Chocolate Banana Bundt Cake

1. Gather the ingredients.

2. Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Butter a 9-inch square or round cake tin.

3. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.

4. In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugars with an electric mixer.  Beat in the eggs one at a time.  Mix in the vanilla, then beat in the mashed banana.  

5. Turn the flour mixture into the banana mixture in two batches and stir until just blended.  Mix in the chocolate chips until evenly distributed.

6. Scrape the batter into the pan, smooth the top and bake for about 30 to 35 minutes, until a wooden skewer either comes out clean or with a little bit of melted chocolate from the chips.  The top of the cake should feel springy but firm.

7. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then turn the cake out of the pan and finish cooling, upright, on the wire rack.

Did you know? If you're trying to avoid over-ripening bananas, store them at room temperature until they are ripe. Avoid exposing them to heat as this will speed up the ripening process. Do not place bananas in the fridge before they are ripe. This can actually have a reverse effect and turn your banana peels brown faster. This occurs because the cold causes the cell walls to break down prematurely, which allows the production of melanin, turning bananas completely black. Contra-intuitively, the inside of the banana will still not be ripe since the cold inhibits the ripening process of the fruit.