Cinnamon, Chocolate, Banana Bundt and Lemony Delight for Martha

I was up at 6 am this morning to let the dogs out. I'd had a good night's rest so I out the coffee on and set out to bake two cakes. One was for us and the other to take along to a friend's tomorrow.


My Lemon cake was simple.
Ingredients:
1 box lemon cake mix
1 package lemon pudding
2 TBSP fresh squeezed lemon juice
Zest from 2 lemons
2 tsp lemon extract
3 whole eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup Canola oil and
1 cup of water.
Add all ingredients except the zest to the mixing bowl and stir until moistened. Beat on medium high speed for 3 minutes. Add the lemon zest and beat for another 30 seconds or so.
Scrape down beaters and pour into prepared bundt pan. I used the rose pattern Bundt pan for this lemony delight.

Next I mixed up a batch of Cinnamon, Chocolate and Banana cake batter and baked it in the Bavarian pattern Bundt pan.
Ingredients:

1 Chocolate cake mix
1 box chocolate pudding
4 eggs
2 very ripe bananas smashed
1 cup water
1/4 cup oil
1 tsp rum extract
3/4 cup cinnamon chocolate chips

Add all ingredients except cinnamon chips to the batter bowl and beat for 3 minutes until smooth. Scrape down beaters and bowl as needed.

Pour 1/3 of batter to prepared pan. I used baking Pam and then I sprinkled the bottom inside of the pan with some chocolate and coffee bean sugar I had on hand (from Trader Joe's). I ground it right into the greased pan, then tapped it around so it stuck to the sides and center tube a bit. Add approximately 1/3 of the batter the pan. Then add the cinnamon chocolate chips over the batter, evenly distributing them around the ring. Top off with the remaining batter. Use a spatula to smooth the top of the batter in the pan.

Tap both pans on towel placed on counter to remove any air bubbles. Place in oven preheated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake for 45-50 minutes. Cakes are done when tested with a cake tester or toothpick and it comes out clean. Cool in pan, on rack for 30 minutes.

Invert each cake onto serving platter.

To complete the Lemon Delight, make a simple lemon glaze. The lemon glaze is made from 2 TBSP fresh squeezed lemon juice and 1 cup powdered sugar. Whisk together until smooth. Drizzle over cake as desired. My BFF's son thought the cake was so delightfully tasty, he opted for a second piece!

The Chocolate cake stood on its own with no additional glaze or sugar needed. We served each slice with a small dollop of whipped cream.
Perfect!

I was quite surprised at how great this combination turned out. The cinnamon chips melted nicely into the finished cake and the bananas added a lot of buttery texture and banana flavor to the deep rich of the chocolate cake. It was moist and very delicious. The chocolate and coffee bean sugar I had coated the baking pan with added a beautiful sheen to this one.