This is my all-time favorite banana cake recipe, made completely from scratch! Perfectly flavored with extra bananas, soft, fluffy, moist, and topped off with a silky smooth cream cheese frosting and chopped walnuts, this is the banana cake of your dreams!
This recipe is a result of many, many emails and comments from so many of you writing to tell me how much you enjoyed my best banana muffins (see, I didn’t call them the “best” for nothing). A few of you wrote to ask me if it would be possible to bake the muffin recipe into a banana cake, but I had a few reservations. I was worried that the original recipe wouldn’t make the best banana cake, and so I started recipe testing to develop the perfect moist cake.
I went through a lot of overripe bananas (and some not-so-ripe ones, in a few moments of desperation), and finally ended up modifying my pumpkin cake (of all things) to land on this winning banana cake recipe.
Soft and fluffy with a tender, moist crumb, this is banana cake perfection. It’s easy to make and is perfectly complemented by a liberal topping of cream cheese frosting.
For this banana cake, I used a variation of my favorite cream cheese frosting that I shared the other day. Today’s recipe uses a bit less sugar and has you whip heavy cream into the frosting so that it’s smooth and silky.
This variation is much less sturdy than my other recipe and isn’t one that I recommend for your standard cake or cupcake, but it suits this cake perfectly (no piping required here!).
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Tips for Making Banana Cake
- The riper your bananas the better! I prefer mine to be mostly brown (which I did not have when I made the video below… food blogger fail), the riper they are the more flavorful your banana cake will be.
- I top the frosting off with chopped walnuts, but if you’d like you can also bake walnuts or pecans into the cake, too. About 1 cup of chopped nuts would work nicely in this recipe.
- You can add cinnamon to spice up this cake! I ultimately decided to leave it out for maximum pure banana flavor, but you can add 1/2-3/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon in with the dry ingredients if you’d like.
- When I made this banana cake in my glass baking dish, the top browned faster than I expected it to. Because of this, I’ve included instructions in the recipe to monitor your cake at the 30 minute mark, and if the edges are browning too fast, lightly tent the cake with foil.
Enjoy!
How to Make the BEST Banana Cake
The Best Banana Cake
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature (170g)
- ¾ cup canola or vegetable oil (175ml)
- 1 cup light or dark brown sugar (200g)
- 1/2 cup sugar (100g)
- 4 ripe bananas, peeled and well-mashed (this is about 2 cups mashed) (470g)
- 2 large eggs lightly beaten room temperature preferred
- ¼ cup buttermilk (60ml)
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (312g)
- 1 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
Silky Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 8 oz cream cheese softened (225g)
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened (113g)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2½ cups powdered sugar (315g)
- 1 Tablespoons heavy cream
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts for topping (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and spray a 9x13 pan with baking spray or lightly grease and flour. Set aside.
- Combine butter and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl and use an electric mixer). Beat until well-combined and light and fluffy.
- Add oil and beat to combine.
- Stir in mashed bananas.
- Add eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla extract and stir until well-combined.
- In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- Gradually add to wet ingredients until completely combined.
- Spread batter into prepared pan and bake on 350F (175C) for 45-55 minutes* or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean with few moist crumbs. Allow to cool completely before covering with frosting.
Silky Cream Cheese Frosting
- Combine cream cheese, butter, vanilla extract, and salt in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until creamy.
- With mixer on low-speed, gradually add powdered sugar until completely combined.
- Add heavy cream and gradually increase speed to high. Beat on high for 30 seconds.
- Spread over completely cooled banana cake. Top with chopped walnuts (if using). Slice and serve!
Notes
Nutrition
Jawauna Streets says
Can you put walnuts in the cake?
Sugar Spun Run says
Hi, Jawauna! Yes, you can! I hope that you enjoy it! 🙂
Heather says
This sounds like the perfect cake to use as the “base” of my banana pudding cake. Can’t wait to try it out.
Sam says
I hope you love it, Heather! 🙂
Shakila says
Hello Sam! Greetings from Singapore! Ever since I tried your best cheesecake recipe, I’ve honestly trusted you hehe. I tried making banana cake yesterday with milk (without the lemon) and to my surprise, it still tasted good. I honestly love the moist and texture. My friends love it too! Thanks so much!
Sam says
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Shakila! 🙂
Hansa says
Hey I made this cake in the evening, I skipped the frosting and the walnuts cause I didn’t have cream cheese or walnuts and even without a frosting the cake turned out to be a hit among the family. My parents who usually dont consume sweets much loved it and asked for a second piece. Thank you for the recipe. I made this in a glass dish and had to cook for 55 mins(just like you’ve said).. I put some cashews on top of the cake 20mins before taking it out. Amazing 😍 oh btw this was my first time eating a banana cake so I was a bit concerned making this cause I wasn’t sure what it should taste like or anything 😂 turns out I like banana cake
Sam says
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Hansa! 🙂
Rookie Baker says
This is the second recipe from you after the chocolate cupcakes and this banana cake did not disappoint, it’s indeed the best! Again a big hit in our family. Thank you.
Instead of using cake pans, does it make any difference if I use cupcake pans? Thinking about portioning…
Sugar Spun Run says
Thank you for visiting my site again to try another recipe, Wendy! I am so glad that you enjoyed the cake. I have not personally tried baking this recipe into cupcakes, however, it should work fine. You will want to keep on eye on it while it bakes as the bake time will be different. If you try it, I’d love to know how they turn out and how long it took for them to bake. Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Melissa says
I reduced the total sugar amount to 1 cup (granulated sugar) & added a handful of chocolate chips and it was still amazing!!!! IMO, could have gone down even more to 3/4 cups of sugar to make it “healthier”
I reduced 1 tablespoon of butter as well & it was ok too!
Sugar Spun Run says
I am so glad that you enjoyed it and it turned out well even with some adjustments, Melissa! Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Ana Beatriz Fernández says
Loved this banana cake! It was so moist and flavorful. This has now joined my all time favorites next to your delicious carrot cake! I would also love to see some microwaveable mug versions of your delicious desserts, since your page is now my go to for all things sweet except when I have a sweet tooth attack and I need to make something quick like that. Thank you so much for your great work!!!
Sugar Spun Run says
Thank you so much for your sweet comment, Ana! I am so glad that you have enjoyed my blog and my recipes! I love that I have become a go-to site for all things sweet! I appreciate your feedback. I will add mug cakes to my list! 😉
Cindy says
Hi Sam,
I was wondering if I could put a crumb topping on top of this cake. I am trying to re-create a banana crunch cake from Entenmann’s that was discontinued. I made one a week ago in a dark metal pan, and it was overcooked even though I removed at 10 minutes earlier than stated. So, do you think a crumb topping would work on this recipe, and should I def use a glass pan because it sounds absolutely amazing!!
Sugar Spun Run says
Hi, Cindy! A crumb topping would work well on this. I have a banana muffin recipe that uses a streusel topping that you can check out as well. Glass or metal pan will work for this recipe. You will keep an eye on it while it bakes as timing may be slightly different. I hope that you enjoy the cake. Keep me posted on how it turns out. 🙂
Nadia says
Wow I’ve tried my fair share of banana cake recipes and this one takes the cake! It’s super moist and the flavour is all banana…yum!
I did misread the instructions about putting it in a pan and instead used a springform round pan & the middle was slightly undercooked after the 45mins. Next time I’ll use the pan. Thanks so much for sharing your recipes, delicious (from Australia)
Sugar Spun Run says
Thank you so much for trying my recipe, Nadia! I am so glad that you enjoyed it! Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Cate says
I have tried banana bread recipe and came out awesome. Checked banana cake and recipe seems the same. What is the major difference between the 2.
I also enjoyed the lemon blueberry and is my best recipe!
Thanks for your great work. You truly inspire me
Sugar Spun Run says
Hi, Cate! Thanks for trying my recipes, I am glad that you have enjoyed them. The ingredients between the banana cake and banana bread are similar, however, the banana cake is much more moist and is paired with a cream cheese frosting. If I had to pick one, the cake would be my favorite out of the two. 🙂
Cate says
Thank you sam. Now I know. Determined to try all your recipes coz they are simple and amazing
Sugar Spun Run says
Thank you so much for your support, Cate! I greatly appreciate. Excited to see which are your favorites. 🙂
Kristen says
Thanks Sam! tried the bread, muffin and this is the 3rd recipe and still got the best comments. Everyones going bananas over these … okay on to the next recipe…apple crumble muffs
Btw, thanks for the added notes regarding the use of a glass dish, very helpful.
Sugar Spun Run says
Thank you so much for trying my recipes, Kristen! I am so glad that they all have been a hit so far. I am happy that you have found the notes helpful too. Happy Baking! 🙂
Andrea says
Alright, this is now the second recipe of yours that I have tried and I love it just as much!! The whole family does. Swapped out buttermilk for full fat as I didn’t have any, still tasted incredible!! So impressed with your recipes!
Thank you for turning this non baker into a baker!
Sugar Spun Run says
I am so happy that you have enjoyed another one of my recipes, Andrea! Thank you so much for trying it. Enjoy! 🙂
Joanne says
Hey Sam!
I’d like to try this recipe. Would frozen bananas work?
Sugar Spun Run says
Hi, Joanne! Yes, frozen banans will work, but will need to the thawed before making this recipe. I hope that you enjoy the cake. 🙂
Leah says
Hello Sam, I did it! I baked this recipe in two 8″ rounds. I have a family member who has an aversion to cream cheese icing, so I made peanut butter icing instead because, hello…peanut butter and banana!! It was a hit and my family loved it. I wish I could post a photo! Thank you for the inspiration!
Sugar Spun Run says
Hooray! I am so glad that you were able to accommodate all taste buds and the cakes turned out perfectly, Leah! Peanut butter frosting was an awesome choice. Yum! Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Donna Marie Rogers says
Hi Sam…Love your site! I’ve been cooking a lot more than usual these last few weeks, and we always have overripe bananas, so I was excited to find this recipe (your cream cheese frosting is the first recipe of yours I made, and my daughter deemed it the very best!). For the Silky Cream Cheese Frosting, could I sub Half & Half for the heavy cream? Thanks!
Sugar Spun Run says
Thank you so much, Donna! I am so glad that you have enjoyed my site along with my recipes. I hope that you love this cake. As for the frosting, half and half will work fine. Let me know how it turns out for you!
Donna Marie Rogers says
This cake was moist and delicious, and the silky cream cheese frosting was amazing!! My daughter and I fought over the last piece…LOL Thanks so much, Sam, going to try another recipe this weekend…just have to figure out which one…so many choices!
Sugar Spun Run says
I am so glad that you enjoyed the recipe, Donna! Thanks for commenting. Since you both fought over the last slice, I guess you will need to bake another. lol 🙂