Banana Cake Recipe

A slice of banana cake with cream cheese frosting on a plate.

This is the best banana cake recipe you’ll ever make! It’s moist, fluffy, and full of fresh banana flavor and topped with a delicious cream cheese frosting.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 1

Total Time 1 20

Servings servings

Calories 878kcal

Author John Kanell

Equipment

Stand mixer or electric hand mixer
Mixing Bowls
Cake pan

Ingredients

2 cups mashed ripe bananas about 4 bananas (466 grams)
½ cup whole milk room temperature (120 ml)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3½ cups all-purpose flour (420 grams)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1¼ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup unsalted butter softened (227 grams)
1½ cups granulated sugar (300 grams)
1 cup light brown sugar (220 grams)
4 large eggs room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 (8-ounce/227g) block cream cheese
½ cup unsalted butter softened (113 grams)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4½ cups confectioners’ sugar (540 grams)

Instructions

For the Cake:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 13x9-inch cake pan with baking spray with flour.
In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the bananas, milk, and lemon juice.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.
In the bowl of a stand mixture with a paddle attachment, add the butter and sugars. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 to 4 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until completely combined before adding the next. Stop and scrape down the bowl occasionally. Beat in the vanilla.
With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture alternating with the banana mixture, just until incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan.
Bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Place on a wire cooling rack and let cool completely in the pan.

For the Cream Cheese Frosting.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add the cream cheese and butter. Beat on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes, scraping down the bowl as necessary. Add the vanilla and beat on until combined. With the mixer on medium-low, gradually add the confectioners’ sugar. Once fully incorporated, scrape down the bowl and beat again until fluffy, about 1 minute. Spread frosting over the top of the cooled cake. Store any leftovers covered and refrigerated for up to 4 days.

Video

Notes

For a perfectly moist cake: Use a scale to measure your flour so you don’t add too much! If you don’t have a scale, fluff your flour with a spoon and then spoon it into your cups before leveling it off with a knife. This method is the best way to measure flour without overpacking the measuring cup, leading to a heavy banana cake.
Make sure your bananas are very ripe. Or, follow one of my tricks for ripening them quickly. Under-ripe bananas are firm and flakey and can bake up into hard chunks throughout the cake. Overripe bananas are ideal and will blend into the batter better and keep the cake moist for days.
Don’t over-mix the batter. Careful not to mix the batter too hard, or you’ll overdevelop the gluten, and end up with a tough cake.
Add mix-ins. If you love walnuts in banana bread, consider adding finely chopped ones to this cake batter! You can also add 1 cup of very finely chopped chocolate, mini chocolate chips, or chocolate sprinkles for a fun twist.
Make a layer cake. For a celebration or fancier presentation, bake this sheet cake a layer cake! Divide batter among two 8-inch round cake pans greased and lined with parchment paper. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes at 350°F. Spread the frosting between the layers and all over the outside. For a thicker layer, double the frosting recipe, or make the recipe as directed and smooth a thin layer on the outside for a naked cake effect.

Nutrition