Mexican Monkey Cake

Whew...I have been AWFUL at getting here lately. Well, this is one of the first recipes I found when I began reading food blogs...time sure flies, doesn't it? I finally had the occasion (& the bananas) to make it, and I was so excited. It was indeed as delicious as it seemed it would be, and even though only about 1/2 was eaten at the event I brought it to, we've managed to polish off nearly the rest of it in the past few days.

I especially liked the little kick that the chili powder added. I figured if it's going to be called mexican cake, I might as well add some chili!

Farmgirl's Mexican Monkey Cake
adapted from Farmgirl Fare

cinnamon streusel:
8 oz dark chocolate, chopped
2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup oats
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper powder

cake:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 1/4 mashed, ripe bananas (as ripe as they get)
2 Tbsp vanilla yogurt
1 Tbsp buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper powder

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8x8x2" baking pan. In a small bowl, combine chocolate, brown sugar, oats, cinnamon, and 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper powder; set aside.

In a large bowl, beat butter, sugar & egg with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add bananas, yogurt and milk & mix well. On low speed, beat in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt & remaining 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper powder until just blended.

Spread slightly more than 1/2 of the batter in the pan. Sprinkle with 1/2 of the cinnamon streusel. Carefully spread the remaining batter over the streusel and then top with the rest of the streusel. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, about 40-50 minutes. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.


According to the original directions, the cake freezes well, but I wouldn't know since we ate it so quickly! This is definitely worth repeating, and I'm already looking forward to making it again! It was also so easy & looked beautiful. I made it in the morning before our "end of the semester" party & we were eating it by 11:30. If you are looking for something new to make, definitely try this one!