Chocolate Banana Cream Mole Cake with Cookie Crumb Topping
This Chocolate Banana Cream Mole Cake is inspired by the classic German Maulwurfkuchen, with a moist chocolate cake, fresh bananas and a generous mound of vanilla cream. The dark chocolate cookie crumbs give the cake its familiar molehill appearance.When I made this cake before, I used the reserved chocolate cake for the crumb topping. It looked good at first, but the little cake crumbs dried out much too quickly. I am now using crushed chocolate wafer cookies from a box. They hold their texture better, are easier to prepare and give the finished cake a deeper chocolate flavour.
Equipment
- 9-inch springform pan
- Parchment paper
- Large mixing bowl
- Medium mixing bowl
- Electric hand mixer or stand mixer
- Whisk
- Rubber spatula
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Small sharp knife
- Large spoon for hollowing the cake
- wire cooling rack
- Serving plate or cake stand
- Rolling pin and sealed bag for crushing chocolate wafers
- Food processor (optional)
- Offset spatula or back of a spoon for shaping the cream dome
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar lightly packed
- ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs large and at room temperature
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil neutral-flavoured
- ½ cup sour cream at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup brewed coffee hot
- ⅓ cup semisweet chocolate chips mini, optional
Banana Cream Filling
- 3 bananas ripe but firm - medium sized
- 1 cup mascarpone cheese cold
- 2 cups whipping cream cold
- ⅓ cup icing sugar
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 pinch salt
Chocolate Cookie Crumb Topping
- 1½ cups chocolate wafer cookies finely crushed
- 2 tablespoons dark chocolate finely chopped, optional
Instructions
Prepare the Chocolate Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch springform pan or round cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, oil, sour cream and vanilla until smooth.
- Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients. Stir just until most of the flour has been incorporated.
- Gradually pour in the hot coffee while whisking gently. The batter will become thinner and smoother. Fold in the mini chocolate chips, if using.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
- Bake for 28–33 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached.
- Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Carefully remove it from the pan and transfer it to a wire rack. Cool completely before assembling the cake.
Make the Mascarpone Cream
- Place the cold mascarpone, icing sugar, vanilla and salt in a large chilled mixing bowl.
- Beat on low speed just until smooth. Do not overmix the mascarpone.
- Slowly pour in the cold whipping cream while continuing to mix on low speed.
- Increase the speed to medium-high and whip until the cream forms firm peaks and holds its shape. Stop mixing as soon as the cream is thick and stable.
- Refrigerate the cream while preparing the cake and bananas.
Hollow Out the Cake
- Place the cooled chocolate cake on a serving plate or cake stand.
- Using a small sharp knife, lightly mark a circle approximately 1 inch in from the outer edge of the cake.
- Use a spoon to carefully remove some of the cake from inside the marked circle. Leave the outside edge intact and keep at least a ½-inch layer of cake on the bottom.
- Save the removed cake for another use. It can be layered into dessert cups, turned into cake pops or frozen for later. It is not needed for this cookie crumb topping.
Assemble the Mole Cake
- Peel the bananas and slice them into thick rounds.
- Arrange the banana slices closely together inside the hollowed centre of the cake. Add a second partial layer where needed so the centre is nicely filled.
- Spoon approximately one-third of the mascarpone cream over the bananas, gently pressing it into the spaces between the slices.
- Add the remaining cream, shaping it into a tall, rounded dome. It does not need to be perfectly smooth. The cookie crumbs will cover it.
- Refrigerate the assembled cake for at least 1 hour so the cream can firm up.
- Shortly before serving, combine the crushed chocolate wafer cookies with the chopped dark chocolate, if using.
- Sprinkle and gently press the cookie crumbs over the entire cream dome. Work over a baking sheet or piece of parchment paper because the crumbs can get a little messy.
- Slice the cake with a sharp knife, wiping the blade between cuts for cleaner slices.
For the best Chocolate Banana Cream Mole Cake, use finely crushed chocolate wafer cookies for the topping and add them shortly before serving. They stay fresher than reserved cake crumbs and give the banana cream cake a richer chocolate flavour with a little extra texture.
Notes
- Use ripe but firm bananas for this Chocolate Banana Cream Mole Cake. Very soft bananas can become mushy and release extra moisture into the cream filling.
- Let the chocolate cake base cool completely before hollowing out the centre. A warm cake is much more likely to tear or crumble.
- Leave about a 1-inch border around the cake and at least a ½-inch layer on the bottom. This gives the banana cream filling enough support.
- For a topping that stays fresh longer, use finely crushed chocolate wafer cookies instead of the reserved chocolate cake crumbs. They add a rich cocoa flavour and hold their texture better.
- When using the carved-out cake for the traditional topping, keep it in larger pieces inside an airtight container. Crumble it over the cake just before serving, since loose cake crumbs can dry out quickly.
- Add the chocolate cookie crumb topping shortly before serving for the best texture. The crumbs will gradually soften where they touch the whipped cream.
- Keep the mascarpone cheese, whipping cream and mixing bowl cold. Cold ingredients help the mascarpone whipped cream filling become thick enough to hold the rounded molehill shape.
- Do not overmix the mascarpone cream. Stop as soon as firm peaks form. Overbeating can make the filling look grainy.
- Arrange the banana slices closely together inside the hollowed cake. Filling the gaps helps every slice of this chocolate banana cake have plenty of fresh banana flavour.
- Chill the assembled cake for at least 1 hour before slicing. The cream firms up in the refrigerator, which makes the cake much easier to cut neatly.
- Use a sharp knife and wipe the blade between slices. It is a small step, but it keeps the chocolate cake, banana and cream layers looking much cleaner.
- Store leftover Chocolate Banana Cream Mole Cake covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. The cake will still taste good, although the bananas and crumb topping will soften over time.
- The removed chocolate cake can be frozen or used in parfaits, cake pops, trifles or ice cream sundaes. No need to waste it.
Nutrition
Serving: 1servingCalories: 747kcalCarbohydrates: 75gProtein: 10gFat: 47gSaturated Fat: 24gPolyunsaturated Fat: 7gMonounsaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 117mgSodium: 469mgPotassium: 404mgFiber: 4gSugar: 43gVitamin A: 1165IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 133mgIron: 4mg
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