Tuesday Baking Day was a success yesterday. I decided to try out a healthier recipe, using mostly items I already had at home. This week's sweet treat was Chunky Monkey Bundt Cake. I often have ripe bananas stored in my freezer, so I can make banana bread, muffins, or now bundt cake whenever the mood strikes. I simply take the brown bananas that don't get eaten and pop them in a ziploc bag, which I place in the freezer. Right before I need them, I pull them out to let them thaw a little. I squeeze them right out of the skin and it works perfectly. I started by preheating the oven, prepping my Bundt pan, and gathering my ingredients. I mixed together the cake mix, water, eggs, and applesauce. Next, I mixed in the chocolate chips (mini sized) and bananas. I poured it evenly in the bundt pan and cooked it for about 45 minutes. I let it cool in the pan on a cooling rack for about 10 minutes and then inverted it on the cooling rack. It immediately released from the pan. However, I can tell where I may have missed with the spray as a bit stuck to the pan. I let it cool completely before storing in my cake container. We had a little bit last night as a snack and it was yummy! I did notice that the chocolate chips and bananas obviously sunk during the baking process, so they were concentrated in part of the cake. The cake was very moist and tender, and we will have to eat it pretty quickly so that it doesn't get moldy too fast. This cake had great flavor and it was fairly healthy with not much added sugars or extra fats. You can't go wrong with the banana/chocolate chip combination and this recipe was a great example. It's perfect if you want a healthy treat, dessert, or even a sweeter breakfast item!

The New Austonian