Bake

Last-of-the-Bunch Banana Bundt

by:
May 20, 2021
4.3
19 Ratings
Last-of-the-Bunch Banana Bundt
Photo by Ellen Silverman
  • Prep time 20 minutes
  • Cook time 1 hour 5 minutes
  • Serves 12
Author Notes

Excerpted with permission from Dorie Greenspan's Everyday Dorie:

’Twas the night before a cross-country flight and all through the kitchen I was picking up leftovers and deciding what I should toss, when my husband, spying mottle-skinned bananas, said, “You could make a banana cake to take on the plane.” Yeah, I could, but we’d set the alarm for 3:30 a.m. and I had bed, not baking, in mind. Still, I turned on the oven, pulled out the last of the eggs, measured the flour and set to work, realizing that this cake was also a good opportunity to finish up the yogurt and the half cup of coconut that was in the cupboard.
In case you’re wondering, this clear-the-fridge cake was great on the plane and for days after.

A word on the butter and coconut oil:
You can make this cake with all butter, if you’d like, but given that the cake has coconut in it, and that bananas and coconut are such a good combo, I think it’s nice to use some coconut oil too.

And a word on icing:
Icing a Bundt cake takes an everyday cake to a party. Ice the cake if you don’t expect to be keeping it for long. If you’d like a more generous coating of icing, increase the amount of confectioners’ sugar and add as much additional milk as needed to get the right texture. —Dorie Greenspan

Test Kitchen Notes

Featured in: Dorie Greenspan's Easy Trick for Perfectly Seasoned Roast Vegetables Every Time

Excerpted from Everyday Dorie © 2018 by Dorie Greenspan. Photography © 2018 by Ellen Silverman. Reproduced by permission of Rux Martin Books/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved. —The Editors

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • For the cake
  • 3 cups (360 grams) all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • 8 tablespoons (1 stick; 4 ounces; 113 grams) unsalted butter, cut into chunks, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup (113 grams) coconut oil, at room temperature, or another stick (113 grams) butter
  • 1 cup (200 grams) sugar
  • 1 cup (200 grams) packed light brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 2 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon dark rum (optional)
  • 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
  • 3 to 4 ripe bananas, mashed to a puree (about 1 1/2 cups; 360 ml)
  • 1 cup (240 ml) plain yogurt (Greek or regular)
  • 3 ounces 84 grams) chocolate (milk, semisweet or bittersweet), finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup (60 grams) sweetened flake coconut
  • For the icing (optional)
  • 3/4 cup (90 grams) confectioners’ sugar 1 to 11⁄2 tablespoons milk
  • 1 handful sweetened flake coconut, toasted, for sprinkling (optional)
Directions
  1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat it to 350 degrees F. Generously butter a Bundt pan, dust with flour and tap out the excess (or coat with baker’s spray). Do this even if your pan is nonstick.
  2. Whisk together the flour, baking soda and nutmeg.
  3. Working in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the butter, coconut oil, if you’re using it, both sugars and the salt together at medium speed for 3 minutes, or until well blended, scraping down the bowl as needed. Add the eggs one by one, beating for 1 minute after each egg goes in, then beat in the rum, if you’re using it, and the vanilla extract. With the mixer on low, beat in the mashed bananas; don’t worry about how curdled the batter looks.
  4. Still working on low, add half of the flour mixture. When it’s almost incorporated, beat in all of the yogurt, and when that is almost in, add the rest of the our and mix until blended. Switch to a flexible spatula, scrape down the bowl and mix in the chocolate and coconut.
  5. Spoon the batter into the pan, smoothing the top and swiveling the pan from side to side to even the batter and get it into all of the pan’s curves.
  6. Bake for 65 to 75 minutes, until the top is brown and the sides of the cake pull away from the pan when gently nudged; a skewer inserted into the center of the cake will come out clean. Transfer the cake to a rack and let it rest for about 5 minutes, then unmold it onto the rack. Let cool to room temperature. If you have patience, wrap the cake once it cools and let it “ripen” overnight.
  7. To ice the cake (optional): Put the confectioners’ sugar in a small bowl and stir in 1 tablespoon milk. Add more milk if necessary, a drop at a time, stir- ring until you have an icing that falls easily from the tip of the spoon. Drizzle the icing over the cake and sprinkle over some toasted coconut, if desired. Let the cake sit for at least 20 minutes, or until the icing is set, before you serve or store the cake.
  8. Storing: Covered, the cake will keep for up to 5 days at room temperature. Without the icing, it can be wrapped airtight and frozen for up to 2 months.
  9. Working ahead: I think the taste and texture of this cake are better after an overnight rest.
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Dorie Greenspan
With the publication her 14th book, Baking with Dorie, New York Times bestselling author Dorie Greenspan marks her thirtieth anniversary as a cookbook author. She has won five James Beard Awards for her cookbooks and journalism and was inducted into the Who’s Who of Food and Beverage in America. A columnist for the New York Times Magazine and the author of the xoxoDorie newsletter on Bulletin, Dorie was recently awarded an Order of Agricultural Merit from the French government for her outstanding writing on the foods of that country. She lives in New York City, Westbrook, Connecticut, and Paris. You can find Dorie on Instagram, Facebook, Bulletin and her website,

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13 Reviews

Jennifer T.
Jennifer T. January 10, 2024
Hi Dorie ! I made this cake instead of a Galette des Rois and added some chocolate nibs (grué) and 65% chocolate pieces. Also changed the yogurt for Kefir. No coconut (no oil and shavings). It was DELICIOUS !! Buttery and dense and light at the same time. Also added fresh walnuts.
 
chksee
chksee May 27, 2023
Great recipe from Dorie. Turned out well even though I had to make some replacements to ingredients. Added walnuts too. Would make again.
 
pam
pam June 20, 2022
Delicious and perfect use of almost gone bananas for a partner with COVID who could use a cheerful treat! Thank you Dorie and FOOD52!
 
Mirella
Mirella May 30, 2021
Imagine that French people made banana bread! Great recipe, however I have 2 comments. 1. the ingredient list says "3 to 4 ripe bananas, mashed to a puree (about 13⁄4 cups; 360 ml)". 360ml=1.5 cups NOT 13/4 cups (which would be 3 14 cups of banana!!). 360ml or 1.5cups is the correct amount. 2. this makes a LARGE quantity. I used 2 medium loaf pans (8.5"x4.5"x2.5") instead of a bundt pan (I am guessing that it should be a 12-cup) and the cooking time was about the same (you must test!). The benefit to using smaller pans is that you can store or gift this swoon-worthy cake/bread. Highly recommend the coconut oil if you have it. Oh, P.S. I used sour cream instead of yoghurt (because I was all out) and it was very tasty.
 
Mirella
Mirella May 30, 2021
typo above....13/4 = 3 1/4cups (3.25 cups)
 
Tabitha M.
Tabitha M. March 18, 2021
I've made this a few different times this year and each time it turns out well. Each time I have played a bit with the recipe to make use of what I have in the pantry and it continues to be good. The last run, I tossed in walnuts with the chocolate and coconut. Recommend the recipe, it holds up well.
 
Lisa
Lisa October 31, 2020
yes size of bundt pan please. Otherwise I am not going to attempt it! Thanks
 
CaroleF2
CaroleF2 October 31, 2020
Traditional Bundt cake pan - 12-cup
 
Ilyssa
Ilyssa October 17, 2020
Is this cake fluffy and light or heavier like a quick bread? Thanks!
 
CaroleF2
CaroleF2 July 14, 2020
This is a good recipe. I used 1 cup butter (rather than ½ c. butter + ½ c. coconut oil); whole milk Greek yogurt; omitted coconut flakes; omitted icing. Tips: Weigh the flour and measure the banana puree. Don't chop the chocolate to fine - just small bits or it will melt into the cake. Baker's spray does a better job with preventing sticking. If you use a heavy Nordic Ware bundt pan, decrease the oven temperature by 25℉ and keep watch at the end. The cake may bake more quickly than 65 min. Cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes (not 5) before you unmold it onto a rack to finish cooling. I would make this again.
 
Melissa S.
Melissa S. May 12, 2020
Beautiful cake! I made it into mini bundts and got 2 dozen. I left off the icing, and it made for a delicious breakfast treat.
 
Jaye B.
Jaye B. January 5, 2019
Does it matter what size the bundt pan is? 10 cup? 12 cup?
 
Kala G.
Kala G. October 30, 2018
Could you correct the word 'flour' in the first paragraph of the author's notes and in the ingredient list? It is currently spelled 'our'.