Helen, I always have such a hard time throwing things away, but I kind of have a “trick”. I box it up and take it to the other house in Oregon when we go for the summer. My husband has caught on so I’m not moving as many things anymore. Oh well. I made banana bread that I swirled nutella in, kind of similar. Will be posting soon. Yours looks wonderful.
Ooh, that’s a fabulous idea to swirl nutella into banana bread. Will definitely look forward to that post of yours! And great ‘tip’ for the next time I move. Maybe I could send my boxes to Mr. Scrummy’s home in Australia and see how long it takes him to notice that.
This looks like the perfect & pretty cake for breakfast…with a side of coffee 🙂
Well, I figure it would be perfectly OK to have some of this for breakfast as it’s got plenty of bananas and yoghurt in it. So glad you like it!
My three favourite ingredients, chocolate, bananas, and PB, all in one dessert -pinch me! This looks delicious and highly snackable! Beautiful swirls too 🙂
So glad you enjoyed the swirls! 🙂
We’re about to move in about a month, and I can relate to the “how do I have so much stuff” situation. I love peanut butter, chocolate and banana! One of my favorite little snacks is a peanut butter, nutella and banana sandwich. This is practically made for me!
Well, of course I made this especially for you, Natalie! And I’m glad I’m not the only one who collects too much ‘stuff’. Good luck with all your packing!
Isn’t it amazing how we hoard so many things? I’m not one to hoard and once in a while will do a bing throw away of things that I don’t need anymore (living in a city in Spain it’s easy, you put them in a paper bag next to the neighbourhood bins, and soon your objects will happily find a new owner). Each time I do this throwing away ceremony I find that I’ve got so many things without realising it! And especially when you move an you rummage deeper one finds many memories. Your swirl cake looks divine! I must try!
It’s exactly the same in Greece, Sofia. Anything you don’t want, you just leave it next to the communal bin and someone comes and grabs it. Sometimes it’s frightening how quickly it’s gone! It makes me feel much better about throwing things away, though. It’s a sort of unofficial recycling system! You’re right about the memories, too. Many times my packing got sabotaged by finding old postcards and letters and photos that I stopped to look at.
Oh, and so glad you like the swirly cake!
Sorry that you have to pack up some of yalls bills and paperwork – but you are right in being prepared for the unexpected!
Sometimes I melt chocolate chips, drizzle peanut butter and toss in some sliced bananas – so this cake of yours is pretty much a slice of heaven! Am drooling at the sight of these lovely squares!
I’m hearing that this is a very popular flavour combination, Shashi, so I’m feeling a bit smug now about coming up with this cake. 😉 So glad to have made you drool!
It looks beautiful and delicious. Love the swirls on top.
Purging when moving is a necessity for me and I always think it’s a sort of cleansing too. Out with the old & in with the new.
Yes, it definitely feels good to get rid of things and have a clean start. Glad you like the swirls!
That seriously looks so unbelievable! I could dive into that cake right now!
Haha … be my guest! 🙂
This looks so moist and delicious! I have some bananas that I need to use, I am trying this soon! And I totally understand about wondering how you accumulated all of your things. We are hoping to move within the year, so I have slowly been purging each room. It is hard to imagine how just two people can accumulate so many things!
That is definitely the best way to do it … little by little! I really hope you do give the cake a go, Annie. 🙂
You had me at peanut butter and banana! And in cake? Even better! This looks amazing (and I wish I had some for breakfast)!!
I thinkk you could go ahead and happily have some of this for breakfast, Gayle. It isn’t all that bad healthwise. 🙂
I immediately thought brownies when I saw the picture of this too! I sometimes slab a bit of peanut butter on bananas for a quick kiddy snack, but never would have thought of this swirly twist on bread. Very nice =)
And there’s something about square food that tastes so good with your morning tea. Or afternoon coffee. Or after school snack, Yum!
Yes, somehow I felt like making this a cake rather than a loaf made it seem a little more elegant. So glad you like it!
What a magnificent flavor combination! And the swirl adds a touch of elegance 🙂
I suppose the swirly pattern does look quite elegant. Thanks, Liz!
Helen, this looks absolutely beyond incredible. The thick, gooey, chewy cake has my name written all over it! My all time favorite combo and in a perfect swirl cake? I would totally come help you move in return for a slice of this cake 😉 Keep up the great work, Helen, moving is hard, but you are doing fantastic!
Aw, thanks so much for the encouragement … again! I would make you as many of these cakes as you wanted to if you came to help me move!
I have tried tons of banana bread recipes with mix success – I particularly dislike ones with bicarbonate of soda in them. tastes weird. So I would be quite excited about trying this one. PS- I hate moving. I would have just stayed so as not to have to pack up.
Oooh, scary. If you do try this, Bintu, don’t tell me if you didn’t like it. Haha … only kidding! I’ve made this a few times and have been pleased each time, so hopefully you would like it. 🙂
Gotta love those swirls! this cake looks super moist and fluffy yet dense! Love it 🙂
Yup, you’re right … this was light and dense at the same time. I was pretty pleasantly surprised by how well the cake came out. 🙂
Oh la la…chocolat et banane, j’adore!
Merci, Eva! 🙂