Banana Chocolate Swirl Cake

This banana chocolate swirl cake is one of my favorite cakes from childhood. It’s a basic banana cake made fancy with the addition a melted chocolate drizzle and maraschino cherries.

As a kid I didn’t like anything that was too sweet, including cakes, and had a real aversion to frosting so this icing-free cake was a winner in my book. Mom didn’t make it often, usually just at Christmastime, which added to its specialness.

I ate more than my fair share of this yummy banana chocolate swirl cake when she made it for us this year. I’ve had the recipe in my files for years, but have never actually baked it myself, something that I promise to remedy soon.

Banana Chocolate Swirl Cake

Truth be told, this is a bit more involved than most cakes I make, requiring separating eggs, beating egg whites and folding, which is probably part of the reason Mom didn’t make it more often. (If you’re unsure about these techniques or feel like you could use a refresher, I’ve included some helpful videos at the end of the post.)

Studying the ingredients, I was excited to realize how relatively light and healthy this is as cakes go, calling for just 1/4 cup butter. The only change I made to the original recipe was to use reduced fat sour cream instead of regular.

Rod, the true cake lover of the family, thought this needed a large scoop of vanilla ice cream, but I like it plain.

Enjoy!