Easy Banana Cake
- PREP 20min
- COOK 30min
- TOTAL 50min
This is hands-down the best banana cake I’ve made, and it’s easy! I love this cake so much and can’t wait for you to make it. Wait until you have brown speckly bananas. Otherwise, the cake will not have enough banana flavor. This cake is lovely the day you make it, but I prefer the flavor the next day (it tastes even more like bananas), making this is a fantastic cake to make in advance!
You Will Need
Banana Cake
3 medium bananas, ripe with brown speckles, 1 ¼ cups (330g) mashed banana
6 tablespoons (85g) butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 ½ cups (195g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons (38g) brown sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1/4 cup (55g) sour cream
Cream Cheese Frosting
4.5 ounces (128g) room temperature cream cheese
6 tablespoons (85g) room temperature butter
1 ½ cups (170g) powdered sugar, sifted if lumpy
Directions
Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and grease a 9×9-inch square baking pan. You can also line it with parchment paper to make removing the cake easier from the pan.
Prepare the batter: In a large bowl, whisk 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon.
Mash the bananas in a separate bowl until almost smooth. Then, whisk in 3 tablespoons brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of oil, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 2 eggs, and 1/4 cup sour cream.
Add the mashed banana mixture and the melted butter to the bowl with dry ingredients and whisk until combined.
Bake the cake: Spread the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top, and then bake until the top is springy when lightly pressed, 25 to 35 minutes.
Remove the cake from the oven and cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then carefully transfer the cake out to a cooling rack. Cool completely before frosting.
Make the frosting: In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter with a handheld mixer at medium speed until smooth and creamy, for about 1 minute.
Beat in the powdered sugar, a 1/4 cup at a time, until combined. Continue to beat at medium speed for 30 to 45 seconds until the frosting is light and fluffy.
When the banana cake is completely cool to the touch, frost the top, swirling the cream cheese frosting all over. Use as much or as little of the frosting as you like.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Storing: The frosted banana cake lasts at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. I keep it covered with plastic wrap or use a cake keeper or large bowl turned upside down to cover the cake. You can refrigerate unfrosted cake layers for up to 5 days or freeze them for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before adding your frosting.
- Salted butter: I typically use salted butter for this recipe (for the cake and frosting). If you have unsalted butter, add 1/8 teaspoon of extra salt to the cake batter and a small pinch to the frosting.
- Room temperature butter and cream cheese: You will need this for the frosting. If I forget to remove them from the fridge far enough in advance, I use my oven’s “proof” setting, which makes the oven between 70°F and 90°F. I place my butter and cream cheese inside and turn the oven off after 20 minutes. In about 40 minutes, the butter and cream cheese will be soft enough to use in the recipe.
- Measuring the flour: Either weigh it or use the “spoon and level” method: Fluff the flour, spoon it into the measuring cup, then level off the top with a flat edge.
- Make larger cake: Double the recipe and bake in a 9×13-inch baking pan. Expect a slightly longer bake time (40 to 50 minutes)
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.