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Dessert

Banana-Fudge Ripple Cake

A banana cake with alternating chocolate and vanilla batter layers, topped with powdered sugar glaze.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 16 ingredients
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Why it works: Banana and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,430 recipes. Both carry ethyl isobutyrate, which smells fruity, ethereal. The science ↓

Banana-Fudge Ripple Cake

Oven350°F
Time45 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the batter

  1. Combine first 3 ingredients in a bowl, beating at medium speed of an electric mixer.

  2. Add banana; beat well.

  3. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition.

  4. Combine flour and soda; add to sugar mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix after each addition.

  5. Stir in vanilla.

  6. Reserve 1-½ cups batter, and set aside.

  7. Combine 1 cup batter, syrup and cocoa; stir well.

Bake and cool

  1. Pour remaining light-colored batter into a 12-cup bundt pan coated with cooking spray.

  2. Spoon chocolate batter over batter in pan.

  3. Pour reserved light-colored batter over chocolate batter.

  4. Bake at 350°F for 45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

  5. Cool in pan 10 minutes; remove from pan.

  6. Cool on a wire rack.

Glaze and serve

  1. Combine powdered sugar and next 2 ingredients; stir well.

  2. Drizzle over cake.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1242Calories
30 gProtein
51 gFat
165 gCarbs

Counts 9 of 10 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 9 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Chocolate1 oz (28g) semisweet155
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Vegetable1 tbsp (14g)120
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Banana1 medium (118g)105
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Vanilla1 tsp extract (4ml)12
Syrupnot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Banana + vanillatop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,430 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).

  2. Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,187 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

  3. Vanilla + chocolatetop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together10,020 recipes

    Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).

  4. Sugar + syruptop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,842 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  5. Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together35,032 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Bind the batter and add structure as they set during baking.
All-purpose flour
Forms the gluten network that gives the cake its structure.
Mashed ripe banana
Adds moisture and banana flavor to the crumb.
Baking soda
Reacts with the batter to produce gas that helps the cake rise.
Brown sugar
Adds moisture, soft texture and caramel-like flavor.
Vegetable oil
Keeps the crumb moist and tender.

The step that matters

Bake until a wooden pick comes out clean. Underbaked batter in a deep bundt pan stays wet in the centre and can sink as it cools, while overbaking dries the crumb.

Swap the banana

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, egg, flour, milk, vanilla, chocolate, syrup):

  1. Figfits better
  2. Raisinfits about as well
  3. Coconutfits about as well
  4. Bananathe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, egg, flour, milk, vanilla, chocolate, syrup. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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