Chocolate Banana Bundt Cake: Trying to create another winner

Someone asked me the other day, "How do you keep yourself motivated to keep coming up with new recipes?" The easy answer to that is competition.  I compete with myself.  I keep trying to come up with ways to find the one blog post that will rake in thousands of hits onto my blog through the likes of Tastespotting, Foodgawker, and Pinterest.  (each of those hyperlinks will take you to my page of submissions.)

According to the hits and the level of interest on these various sites, I'm really known for being a baker.  (which sort of bothers me as I'd much prefer be known for easy recipes.)  In fact, here are the list of my top recipes of ALL time, with the number of hits each post has garnered; note the  number of baked goods that make this list.

5.  Garlic Scallion Noodles - 24,300 hits (and to put it in dollars, this recipe has earned me almost $50.)
4.  Honey Soy Stir Fried Chicken - 30, 415 hits ($60.)
3.  Peach Vanilla Bundt Cake - 31, 492 hits ($62)
2. Peach Cupcakes with Peach Cream Cheese Frosting  - 32,365 ($64)
And the number one money maker on the blog, and one that I'm hoping will keep on bringing in some of bacon (well not really)
1.  Blueberry Cupcakes with Blueberry Cream Cheese Frosting - 51,807 hits ($102)

The number of hits on the other posts that follow drop rapidly after the Meal Muffin (which was sixth at 21,000) to around 9,000 and further dropping down to even less.

Now, clearly older posts have a greater shot at getting a higher number of hits, simply because they've been around longer.  But I have to say that the Peach Bundt Cake is making this huge surge on Pinterest, which got me thinking - could I create another WINNING bundt cake that would get people all excited and dying to pin it to their walls and show it off on their boards?  The strawberry buttermilk bundt did all right for a while, and then it sort of dropped off.  (I'm not sure why -the photo is so pretty to me!)   To various people and my blog readers, I asked for suggestions.  I have a few more bundt cake ideas brewing and coming down the line, but I had some overly ripe bananas and cocoa powder and so I thought I'd try to make a chocolate banana bundt, in hopes of creating another winner.

There is something so wonderful about the texture of a chocolate banana cake.  I can't explain what it is - but it almost yields a velvety fudgey texture, which is fantastic to eat and the flavor is pure chocolate and banana.

So tell me, is this a winner?  Only time will tell.

Chocolate Banana Bundt Cake
Makes 10-inch bundt cake, serving 12 to 14

Ingredients
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1⅓ cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
4 ripe bananas mashed (about 1 ⅓ cups mashed)
1 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Confectioner’s sugar to dust on top

Method
Place rack in center of oven, and preheat oven to 350. Grease and lightly flour inside of 10 inch bundt pan.

Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Set aside. Mix together buttermilk and vanilla extract. Set aside.

Using either a stand mixer (paddle attachment) or a hand mixer, beat the butter at medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Gradually add sugar and beat at medium-high speed until the mixture is light in texture and color, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time, beating for 30 to 40 seconds after each addition. Scrape down sides of bowl as necessary. Beat in bananas until incorporated. At low speed, add cocoa flour mixture in three additions, alternating with buttermilk vanilla mixture. (Add a bit of flour, a bit of buttermilk, a bit of flour, a bit of buttermilk, a bit of flour.)

Scoop batter into pan and smooth out. Bake cake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Place the cake, on the rack, over a baking sheet. Allow to cool for 15 minutes, and then invert over. Allow cake to fully cool. Before serving, dust with confectioner’s sugar. Garnish with strawberries or finish with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Printable recipe

Currently my cocoa powder obsession.  I got mine at Whole Foods for less than this.  Don't buy from this link, but just see it.  The cocoa rouge!  Fantastico!