Food You Can Eat: Banana Blueberry Chocolate Chip Cake (Or Basic Yellow Cake With Stuff)

I’ve shared various cakes that use bananas or blueberries before, but figured I share this basic yellow cake recipe, with additions lists. It is versatile and can be baked in a loaf pan, sheet cake pan, cupcake/muffin pan, or even the infamous Bundt pan.

I used fresh blueberries, mashed bananas, and semisweet chocolate bits with a vanilla icing for mine.

Basic Yellow Cake Ingredients:

• Softened butter or baker’s spray, for the pan
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup milk OR fruit purée
• Stuff to mix in

Purée:

• 1 cup mashed bananas
• 1 cup pumpkin
• 1 cup applesauce
• 1 cup mashed, drained fruit cocktail
• Any fruit you can mash, really

Stuff to Mix In:

• Fresh fruit
• Dried fruit
• Frozen fruit, defrosted and drained
• Chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, etc.
• Toffee pieces
• Coconut
• Crushed Oreos
• Chopped nuts
• Sprinkles

Basic Vanilla Icing

• 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 F; grease pan of choice. Mix the flour, baking soda, and salt, set aside. Mix the sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla and milk/purée. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients; stir in the stuff, spoon into your pan and bake.

Baking times: start at 15-20 minutes for cupcakes; move on, up to 35-40 minutes for a Bundt pan. The sheet cake pan I used for this was good at 30-35 minutes. YMMV based on how your oven bakes. I always take a cake out 5 minutes early, and test it with a wooden skewer. Over-baking is to be avoided. Cool cake on a rack.

Mix the icing ingredients and decorate the cake. For a drizzle, use less sugar; for a thicker frosting, use more sugar. You’ll know it when you see it. Pipe, frost, or drizzle over cake.

Nutrition per serving, with fruit purée and blueberries, without chocolate bits or icing: 197 calories, 4g fat, 31g carbohydrates.