Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a bundt pan by spraying it with baking spray or greasing it with butter and dusting lightly with flour; set the pan aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: 2.25call-purpose flour, 1c granulated sugar, ½c packed light brown sugar, 1.5teaspoon baking powder, 1teaspoon baking soda, and ½teaspoons salt. Set the dry mixture aside.
• In a separate bowl, mash 1c mashed ripe bananas (about 2). Add ¾c buttermilk, ½c vegetable or canola oil, 1ts vanilla extract, and 2 large eggs (room temperature). Beat with an electric mixer until the mixture is smooth and homogenous.
• Pour the wet banana mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Mix until combined, then beat the batter on medium speed for 2 minutes to aerate and ensure a smooth batter.
• Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan and smooth the top with a spatula.
• Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
• Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, place a plate or cooling rack on top of the bundt pan and invert the pan to release the cake. If the cake does not release cleanly, let it sit inverted in the pan for up to an additional 10 minutes and try again, tapping the sides gently.
• Transfer the cake to a cooling rack set over a rimmed baking sheet or pan and allow the cake to cool until it is no longer hot to the touch and is cool enough that glaze will not run off (see step 12).
• While the cake cools, make the chocolate glaze: in a medium saucepan combine ½c unsalted butter and ⅓c milk. Sift 6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder into the saucepan.
• Cook the butter, milk, and cocoa mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the butter melts and the mixture becomes slightly thickened. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let the mixture cool for 10 minutes.
• Sift 3c powdered sugar into the saucepan in batches and whisk until the glaze is smooth and pourable. Whisk in 1teaspoon vanilla extract until incorporated. Adjust the consistency by whisking thoroughly; the glaze should be pourable but not thin.
• Place the cooled cake on the cooling rack set over the rimmed pan. Pour the chocolate glaze evenly over the top of the cake, allowing excess to drip into the pan.
• Let the glazed cake sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes so the glaze can set before slicing and serving.