Eat: Banana Split Coffeecake

It's Christmastime, and I am busy. Are you?

Well, I had meant for this post to be about a Christmas tradition that we do it our family, which is having homemade Swedish meatballs on Christmas Eve, but I failed to remember that I had never made them before. And it turns out, they need more finessing than I have patience for. That's not really saying much, since I am severely lacking the patience department. Just ask anyone. It's painfully clear.

But never fear, I have a tantalizing treat courtesy of my time in Libya. Jacob and I spent about a year there, and while I was there, I did not have a child, so I had lots of time to bake and take pictures. I actually had (have...but I haven't updated it since the middle of my pregnancy) a food blog that I would post all of my pictures and recipes. It's called  13 Bakery, if you're interested. There were some good things on there, just nothing recent. But this is not a plug for that, but I am grateful for it now, since it got me out of a bind. :)

And so I share Banana Split Coffeecake!

This was so yummy according to my memory. It would be a great Christmas morning treat. And it has bananas in it, so it must be healthy enough for breakfast, right? Actually, it ate a lot more like a cake than a coffeecake. I mean, look at that chocolate glaze. Yum-me!

I unfortunately have no pictures of the process, but it should be too hard to follow the recipe without it. So go ahead, bake it up, and serve up a slice!

Banana Split Coffeecake
from The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion

Cake
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 large very ripe banana  or 2  small (to make 1/2 puree)
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Glaze
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup light cream or half-and-half
1 tablespoon light corn syrup (optional)

For the cake:
Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and  flour a 10-inch bundt pan.
Place the chocolate chips in a medium sized bowl and melt them over simmering water, or in the microwave. (I use microwave almost every time.) Set aside. Place the banana(s) in a bowl and mash them with a fork; set aside
Place the eggs in a large mixing bowl and beat them on high speed on an electric mixer, using a whisk attachment if you have one, until they're light and foamy. Gradually add the sugar and beat until the mixture is thick, about 5 minutes on high speed.
While the eggs are beating, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt onto a piece of parchment paper and set aside. (I just do it into a bowl or just mix in a bowl with a whisk...it's about the same thing)
Gradually add the vegetable oil to the egg mixture, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Continue to beat for another minute. Stir in the buttermilk and vanilla.
Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in the dry ingredients. Pour approximately 1/2 cups of the batter over the melted chocolate and gently mix until the chocolate and batter are well-blended. Fold the mashed banana into the remaining batter.
Pour half the banana batter into the prepared pan. Pour the chocolate batter over this, and top with the remaining banana batter. Swirl the two batters together with a short-bladed knife. (Don't do too much, a good marble happens with minimal swirling.)
Bake the cake for 65-70 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool for a least 15 minutes before removing it from the pan. Glaze it when it's completely cool. This cake keep for several days in an airtight container.

For the glaze:
Place the chocolate chips, butter, cream , and syrup in a heatproof bowl. Heat in a the microwave or over just-simmering water until most of the chips and butter are melted. Stir until the remaining chips and butter are melted and the mixture is smooth. Allot the glaze to cool until it's only slightly warm.
Pour the glaze over the cake, allowing it to run down and cover the sides. Refrigerate the cake, or set it somewhere cool until the glaze is set.

Slice. Eat. Repeat.

Now...what will you be serving Christmas morning?