This banana cake is insanely moist, flavorful and delicious!
My mouth is watering thinking about this banana cake again. The first time I tasted it, I actually gasped it was so good! I actually only had to test this recipe twice before I was super happy with the recipe.
Top this amazing banana cake with my cream cheese frosting and I swear you will be eating slices all week like like I was.
I stored the leftover cake in the fridge wrapped in plastic wrap to keep it from drying out. I would cut a slice and let it warm for about 30 minutes before eating and omg, so good! It's not often you find a cake recipe that is just as good the next day as it was fresh.
Can you make this banana cake recipe into cupcakes?
This banana cake can also be made into cupcakes very easily. The batter is pretty loose so I just poured it into my grease-proof cupcake liners to about ¾ full. They baked up in about 20 minutes and where delicious!
How to choose the right bananas for banana cake
I don't know about you but we always have bananas in our house. Between my pregnancy nausea and my four-year-old, quick snacks are a must. But we never seem to eat ALL of the bananas. There is always one or two left in the bunch that gets too ripe.
Rather than toss them, I let them continue to ripen. Until they almost start to turn black. Brown spots on bananas equal a sweeter flavor. Do not be tempted to use new bananas or you'll be sorely disappointed in the flavor.
Then I put them in the freezer. Yea you heard me, the freezer.
Freezing super ripe bananas actually brings out the sugar in the banana and makes them more flavorful. Plus it's a great way to store those extra ripe bananas until you need them.
Preparing your banana cake ingredients
This recipe takes three bananas but if your bananas are really small, you might need four. Thaw your bananas in a bowl before you need them. They will drain a sugary liquid, don't worry, this is normal. I just drained off any extra liquid and tossed it. Then just mash it all together with a fork or in your blender to get it smooth.
I often talk about ingredients needing to be at the same temperature for successfully baking from scratch. In this recipe you definitely want to make sure the bananas and eggs are room temp, the buttermilk is slightly warm and the butter is softened.
You can warm eggs by placing them in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes before cracking. Buttermilk and butter can be warmed in the microwave.
If you don't have buttermilk you can replace the buttermilk with regular buttermilk plus 1 teaspoon of white vinegar. Let it sit for about 10 minutes then it will be ready to use.
This banana cake recipe combines white sugar and brown sugar. The brown sugar adds some amazing flavor to the banana cake! Just make sure you sift the brown sugar because it tends to get some hard lumps in it and no one likes lumps in their cake.
The first time I made this cake I didn't add any spices and it definitely lacked that punch I was looking for. The second time around I added in some cinnamon and it definitely adds some much-needed flavor.
How to make the best banana cake
- Preheat your oven to 35oºF and prepare two 8"x2" cake pans with cake goop or another pan release.
- Combine your flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt and set aside.
- Combine your banana puree, oil, vanilla and buttermilk in a separate bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add your softened butter (not melted like mine was but if it is, it will be ok, mine was). Cream until smooth then sprinkle in your brown and white sugar. Mix on medium until lightened and fluffy.
- Add in your eggs one at a time, letting them combine before adding the next.
- Add in ⅓ of your dry ingredients while mixing on low. Then ⅓ of your liquid. Continue alternating dry/liquid two more times until just combined. Do not over-mix.
- Pour the batter into your prepared cake pans and bake 35-40 minutes until the center of the cake is baked and a toothpick comes out clean.
Making the cream cheese frosting
This cream cheese frosting is soooo delicious with this banana cake. The frosting is firm enough to frost the cake and do some basic piping but still super soft and creamy. If you prefer a more stable cream cheese frosting you can add extra powdered sugar or try my crusting cream cheese frosting recipe.
Cream your softened butter in the bowl of the stand mixer with the paddle attachment until smooth. Then add in your softened cream cheese and blend together until combined. Add in your powdered sugar one cup at a time. Lastly, add in the extract and salt. Don't over-mix or your frosting could separate.
Don't forget to scrape the bottom of the bowl to make sure everything is combined well.
How to caramelize bananas
Ok this part is TOTALLY unnecessary but I have always wanted to try to make caramelized bananas lol. I sliced up a fresh banana about ¼" thick and lightly coated them in white sugar.
I heated my pan to med/high and sauteed my bananas until they started to turn brown. Then gave them a flip. They were very sticky and hard to flip, probably because I had no idea what I was doing. I let the bananas cool on a silicone mat.
The caramelized bananas tasted great on the cake though!
How to make your banana cake
Once your cakes are baked, let them cool in the pan for 10 minutes then flip them out onto the cooling rack to cool the rest of the way. I keep mine covered with a tea towel to keep them from drying out.
This banana cake is actually really easy to hand and pick up but feels soft. Don't be worried.
I like a good amount of cream cheese frosting on my cake so I decided to tort my cakes (slice in half lengthwise). Slather on a good portion of cream cheese frosting between each layer. I decided to keep the outside of my banana cake frosted very roughly.
I used a star tip to pipe on some simple dollops on top of the cake and placed my sad caramelized bananas in the middle. Sure does look pretty!!
That first bite was OMG good. I couldn't believe how tasty it was! So super moist, tons of banana flavor and that cream cheese frosting just brought it all together.
Watch my full video on making the most amazing banana cake ever!
Cake Batter and Frosting Calculator
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Cups of Batter Needed
8 cups
Cups of Frosting Needed
5 cups
Note: measurements are estimated based off the vanilla cake recipe using standard US cake pans and sizes. Measurements used are for 2" tall cake pans only. Your results may vary. Do not overfill cake pans above manufacturer's recommended guidelines.
Recipe
Ingredients
Banana Cake Ingredients
- 11 oz cake flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 6 large eggs room temperature
- 8 oz sugar
- 3 oz brown sugar
- 9 oz very ripe banana puree (about 3 bananas)
- 4 oz vegetable oil
- 3 oz buttermilk room temperature
- 8 oz softened butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients
- 16 oz softened cream cheese
- 8 oz softened butter unsalted
- 1 teaspoon orange extract or vanilla
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 36 oz sifted powdered sugar 8 cups
Instructions
Banana Cake Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF and prepare two 8" cake pans with cake goop or other cake release.
- Combine together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt and set aside.
- Combine together buttermilk, thawed banana (drain off the excess liquid), oil and vanilla. Whisk and set aside.
- Place softened butter in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment and cream until smooth. Sprinkle in brown and white sugar and whip on medium until light and fluffy.
- Add in your eggs one at a time, waiting for them to be combined before adding the next.
- Add in ⅓ of your flour mixture and then ⅓ of your liquid. Alternate two more times and mix until just combined.
- Pour into your prepared cake pans and bake for 35-40 minutes until a toothpick comes out cleanly. Let cool fully before frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting Instructions
- Place softened butter in the bowl of your stand mixer with paddle attachment and cream on low until smooth
- Place softened cream cheese in the bowl with butter in small chunks and cream on low until smooth and combined
- Add in sifted powdered sugar one cup at a time until combined
- Add your orange extract and salt. Combine until smooth and creamy.
Nutrition
Denise M says
looks super yummy!! I can't wait to try it. Can this be used under fondant?
The Sugar Geek Show says
Absolutely! It's soooo good!
Lara says
Thanks for sharing, so making this ?
Sara says
The vanilla amount is not listed for the cake
The Sugar Geek Show says
Oops! It is now!
Sydney C says
Question in all your recipes it says butter is it suppose to be normal butter or unsalted butter?
The Sugar Geek Show says
unsalted
Carolyn says
Hi i tried this recipe yesterday and as soon as i added my eggs to the sugar and butter mixture it seperated. I followed everything accordingly and I decided to re make it and the same thing happened so i continued and the batter came together after i mixed in the flour when i baked it, it came out soft but when i cut it the texture was def off. Do you know why this could be?
The Sugar Geek Show says
Are your ingredients at room temperature or even a little warm?
Carolyn says
Yes everything was at room temp and just to make sure i nuked the bananas as well as the buttermilk
Carolyn says
Should I use dark or light brown sugar mines also came out real dark
Ruth Ene paul says
Thanks for the recipe
Rudolph Loehndorf says
Liz is it alright to refrigate the bannas after they were frozen when you mashed the 3 bannas if you are planning to make your bannas cake the next day . Liz is it alright to put mashed bannas in the refrigator for 1 day until ready to make the banna cake. thank you.
The Sugar Geek Show says
Hmmm good question. I don't know for sure. I always just mash mine and use them right then.
Marcela Maya says
Super mega wow!!, it is now my favorite banana cake recipe, thanks Elizabeth!
Laylat says
How can i stop my cake from cracking on top? They always turn out perfect with texture and taste but always cracks any tip pls
The Sugar Geek Show says
Any cake or this cake? Usually, a cake cracking means that it's too close to the top of the oven and the oven is too hot so it bakes the outside of the cake before the inside is done baking and the pressure of the cake rising causes the top to crack.
Anisor F says
Can I use this cake for some carving? I'd love to do the Gravity Defying Bowls tutorial but with your Banana Split Recipe. I know the strawberry and chocolate will hold up but what about this one?
The Sugar Geek Show says
The bowls don't have much carving, they are mostly supported by the structure so I think it would do just fine 🙂
Samantha says
Hi! I’m excited to try this for the weekend. Do I HAVE to freeze the bananas or can I just use really ripe bananas? Or can I put some close to ripe bananas in the freezer?
rudolph j loehndorf says
Liz when you do a 6 inch cake it should be baked at 335 degrees for 25 minutes if your cake is still not done do it in 5 minute increments this works out well. liz I just made this wonderful banna cake and it turned out wonderful moist and very soft cake texture just wonderful I thought i would pass this ingormation along to you to let you know how wonderful the cake turned out thank you liz again.
Michelle C says
Such a perfect cake! And makes amazing cupcakes!!!! I used this recipe to make banana cream pie cupcakes and they were a huge hit!!
JoseeM says
This is THE best banana cake recipe ever! My previous recipes of banana bread have been stacked to the back of my recipe book, as this cake has class and is very versatile for any occasion. Just WOW! I'm hooked... Thank you Elizabeth 🙂
Carina says
Love this recipe.
It was a delicious, everyone loved it.
I wish I could send you a picture of it ??
Gis says
Hi, can i use ap flour?
The Sugar Geek Show says
Yes you can for this recipe
Gis says
Thank you. 🙂
Cyndi Emme says
Do you freeze your bananas in the skin or do you take them out of the peel to freeze?
The Sugar Geek Show says
In the skin, I never thought about taking them out of the skin
Yami says
Hi liz, can you please add the conversion button to be able to convert to grams? Pretty plz, also, cant wait to try this recipe
Elva Rojas says
I’d love to have the ingredients in cups....if possible. Also, can I add chopped walnuts to this recipe?
The Sugar Geek Show says
All my recipes are by weight so that they bake up successfully. Here is more info on using a scale and why I use one. https://sugargeekshow.com/digital-kitchen-scale/ Yes you can add in 1 cup of chopped walnuts if you desire
Wendy says
Just put this cake in the oven and have my fingers crossed. It seems a little runny. I did not drain off the Banana juice like you said in the video. Also, I used 11 ounces of cake flour, is that right?
The Sugar Geek Show says
Yes that is correct 🙂
Amber smith says
The cream cheese frosting says it makes three pounds, is all of it used or can it be stored ? If so for how long ? Also- I LOVE your videos
The Sugar Geek Show says
Its enough to frost this one cake or you can refrigerate any leftovers
Lisa says
I can't find cake flour where I am could I use something else thank you
The Sugar Geek Show says
In this case, you can use all purpose flour 🙂 not self-rising
Stacy Bobian says
Super moist and delicious. I made enough batter to make four 6 in cakes and 6 dozen cupcakes. Loaded up the freezer with these. Frosting will be made tomorrow and I know it will also be great! Thanks Liz
Dave says
Yikes. Your recipes are by weight? Even the oil and buttercream? I assumed that was fluid ounces. What type of salt do you use? Table salt or kosher?
I just made this. Seems to have baked ok.
I browned the butter so increased the buttercream by an ounce.
Smells great.
The Sugar Geek Show says
Everything is by weight. Makes it easier and more accurate. Check out my blog post on why I use a scale for more info https://sugargeekshow.com/digital-kitchen-scale/
Lynette says
Hey Liz! Thank you for this. I love watching you on YouTube and thanks to you I tried this recipe today. It came out beautifully.
I'd like to make one suggestion though, if you could kindly put metric measurements for us outside the states. That would be helpful.
The Sugar Geek Show says
I do have metric 🙂 its the button right under the ingredients