Slow Cooker Banana Chocolate Chip Cake

It has cooled down here just a bit; the heat index isn't in the 100's, but it's still hot.  So, here is another slow cooker recipe!  I was very excited about trying to bake a cake in my crock pot and the results were amazing. Absolutely delicious!  Goose and Tink told me to never make my banana chocolate chip cake in the oven again.  Now that I can successfully make a cake in the slow cooker I want to try making bread...and maybe even cookies, cupcakes, and everything else!! :)

You will need:
my recipe for banana chocolate chip cake
aluminum foil
deep-sided 8-inch round pan
butter and flour to grease the pan
2 paper towels
large slow cooker

Fold a large piece of foil in half and half again and place in the bottom of your cooker.  Take another large piece of foil and wad it up.  Place it on top of the folded foil and use your pan to squash it a bit, making sure that your pan will be able to sit on it without tipping to one side.  The point of this is to raise your pan off the bottom of the slow cooker.  Don't skip this step.

After you have made the cake batter, butter and grease your cake pan...

and pour in your batter.

Place the pan into your slow cooker and make sure that the pan sits flat on the foil.

Turn your slow cooker to HIGH, place two paper towels across the top to catch the moisture that will collect and then place on the lid.

Cook for exactly two hours, without removing the lid.  Now it's done perfectly!!

I took a picture of my cake stand.  It was my  mom's, but she gave it to me when they moved down here to Florida.  Every cake I ever had or made growing up was served on this cake stand.  I love it!!  (I thought it was interesting that it is smaller than the cake stands you see in stores today. So, Americans dinner plate size and cake stand size has increased.)

Let the cake sit for 10 minutes in the baking pan, then run a knife along the sides and invert it onto your cake plate.

The top of my cake was prettier than the bottom, so next time I will invert it onto a plate and then flip it again onto the cake stand, pretty side up.  But I fixed its looks with a bit of powdered sugar. :)

I let it cool for about an hour, but only because we were having dinner.  Even then I had to fight off the cake jackals!   So, feel free to dig in right away.

The slow cooker keeps this cake so moist.  I asked Bubba and the girls what they thought, but all I got was a bunch of mmmm's and ahhhh's.  Definitely a big hit!

Not only was it crazy delicious, but I didn't heat up my house by using the oven.  Always a plus for me this time of year.  If you have any leftovers, this cake is just as beautiful the next day.  In fact, I think the flavors are deeper the next day--just like how banana bread is better if you can wait a day to eat it.  I didn't refrigerate the cake, just wrapped it in plastic wrap overnight.  You can freeze it, too.  Wrap it tightly in foil and seal it up in a freezer bag.  You'll love this cake!!

Enjoy!!

Whole Wheat Banana Cake

This recipe for banana cake isn't low on sugar, but it is whole wheat and a great treat for the kids. I like to make it an hour before the monkeys get home from school so that it is still warm. On a cold day (which to us is anything less than 70 degrees) a nice big slice of warm banana cake and a cup of hot cocoa puts huge smiles on my girls' faces. It is also a great way to use up browning bananas instead of making banana bread or muffins.

You will need:

1 1/2 cups King Arthur white whole wheat flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup mashed bananas (about 3)
1 egg
1/2 cup butter, melted (Smart Balance stick)
1/4 cup milk (skim is fine)
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (optional)



Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x13-inch baking pan.

I use my KitchenAid with the whisk attachment to mash the three bananas.



In a separate large bowl, add the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix together.





Back in the KitchenAid...switch to the paddle attachment and add the egg, melted butter (make sure it has cooled so that you don't cook the egg), and the milk. (I used half and half, but any type of milk is just fine. I usually use skim, but had a bunch of half and half that I needed to use up before the expiration date.) Then add half the dry ingredients.



Mix a little, but not completely and then add the rest of the dry. As always, be careful not to overmix.



Gently stir in the chocolate chips.



Spread the batter into your greased pan and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.





This cake needs no icing, no butter, no addition of anything. It's super yummy right out of the oven, but also delicious the next day. Just cover it with plastic wrap to keep out the air overnight. We never have leftovers past the second day, but I bet it would keep in the fridge for 3-4 days, wrapped tightly. I put a nice big slice in the kids' lunch the next day. With the whole wheat, I also feel comfortable giving the girls a small slice in the morning with their breakfast (as long as it's paired with an egg for protein).



So moist and tender. If you are a raisin person you can absolutely substitute raisins or even walnuts for the chocolate chips. Tink's braces make chocolate chips the safer choice for her. Not that anyone complains about the addition of chocolate. :)



Enjoy!!

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