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+ servings

Easy Banana Cake 

A moist, dense banana sheet cake topped with homemade cream cheese frosting.
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Resting time2 hours
Total Time1 hour 15 minutes
Servings: 1 13x9 sheet 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

Recipe adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction