Chocolate Frosted Banana Dessert Bars with Pecans. Delicious, rich banana cake features mashed ripe banana, vanilla bean paste, toasted pecan pieces, and semisweet chocolate chips. Cake topped with chocolate frosting and toasted pecan pieces. Served in small dessert bar portions.
Why You Should Make These Dessert Bars
- banana + pecan + vanilla + chocolate is delicious.
- perfect for snacking or dessert.
- cake can be in the oven in minutes.
How To Make These Banana Dessert Bars
I start by bringing 3 eggs and a stick of butter up to room temperature, and preheating the oven to 350 degrees F.
All-purpose flour, baking soda and fine sea salt are added to a small mixing bowl, whisked to combine, and set aside.
Room temperature butter and light brown sugar are added to my stand mixer. The butter and sugar are creamed on low speed with the paddle attachment for several minutes. The eggs, mashed banana, and vanilla extract are added to the stand mixer and beaten on low long enough to fully incorporate.
The bowl is removed from the stand mixer. The flour mixture, pecan pieces and semisweet chocolate chips are folded into the cake batter with a large spatula. As few strokes as necessary to avoid over mixing.
The cake batter is transferred to a buttered 13 x 9-inch baking pan. The cake is baked for about 25 minutes or until set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The cake is cooled completely before frosting.
The banana cake is topped with chocolate frosting. A stick (1/2 cup) of unsalted butter is added to the stand mixer and beaten on medium high speed for 5 minutes. Unsweetened cocoa powder and powdered sugar are added to the stand mixer and beaten on medium for an additional 5 minutes. Heavy cream is added a little at a time to adjust the consistency.
The cake is frosted with the chocolate frosting and garnished with chopped toasted pecans. The finished cake is sliced into individual bars for serving.
Other Dessert Bar Recipes You Might Enjoy
Some of our most popular dessert bar recipes include raspberry chocolate bars, apple pie bars, chocolate pecan pie bars, pumpkin cheesecake bars, and cinnamon roll blondies.
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Chocolate Frosted Banana Dessert Bars with Chopped Pecans
Equipment
- One (13 x 9-inch) baking pan
Ingredients
Banana Cake:
- 256 grams all-purpose flour (2 cups)
- 5 grams baking soda (1 teaspoon)
- 1 pinch fine sea salt
- 113 grams unsalted butter (1/2 cup), softened
- 200 grams light brown sugar (1 cup)
- 150 grams egg (3 large), room temperature
- 180 grams mashed ripe bananas (1-1/2 cups OR about 3 medium)
- 5 grams vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract (1 teaspoon)
- 60 grams pecan pieces (1/2 cup), toasted
- 85 grams semisweet chocolate chips (1/2 cup)
Chocolate Frosting:
- 56 grams unsalted butter (1/4 cup)
- 20 grams unsweetened cocoa powder (1/4 cup), sifted
- 125 grams powdered sugar (1 cup)
- 45 grams heavy cream or whole milk (3 tablespoons)
Garnish:
- 30 grams chopped pecan pieces (1/4 cup), toasted
Instructions
Banana Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter bottom and sides of a 13 x 9-inch baking pan.
- Add all-purpose flour, baking soda, and fine sea salt to small mixing bowl. Whisk to combine. Set aside.
- Add unsalted butter and light brown sugar to stand mixer. Beat on medium speed for 5 minutes.
- Add eggs, mashed bananas and vanilla bean paste to sugar mixture. Beat on low for about 1 minute to incorporate.
- Remove stand mixer bowl from stand mixer. Add flour mixture to stand mixer bowl. Fold in with large spatula. Avoid over mixing.
- Add semisweet chocolate chips and toasted pecan pieces to cake batter. Fold in with large spatula.
- Transfer cake batter to prepared baking pan.
- Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until the cake is set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove baking pan from oven and cool on wire rack. Cool completely before frosting.
Chocolate Frosting:
- Add unsalted butter to stand mixer. Beat on medium for 5 minutes. Scrape down bowl, if necessary.
- Add unsweetened cocoa powder and powdered sugar to small bowl. Whisk to combine. Add sugar mixture to stand mixer. Beat on low for 1 minute. Increase speed to medium and beat for 5 minutes.
- Add heavy cream 1 tablespoon at a time to desired consistency.
- Spread frosting over cooled banana cake.
Garnish:
- Sprinkle chopped pecans over chocolate frosting.
- Cut into small squares to serve.
