Rice Cooker Banana Chocolate Cake (香蕉巧克力蛋糕)

Yes, you read that right—cake in a rice cooker. My rice cooker truly has range. This dessert is soft, moist, and deeply chocolatey. I love leaving a little melted chocolate in the center for a lava cake effect. It's perfect for when you're craving something sweet but don't want to turn on the oven. My kids fight over who gets the gooey center.

See the cake making in this YouTube video: 

Ingredients

Makes 6-8 servings

• 2 very ripe bananas
• 2 large eggs
• 120ml (½ cup) milk
• 25g (¼ cup) cocoa powder
• 100g (¾ cup) cake flour (or all-purpose flour)
• 5g (1 teaspoon) baking powder
• Chocolate chips (as many as you like)
• Chopped nuts (optional—walnuts or pecans work great)
• Optional: 2-3 squares of dark chocolate for lava center

Instructions

1. Mash the banana: This is the best part—you mash the banana directly in the rice cooker pot. No extra bowl needed. Leave a few small chunks for texture.
2. Add wet ingredients: Crack in the eggs and pour in the milk. Mix everything together with a whisk or fork until well combined.
3. Add dry ingredients: Add the cocoa powder, cake flour, and baking powder. Mix until smooth. Don't overmix—a few small lumps are okay.
4. Add chocolate chips: Stir in chocolate chips. If you want a lava center, press 2-3 squares of chocolate into the center of the batter.
5. Optional nuts: Sprinkle chopped nuts on top if you like texture.
6. Cook: Close the lid and press the regular rice setting. Let it cook for about 50 minutes.
7. Check doneness: If your rice cooker runs cooler, you might need to press "cook" again for another cycle. Stick a toothpick in the center—if it comes out clean (or with just a little melted chocolate if you did the lava center), it's done.
8. Remove the cake: Let it cool for 5 minutes. Run a rubber spatula around the edges to loosen it. Use a large spatula to carefully lift the cake out of the pot.
9. Serve: This is amazing served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.

Tips:

Ripe bananas are essential. The riper, the better. Brown spots on the peel equal perfect sweetness.

Deepen the chocolate: Add 1 teaspoon of instant coffee powder to the batter. It makes the chocolate taste even more intense.

Lava center: If you want that gooey chocolate center, cook it for less time and check at 40 minutes. The edges should be set but the middle still soft.

Different flavors: Skip the cocoa and chocolate chips. Add vanilla extract and blueberries for a different cake.

Serve warm: This cake is 100 times better served warm. If you have leftovers, microwave for 20 seconds before eating.

No cake flour? Use all-purpose flour. The texture will be slightly less fluffy but still delicious.