Remember that time I told you about the best banana cake I’ve ever had?
I enjoyed obsessed over it at a family reunion the other weekend. My cousin made it and I stalked her down like a dessert creep and proceeded to talk her ear off about cream cheese frosting and spotty bananas for 35 minutes straight.
What? You don’t do that at parties?
It was the moistest cake I’ve ever eaten. Stick-to-the-back of your fork moist. The perfect cream cheese frosting, both sweet and tangy, sinking into the top of the cake made it even moister. Sweet, but not overpowering. Mega banana flavor, certainly more banana flavor than any banana bread I’ve ever eaten. Very buttery and cakey from creaming the butter and sugars. Ridiculously rich, decadent.
The banana cake was dense, but not heavy. If that makes any sense? (Coming from the lady who talks about rotting bananas at social gatherings, but stick with me here.) The crumb was very soft, but they were tight crumbs. The cake didn’t fall apart when you took a forkful.
She told me this cake comes out perfect every time she makes it. And such perfection is reinforced, she told me, when absolutely everyone who has a slice begs her for the recipe. It is, hands down, the best banana cake I’ve ever had.
And I haven’t stopped thinking about it since.
How to Make Banana Cake
The recipe starts with 1 and 1/2 cups (345g) mashed bananas, or about 4 medium or 3 large ripe bananas (above). Now, make sure those bananas are nice and spotty. The bananas you see above are just right (and it’s what you want for banana bread and banana muffins, too). More brown spots = sweeter, more banana flavor. Your cake will thank you. I simply mash the bananas in my mixer—the same mixer I use for creaming the butter and sugars. Beat the bananas on high speed for a minute, then transfer to another bowl. I don’t even wash the mixing bowl—just throw the butter right in and start creaming!
Can I Use Frozen Bananas?
Yes and I do this often. Thaw the frozen bananas at room temperature. Drain off any excess liquid, mash, then use as instructed in the recipe below. See How to Freeze & Thaw Bananas for Baking.
Here’s the batter. There will be some lumps.
One more thing to note: buttermilk. As you guessed, buttermilk is the moist-maker in this cake. The cake wouldn’t be what it is without it! You also need the acid in buttermilk to help the baking soda do its job. I rarely have buttermilk in my refrigerator, so I always sour whole milk instead. For this recipe, you need 1 and 1/2 cups of buttermilk. If you don’t keep buttermilk on hand either, measure 1 Tablespoon of fresh lemon juice or white vinegar. Pour into a liquid measuring cup. Then add enough whole milk until it reaches 1 and 1/2 cups. Stir together, let it sit for 5 minutes, then use in the recipe. To keep the cake extra rich, I recommend whole milk when you are souring milk.
Is this not the silkiest and smoothest cream cheese frosting you’ve ever seen? Well, it’s the silkiest and smoothest cream cheese frosting I’ve ever tasted! It’s pretty similar to our cream cheese frosting that we use for carrot cake, but there’s a little less cream cheese for the amount of butter. So, this makes the frosting a little more silky. And definitely more buttery!
There’s also a lot of cream cheese frosting. When you begin slathering it onto the cake, you’ll probably go “Sally, this is way too much frosting!” But it’s not. You want a nice thick layer. It’s essential.
If you love baking with brown butter, the brown butter cream cheese frosting from my zucchini cake would be fantastic here. If you are not into cream cheese frosting or just want to try something different, try it with traditional vanilla buttercream, this salted caramel frosting, or even white chocolate buttercream frosting instead. All are seriously delicious combinations!
The best banana cake I’ve ever had. We love it so much we turned it into a chocolate marble banana Bundt cake, too. And if you can’t get enough sheet cakes, you’ll want to try this fresh apple cake next!
PrintThe Best Banana Cake I’ve Ever Had
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 5 hours (includes cooling)
- Yield: serves 12
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This is absolutely the best banana cake I’ve ever had! It’s supremely moist with cream cheese frosting, tons of banana, brown sugar, and cinnamon flavor.
Ingredients
Banana Cake
- 1 and 1/2 cups (345g) mashed bananas (about 4 medium or 3 large bananas)
- 3 cups (375g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 and 1/2 cups (360ml) buttermilk, at room temperature*
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 ounces (226g) full-fat brick cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3 cups (360g) confectioners’ sugar, plus an extra 1/4 cup if needed
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and grease a 9×13-inch pan.
- Make the cake: Mash the bananas. I usually just use my mixer for this! Set mashed bananas aside.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together. Set aside.
- Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on high speed until smooth and creamy—about 1 minute. Add both sugars and beat on high speed for 2 minutes until creamed together. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the eggs and the vanilla. Beat on medium-high speed until combined, then beat in the mashed bananas. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with the buttermilk and mixing each addition just until incorporated. Do not overmix. The batter will be slightly thick and a few lumps is OK.
- Spread batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 45–50 minutes. Baking times vary, so keep an eye on yours. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If you find the top of the cake is browning too quickly in the oven, loosely cover it with aluminum foil.
- Remove the cake from the oven and set on a wire rack. Allow to cool completely. After about 45 minutes, I usually place it in the refrigerator to speed things up.
- Make the frosting: In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter together on high speed until smooth and creamy. Add 3 cups confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, and salt. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then switch to high speed and beat for 2 minutes. If you want the frosting a little thicker, add the extra 1/4 cup of confectioners sugar (I add it). Spread the frosting on the cooled cake. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving. This helps sets the frosting and makes cutting easier.
- Cover leftover cake tightly and store in the refrigerator for 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Prepare cake through step 6. Cover the cake tightly and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze up to 3 months. Bring to room temperature, make the frosting, frost, and serve. Frosted or unfrosted cake freezes well, up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, bring to room temperature, and then frost if needed and serve.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9×13-inch Pan | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Cooling Rack | Icing Spatula
- Frozen Bananas: You can use frozen bananas here. Thaw the frozen bananas. Drain off any excess liquid, mash, then use as instructed in the recipe. See How to Freeze & Thaw Bananas for Baking.
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk is required for this recipe. You can make your own DIY version of buttermilk if needed. Add 1 Tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to a liquid measuring cup. Then add enough room temperature whole milk to the same measuring cup until it reaches 1 and 1/2 cups. (In a pinch, lower fat or nondairy milks work for this soured milk, but the cake won’t taste as moist or rich.) Stir it around and let sit for 5 minutes. The homemade “buttermilk” will be somewhat curdled and ready to use in the recipe.
- Cupcakes: I’ve gotten a few questions about turning this cake into cupcakes. For about 2 dozen cupcakes, fill the cupcake liners halfway and bake for about 20-22 minutes. Same oven temperature.
- Can I Turn This into a Banana Bundt Cake? I recommend using my extremely similar recipe for chocolate marble banana Bundt cake instead. (There’s a little extra baking powder for lift, which is helpful when baking in a large Bundt pan.) You can leave out the chocolate swirl in that recipe.
- Layer Cake: I use this recipe to make my banana layer cake. If you want to make a 2 layer cake, divide batter between 2 greased 9-inch cake pans, and bake at 350°F (177°C) for 26-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Would a 12 1/4 x 8 1/4 x 1 1/4 foil pan work or is that too shallow?
I gave this recipe 5 stars. I added an extra banana. Yum! I also added whipped whipping to the frosting. The flavor was over the top. I’ve already made this three times this past month!
I tried your method of making the frosting, but it did not turn out well. Never before have I mixed butter with cheese and then added the icing sugar.
I always add Icing sugar to butter, and then beat in a little cheese, without adding extra salt which draws moisture.
Now I have a huge pot of runny mess, for 3 banana cakes.
I will try and thicken it with Agar Agar, and next time make the frosting differently.
Hi Bev! What kind of cream cheese did you use? You need block cream cheese for this recipe, otherwise it will turn out quite runny. Hope you can still enjoy it!
Amazing! Batter was great too! Love it! In one word: Delicious! Or I could say: Best!
I must have done something wrong, but this was the worst banana cake ever. It was not moist and was very dry. I only cooked mine 38 min. Nobody liked it. I couldn’t find my regular recipe and this one had great reviews. I double checked ingredients when making. Looked at ingredients over and over again after I tasted it. I know one star won’t deter people from making. I’ve never left a comment before, but just had to this time.
I made this as couldnt find my regular recipe either, i dont know what i did wrong but this was disgusting. Stodgy and dry.
Agree, not sure how this is the best banana cake EVER ! Very little flavour
Rich in banana flavour, moist, and dense but in a good way. I used the souring milk method as I did not have any butter milk and it still did the job.
I added nuts and chocolate chips on top for the added texture and for decor. Great recipe which all my family loved. I will definitely be making this again.
First time using this recipe and it will be a keeper. I agree with Kay. Very dense and moist but in a good way. Rich in flavor. I used 3 teaspoons of vanilla. I made a 9 inch layer cake and used a banana cream filling between layers. Super scrumptious. The amount of icing is enough to cover the 13 x 9 cake but I recommend increasing the confectioner sugar to 4 cups. Even using 4 cups I just had barely enough to cover the layer cake. But very good cake and the family loved it.
This recipe was bomb! I did tweak it. Only cooked it 40 minutes and I added an extra banana and did 2 cups buttermilk so it wasn’t dry! It is delicious!!!
Made this cake and was such a great hit with the family. Had no buttermilk so used 1% milk and lemon juice. Used salted butter and adjusted amount of additional salt added. Very forgiving if you do not have all the proper ingredients . Loved the icing also.
I was looking for an alternative for ripe bananas and was thrilled to find this recipe. Thanks so much for sharing. Everyone could not get enough of it.
I added 1 more banana and a box of sugar free banana pudding to the dry ingredients. I baked in individual ramekins and baked for 25 minutes at 325.
I have tried this recipe twice with all ingredients halved in a 9×5” loaf tin and both times it has risen initially to then sink in the middle. I even tried reducing temp by 25F as well as being careful not to overmix. Has anybody had success and does this recipe work in a loaf tin?
This is SO good. I’ll add one more banana next time or use banana extract.
Seriously the best banana recipe I’ve ever made! I’m not a huge fan of banana bread but found this cake recipe just perfect! I didn’t have buttermilk on hand so I followed the directions on making my own and it turned out great! I didn’t make the cream cheese frosting but instead used a canned fluffy white frosting (I didn’t have any cream cheese on hand and couldn’t fathom running out to the grocery store!!) and it was sensational! Highly recommend!
If I had used melted butter, cut back on the flour and increased the sugar by at least a half cup the cake would have been far better. I should have known when it called for softened butter and not melted or no oil, something was amiss. Oh, and I never leave bad reviews..for.anything. So this is how bad I thought this was.
Very delicious cake! The only thing I changed was I did equal amounts of granulated and brown sugar. Very moist and surprisingly fluffy cake. As for the icing I used 4 oz cream cheese , 1/4 cup butter , 1 1/2 tsp vanilla, 1/4 tsp cinnamon , powder sugar to taste because I don’t like it super sweet and about 1 tbsp milk to make it a bit creamier.
Made it with cake flour, just because I didn’t know what to do with the cake flour at home 🙂 still turned out yummy! probably not as moist had I used APF, definitely lighter, but can’t say it was dry either. I added spare chocolate chips I had (obviously, did this recipe to get rid of too many bananas at home, along with other ingredients), they ended up on the bottom of the cake. I probably should have just topped them over the frosting (but the kids weren’t complaining at all!) Have yet to make a recipe from this site that didn’t turn out happy smiles and happy tummies at home 🙂 Thanks again, Sally <3
I tried this recipe and used 2% milk and it turned out fine. I did find it a bit bland for me the first time I tried it ( I don’t like icing ) I just added some crushed candied pecans to the batter and some on top before baking. I’ve also done sweetened coconut in the batter and on top before baking. Both were delicious. Ps. I make muffin size.
Definitely the WORST banana cake recipe I have ever made. Alot of pffaffing about with extra bowls only to end up with a foul mess and a ridiculous amount of icing.
Can this be made into a layer cake
Hi Judy, you can use this banana layer cake recipe instead – enjoy!
The little grandsons and I made this yesterday. It’s a nice easy recipe, and the cake is great. I used commercial buttermilk and very ripe fresh bananas. It came out perfectly. There’s a lot of frosting/icing, but there’s nothing wrong with that lol I vote this the nest banana cake I’ve made and much better than banana bread too. Love it!
This cake was absolutely amazing! The whole family was impressed. Thankyou for this beautiful recipe.
I’m planning on making this for my Mum who has recently gone gluten free. Is it possible to still make this with gluten free flour such as almond or coconut flour? Any advice appreciated!
Hi Abbey, we haven’t personally tested it, but many readers have reported success using 1:1 gluten free baking flour (like Bob’s Red Mill brand) in our recipes. If you do give it a try, we’d love to know how it goes!
This is really good! I’ve adjusted it a few times and the recipe is very forgiving. I’d like to try and make it with coconut oil subbed for butter. Any experience with this? Suggestions or helpful hints?
Thanks for the all the awesome recipes!
Hi Judy! We’re so glad you love this cake. You could try using solid coconut oil instead, but we fear the texture will be greasy (and, of course, lacking butter flavor).
Love this cake, and it converts beautifully to gluten free using 1:1 flour. I used powdered buttermilk base and butter flavored coconut oil as substitutions and it turned out fine. This is a keeper!
I have meetings this cake at least 4 times now, and it is the best. Friends and family are asking me to make this for them. Perfectly moist every time. This cake is so yummy, my niece told me she wants this as her wedding cake – he husband to be is in agreement. thanks so much for sharing-this cake is becoming a family tradition!!!
I followed every thing in the recipe but the banana cake turned out gluey and densed at the bottom. Yes it’s moist and delicious. what could probably the cause of gluey and densed cake bottom?
Hi Jane! If there was too much moisture in your batter, it could cause a gluey, dense cake. Did you use fresh or frozen bananas? Frozen will sometimes be too wet to use. Also make sure not to over-mix your batter. Mix just until combined to prevent a dense cake. Here’s more tips for next time!
Beautiful, moist, delicious banana cake. Made it for my family and everyone absolutely loved it!!
I’ve found this recipe some months ago and because it was a huge success I’ve baked this cake so many times that I don’t even remember. It became a must for when I have friends and family visiting, everybody loves it! I wonder how I could reduce the recipe to bake for 2.
So delicious! It was dense and rich with flavour, an absolute crowd pleaser! Just a little too much icing, but otherwise perfect.
lovely moist cake – really tasty too, thank you for sharing
Delicious! I am a diabetic and substituted truvia brown sugar, also used 1/2 whole wheat flour and 1/2 all purpose flour. Came out perfect! Thank- You !
So good!
I can’t eat dairy in any form (it causes major skin problems for me) so I made it dairy free and it really is the BEST banana cake!! I used vegan butter and cream cheese, and oat milk that I turned into buttermilk. I was so impressed with it. Thanks for the great recipe!! Definitelya keeper!!