Name: Sticky Banana and Chocolate Skillet Cake
Yield: Serves 6
Ingredients: 6 Tbsp. (90g) unsalted butter; 5¼ ounces (150g) milk chocolate, roughly chopped; 3 ounces (80g) dark chocolate, roughly chopped; ½ cup (100g) soft light brown sugar; Scant ⅓ cup (40g) all-purpose flour; Scant ½ cup (50g) almond flour; 7 Tbsp. (40g) cocoa powder; ¾ tsp. baking powder; 4 eggs, whisked; ⅛ tsp fine salt; 2 Tbsp. mild olive oil or sunflower oil; 4 small ripe bananas (1 lb/460g), peeled and sliced 3/8 inch thick; 2 Tbsp. (30g) unsalted butter, chopped into small pieces; 3 Tbsp. maple syrup, plus more for serving; ½ tsp. vanilla bean paste; ½ tsp. flaked salt, plus more for serving; ⅓ cup (150g) heavy cream; ½ tsp. vanilla bean paste; fine salt

A chocolate cake with caramelized bananas on a plate topped with whipped cream and maple syrup.

Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Drew Aichele

This is a skillet cake (a cake made in a nonstick frying pan), not a pancake. Here, a one-bowl chocolate cake batter is spooned over caramelized bananas and finished in the oven. The result is a fondant-like cake with a soft, oozing chocolate center, topped with sticky bananas. Serve this cake hot from the oven, with whipped cream. Make sure you use ripe, sweet bananas with plenty of brown spots, or they won’t caramelize properly.

This recipe was excerpted from 'Mezcla' by Ixta Belfrage. Buy the full book on Amazon. This book was selected as one of the best cookbooks of 2022.

Cooks' Note

Please don’t worry if the banana slices get stuck to the pan once flipped—this is a rustic dessert and you can easily peel the banana slices off the pan and return them to their rightful place on the cake. If you don’t have a nonstick, ovenproof frying pan, fry the bananas in whatever pan you have, then carefully transfer them, browned side down, to a lined and greased 8-inch cake pan along with the caramel. Spoon the batter on top, then bake as normal.

Recipe information

Yield
Serves 6

Ingredients

For the chocolate cake

6 Tbsp. (90g) unsalted butter

5¼ ounces (150g) milk chocolate, roughly chopped

3 ounces (80g) dark chocolate, roughly chopped

½ cup (100g) soft light brown sugar

Scant ⅓ cup (40g) all-purpose flour

Scant ½ cup (50g) almond flour

7 Tbsp. (40g) cocoa powder

¾ tsp. baking powder

4 eggs, whisked

⅛ tsp fine salt

For the caramelized bananas

2 Tbsp. mild olive oil or sunflower oil

4 small ripe bananas (1 lb/460g), peeled and sliced 3/8 inch thick

2 Tbsp. (30g) unsalted butter, chopped into small pieces

3 Tbsp. maple syrup, plus more for serving

½ tsp. vanilla bean paste

½ tsp. flaked salt, plus more for serving

For the vanilla cream

⅓ cup (150g) heavy cream

½ tsp. vanilla bean paste

fine salt

Preparation

Step 1
Preheat the oven to 400°F with an oven rack in the middle.
Step 2
Start the chocolate cake. Place the butter and half each of the chopped milk and dark chocolate in a large heatproof bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water. Cook, stirring, until most of the chocolate has melted. Remove the bowl from the heat. Add all the remaining ingredients for the cake, including the remaining chocolate, but don’t mix yet. Set aside.
Step 3
For the bananas, put the oil into a 9-inch (28cm) nonstick, ovenproof frying pan and place over medium heat. Tilt the pan to distribute the oil, then arrange the banana slices to cover the bottom of the pan. Reduce the heat to medium and fry for 3 minutes without stirring or flipping.
Step 4
Scatter the butter, maple syrup, vanilla bean paste, and flaky salt evenly over the banana slices. Cook for 5 minutes, swirling the butter and maple syrup around the pan as they form a caramel together. The bananas will soften and caramelize on the bottom, but if you feel they’re burning, lower the heat a little. After 6 minutes, remove the pan from the heat.
Step 5
Mix the cake batter until fully incorporated, then spoon evenly over the bananas. Bake for 12 minutes, rotating the pan halfway, until just set on top but still quite soft and gooey beneath. Let cool for 5 minutes.
Step 6
In a medium bowl, beat the cream, vanilla, and a pinch of salt until soft peaks form.
Step 7
Use a spatula to gently ease the cake away from the sides of the pan. Place a large plate on top of the pan and flip the cake onto it. There’s a good chance some of the banana slices will remain stuck to the pan, but you can just peel them off and replace them, browned side up. Sprinkle the cake with flaky salt, then top with the vanilla whipped cream. Drizzle with some more maple syrup and serve.