Easy Banana Cake – A moist, dense banana sheet cake topped with homemade cream cheese frosting.
Cake, cake, cake, cake, cake, cake. Today’s recipe is all about cake. But not just any cake – banana cake.
I was intrigued about this Easy Banana Cake recipe when I stumbled upon it on one of my favorite food blogs. The blogger had such incredible things to say about this cake – in fact, she called it the best banana cake she ever had. Pair that with ingredients that speak for themselves – cream cheese frosting, real bananas, ground cinnamon – and I had no choice but to give it a try.
And man, was it incredible! Everything I loved about banana bread was in this banana cake, but it was even more moist and was perfectly paired with cream cheese frosting. Bonus: my husband loved it too!
So now I’m here to share this yummy recipe with you!
Banana Cake vs Banana Bread
When I first saw a recipe for banana cake, I thought “Banana cake? You mean banana bread?”
Not exactly. Banana cake is made in a cake pan instead of a loaf pan, it’s topped with cream cheese frosting (which bread is usually not), and a little lighter in texture – thanks to the buttermilk. Other than those few differences, banana cake is pretty similar to banana bread in flavor and consistency.
How is this cake made?
This cake is made similarly to any other cake – you start by creaming butter and sugars and then you alternate adding dry ingredients and milk to keep from overmixing the batter and making you cake taste tough.
After the cake is mixed, it’s added to a 13×9 pan and baked for 45 minutes. Just like banana bread, however, the edges of the cake can brown towards the end of the baking process so keep an eye on the cake and cover with foil if it browns too much.
Once the cake is done, it’s time to top with cream cheese frosting. Cream cheese frosting has to be one of my favorite frostings ever – tied with chocolate frosting. It’s so creamy and tangy and doesn’t need tons and tons of sugar to taste incredible. Because of this, I think it’s the perfect pairing for this banana cake.
Tips & Tricks
Just like with all the other recipes I’ve shared, here are a few tips to make sure this recipe does off without a hitch:
- It is super important that you use softened, room temperature cream cheese for the frosting. Not only will the frosting be much easier to whip, you’ll have tons of lumps in your frosting if you try to use cold cream cheese.
- If you’ve made banana bread before, you know how important it is to use brown bananas in baking. The same is true for this banana cake. Brown bananas = sweeter bananas, which make for a sweeter cake.
- Just like with any cake, you do NOT want to top with frosting before the cake is completely cool. If you do, the butter in the frosting will melt and make a gross mess on top of your cake.
How excited are you to try this cake?? Let me know in the comments below!
Easy Banana Cake
Ingredients
For the banana cake:
- 3 large bananas ripe, mashed
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup butter unsalted, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar (or light brown sugar)
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
For the cream cheese frosting:
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1/2 cup butter unsalted, softened
- 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions
For the banana cake:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13x9 cake pan and set aside. Note: if you are using a dark cake pan, reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees to prevent edges of cake from browning too much.
- In a medium bowl, combine, flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
- In a bowl fitted for a stand mixer, beat butter until fluffy, about 1 minute. Add sugars and continue beating until creamy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time until combined. Scrap down the sides of the bowl. Add vanilla and mashed bananas and combine.
- Add 1/3 flour mixture to wet ingredients and combine. Add 3/4 cup of buttermilk to wet ingredients and combine. Repeat one more time. Finish mixing process by adding last 1/3 of flour mixture and combining. Do not overmix - a few lumps are okay.
- Pour batter into prepared cake pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center. Remove cake from the oven and let it cool completely before topping with frosting.
For the cream cheese frosting:
- Add butter and cream cheese to a bowl fitted for a stand mixer. Beat on medium-high until light and fluffy - about 2 minutes. Add powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt and beat for another 3 minutes.
- Spread frosting onto cooled cake and serve immediately or place in fridge to store for later.
Notes
Pin for later:
More recipes you’ll love:
Pumpkin Banana Bread
Banana Nut Cinnamon Rolls
Bananas Foster French Toast Casserole
It’s in the oven now. The smell is amazing.
I actually used 2 1/2 cups of banana, so it made a regular size cake, and a smaller one. And I didn’t have buttermilk, but made it with regular milk and put vinegar 1 1/2 Tablespoon.
I hope all my adjustments make it come out alright.
I’ll come back and let you know.
How did it go?! I’m so curious to know!
This cake came out of the oven looking like a pro baked it, absolutely beautiful with a delicious texture and taste.
Looks so delicious! And I have a few overripe bananas that I need to use asap. Can’t wait to try this recipe!
Looks like an easy yet delicious recipe to make! Thank you 🙂
Looks wonderful – you can’t go wrong with a banana cake to keep everybody happy!
This looks so scrumptious! Oh my. I am always looking for a new way to use bananas and I can’t wait to try this recipe.
Love how simple and moist this cake is
This banana cake looks so very moist! Looks like you got it just as perfect as it gets. So Yummy. Love the cream cheese frosting idea, I do the same and it just prevents the recipe to become so full of sugar, right? Love it!
Bananas and cream cheese! Love that! I happen to have a bundle of super ripe bananas . . . . 🙂
I love everything made with bananas and this cake, so delicious looking. I think I could eat the entire cake.
Ohhh, banana cake is one of my favorites! The texture on this banana cake looks perfect. Can’t wait to make it!
I’m so glad I came across this–I have so many bananas in the freezer!