Banana Cake

This Banana Cake is the best Banana Cake Ever!

“The Best Banana Cake” is a bold claim, but this Banana Cake is uber soft, moist, fluffy and flavorful.  It’s infused with sweet ripe bananas, cinnamon, vanilla and optional chocolate chips and walnuts and smothered with intoxicating Nutella Cream Cheese Frosting. This from-scratch Banana Cake recipe is supe easy to make and made in a 9×13 pan, so you don’t have to worry about layering cakes or your cake falling apart.   This Banana Cake recipe is always a crowd pleaser and is guaranteed to be a new family favorite!

Banana Cake Recipe Video

 

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Banana Cake Recipe

You guys, I am ecstatic to share this Banana Cake with you in time for Easter!  The Banana Cake itself is crazy delicious. Rich yet fluffy, soft, yet fork tender and boasts mega banana flavor mingled with buttery decadence.  It’s the Banana Cake of your dreams! 

This Banana Cake is for those banana + chocolate lovers out there. Do you add chocolate chips to your banana bread, or smother it with Nutella – or wish you had?  If you vote yes, this this recipe will be YOUR favorite Banana Cake!  And if you vote no, you can use your own cream cheese frosting and then it will be YOUR favorite Banana Cake 😊!

I got the idea for the Nutella Cream Cheese Frosting way back when I made my Pumpkin Bars with Nutella Cream Cheese Frosting.  And since I LOVE banana + chocolate and that frosting is pure epic silky, chocolate bliss, I knew it would make for epic Banana Cake!

But I’m not alone.  My parents were in town from Germany when I made the Banana Cake, and they went crazy over it.  My mom follows a vegan diet but she actually broke her rules for this cake – and loved every last forkful.  She said it was a good thing she eats vegan or she would devour the entire pan.  And I’m positive your family and friends will devour the whole pan – and love every last forkful.

What is the difference between banana cake and banana bread?

You may already have a fantastic banana bread recipe (I have one coming your way soon) and wondering why you need Banana Cake in your life- and believe me, you need this Banana Cake in your life – and the answer is they are wonderfully different!.

• Taste:  Banana Cake tastes like a cake!  It is meant to be served as a dessert vs. banana bread which has just a hint of sweetness. 
• Frosting:  Along with taste, comes frosting.  Banana Cake typically boasts a cream cheese frosting while banana bread is served plain, again making it much less sweet.
• Texture:  Banana Cake is moist, light and fluffy while banana bread, while moist, is much denser and heavier – like bread! 
• Technique:  The reasons for the differences between Banana Cake and banana bread comes down to the ingredient amounts and technique.  Banana Cake is made specifically to achieve a light cake made by creaming the butter and sugar first whereas banana bread is made by mixing melted butter and/or vegetable oil with the ingredients. 

So, now you have one more insanely delicious use for all those over-ripe bananas!

Ingredients for Banana Cake

This Banana Cake recipe is super simple to make with pantry friendly ingredients.  The only thing you need to plan on is time to let your bananas ripen  – but I’ve even got a solution for that!  For this Banana Cake recipe, you will need:

• Bananas: 1 ½ cups mashed bananas which is approximately 3 bananas.  You will want to use over-ripe bananas for the most flavorful Banana Cake.   I’ve included more info about how to know when bananas are ripe and how to ripen bananas quickly below.
• Butter: you can taste the butter in this Banana Cake recipe, and it is sublime!   Use unsalted butter so we can control the salt in the recipe.
• All-purpose flour: I have not experimented with gluten free flour, but I assume gluten-free 1 to 1 flour like Bob’s Red Mill would work great.  I do not recommend cake flour or self-rising flour or you will need to change the baking powder/baking soda, etc.
• baking powder:  make sure it is fresh so it still works!
• baking soda: same as above, make sure it is fresh, usually 6-12 months is best.
• ground cinnamon:  cinnamon and bananas are a match made in heaven!  You can use more or less to taste.
• Salt:  good ol’ table salt is best.
• Sugar:  you will need 1 ½ cups granulated sugar, but can also replace ½ cup with brown sugar.
• Eggs: make sure they are room temperature so they mix easily (more on that below).
• vanilla extract:  use pure vanilla extract.
• Buttermilk:  you can also use DIY buttermilk/sour milk.  I’ve included instructions below.

What does a ripe banana look like?

The star of Banana Cake are the bananas, so it is important that you use the correct ripened AKA over-ripened bananas.  So how do you know when your bananas are ripe – or ripe enough? 

The bananas should not just have brown spots on the outside but should be streaked with black/brow – or even completely black.  The riper your bananas are, the better.  This means your cake will be that much more flavorful.

The browning/blackening indicates that the starch in the flesh has converted into sugar.  During this chemical reaction, the skin cells get weak and leak. The leaking liquid mixes with enzymes in the cell and form melanin, which is brown, and equates to rich, luscious, sweet banana flavor.  At this point, the banana insides should be soft, mushy or even pudding-like and intensely sweet.

How do you know when bananas are too ripe?

Black banana outsides are good but black banana insides are bad.  You will know your bananas have gone band and should no longer be used for banana cake or banana bread when the insides have turned dark brown or black, indicating the flesh has spoiled. Mold and a rotten smell will also indicate bad bananas.  

So, it’s a fine line between waiting for the sweetest bananas and flirting with rotten bananas.  I usually use bananas when they are streaked with black and not completely black, so I don’t tempt my luck.

Can I freeze Over-ripe Bananas?

If you’re bananas are on the edge, and you aren’t going to have time to make Banana Cake or banana bread, or you have too many bananas, you can freeze them to use later – please NEVER throw away over-ripe bananas!

Instead, simply add the bananas (with their peels) to a freezer size bag and freeze.  The banana peels will turn dark brown or completely black when frozen, which is completely okay.

When you’re ready to bake with the bananas, let them thaw overnight at room temperature.  Alternatively, you can thaw them quickly in the microwave.  Leave the skins on, and microwave for about 3-4 minutes.

Your thawed bananas will be very soft and watery – but don’t be alarmed!  Just take care to extract just the banana flesh without any excess liquid into your mixing bowl. 

How do you ripen a banana?

You can’t make Banana Cake without ripe bananas, so what is the best way to ripen them?  It all depends on when you want to use your bananas.  There are other contributing factors such as weather, maturity of bananas, etc.

Bananas will ripen at different speeds depending on the temperature they are stored, which means we can manipulate their ripening process – speed it up or slow it down. Here are a few ways to ripen bananas in order of fastest to slowest:

• OVEN: I discovered the trick of ripening bananas in the oven in my Banana Coffee Cake recipe. While I don’t think the bananas emerge as deeply sweet as naturally ripening, the process is still useful.  To ripen bananas instantly in the oven, line them on a foil lined baking sheet and bake at 250 degrees for approximately 25-30 minutes or until your bananas are dark brown/black on the outside and slightly soft to the touch.  Be aware that the bananas will leak a little which is perfectly normal.
• IN A BROWN BAG: Place the bananas (peels on) in a brown paper bag with a ripe apple, peach, melon, tomato or avocado.  The climacteric fruit (meaning they ripen after being harvested) along with the bananas themselves will release ethylene.  The ethylene will be trapped in the bag, causing it to build up and speed up the ripening process.
• TOP OF THE FRIDGE: Your fridge exudes warmth which mimics a warm climate and promotes a quicker chemical ripening reaction.
• COUNTER: Like most people, I typically ripen my bananas on the counter. It is cooler than on top of the refrigerator so it takes a little longer, if you can spare the time.  If ripening at room temperature, try and hang the bananas.  This prevents bruising where the bananas sit on the counter.
• IN PLASTIC:  While it may seem counterintuitive, keeping the bananas in their plastic bags on the counter ripens them slower than being exposed to the elements.
• FRIDGE:  Place bananas in the refrigerator to slow down the ripening process.  You don’t want to place bananas that are still a little green in the refrigerator or they will not ripen at all, even after being removed from the refrigerator.  

How do you slow banana ripening?

If you want to prevent your bananas from prematurely ripening, you can:

• WRAP STEMS: wrapping the stems in some plastic wrap is a seemingly simple act but prevents ethylene gas (produced naturally in the ripening process), from reaching the rest of the bananas and ripening them as quickly.
• IN PLASTIC:  While it may seem counterintuitive, keeping the bananas in their plastic bags on the counter ripens them slower than being exposed to the elements.
• FRIDGE:  Place bananas in the refrigerator to slow down the ripening process.  You don’t want to place bananas that are still a little green in the refrigerator or they will not ripen at all, even after being removed from the refrigerator.

What If my Bananas Still aren’t ripe?

When you MUST make Banana Cake today, you can compensate with sugar and salt and still use whatever bananas you have on hand.   Over-ripe bananas are always best, but this quick fix is better than no Banana Cake at all.

DISCLAIMER: I have not personally tried this technique, but internet research says that when using bananas that are not over-ripe, you will want to increase the sugar in the recipe by about 15%, which is about ¼ cup.  This will help make up for the missing sweetness.  You will also want to increase the salt by about 25%, which is ⅛ teaspoon.   The salt will help to intensify the flavor, but you can’t completely make up for the missing intensely sweet banana flavor. 

HOW TO MAKE BANANA CAKE

This Banana Cake is very easy to make.  It is essentially the same technique as a traditional cake but with the addition of bananas. Here are a few helpful tips:

• Mash bananas: I mash my bananas in my mixer for ZERO elbow grease. Simply add the bananas to the same bowl you’re going to cream the butter and sugar in and beat on medium-high for about a minute or so.  The bananas will be mashed with a few lumps, which is just what we want.  Remove the bananas but don’t bother to wash out the bowl or the beater. How easy was that?!

• Don’t pack flour: Whenever you measure flour, don’t scoop the flour directly from the container or else the flour will compress – and packed flour = more flour, which = denser, drier cakes.  Instead, scoop flour into measuring cup and then level, without packing or tapping.

• Cream until fluffy:  One of the keys to a soft cake is to cream your sugar and butter until light and fluffy.  You should beat your butter and sugar at medium – high speed for at least 3-5 minutes.  This step is so important because it is the only time you want to whip air into the cake batter to create bubbles.  The bubbles will expand as the cake bakes, resulting in a lighter cake.
• Use room temperature eggs: It is essential to use room temperature eggs for fluffy Banana Cake – and any cake! Room temperature eggs whisk to a higher volume because the egg whites and yolks whisk together more easily. This promotes more even distribution into the batter without over-mixing, resulting in light, fluffy cake. To quickly bring eggs to room temperature, fill a bowl with warm water (not hot) and add eggs and let sit 10-20 minutes.

• DIY buttermilk: I rarely stock buttermilk, but it is an essential baking ingredient for a melt-in-your mouth cake. The lactic acid reacts with the baking soda to leaven the cake and yield a tender crumb.  Fortunately, I find DIY buttermilk is just as effective and use it ALL the time. To make your own buttermilk for this Banana Cake recipe, measure 1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice or white vinegar into a measuring glass. Add enough milk (not nonfat) to equal 1 ½ cups.  Give it a stir and let sit 5-10 minutes.  The milk will curdle so you know it’s ready.
• Never over-mix!   Over-mixing cake batter causes the gluten in the flour to form elastic gluten strands which result in a dense, chewy tough, texture.  Stop mixing as soon as you see the flour disappear, even then I usually leave a few streaks because I know they’ll be mixed in with the chocolate chips and walnuts.

• Bake on middle rack: The Banana Cake should both be baked on the middle rack of your oven.
• Cover: I don’t find this necessary, but if the top of your Banana Cake is browning too quickly before your cake is done, then loosely cover it with foil.
• Don’t over-bake: There should be a few moist crumbs clinging to the toothpick for a moist, tender crumb.
• Let cake cool completely before frosting:  If you try and frost your cake right away, then the frosting will melt.

Cream Cheese Frosting

What makes the Best Banana Cake? Not just cream cheese frosting but NUTELLA Cream Cheese Frosting!  I am completely obsessed.  I don’t think I can make another chocolate frosting again in my life – at least I don’t want to.

This frosting is for the chocolate fans out there.  Because just like banana bread and chocolate chips belong together, Banana Cake + Nutella Cream Cheese Frosting belong together!  

Of course, you can substitute the chocolate frosting with your favorite plain cream cheese frosting if you prefer.  But I will shed a tear for you. 

Recipe Tips for Success

• Prep Ahead:  As with all recipes, carefully read through the entire recipe, and prepare any special ingredients, such as room temperature butter, eggs and buttermilk.
• Room temperature eggs hack: Add warm (not hot) tap water to a bowl then add eggs (still in their shells) for at least 20 minutes.  You can microwave your buttermilk until room temperature (NOT hot).
• Don’t pack flour: Whenever you measure flour, don’t scoop it into the flour bag/container or else the flour will compress and packed flour yields denser, drier cakes.  Rather, scoop flour into measuring cup and then level.
• Release air bubbles from batter:  Cake batter needs air in order to bake up light and fluffy, but you don’t want the air bubbles caused from adding the batter to the pan because too much air will create holes and cracks in the baked cake.  To help get rid of air bubbles, tap the pans on the counter a few times after filling them with batter and wiggle back and forth. This will make the air bubbles rise to the top of your lemon cake.
• Bake cake immediately:  Don’t forget to preheat your oven before you start making the cake batter. Once the baking soda is added to the wet ingredients, a chemical reaction begins.  You need to take advantage of this reaction quickly before it passes otherwise your cake won’t rise as high or be as tender.
• Do NOT microwave butter or cream cheese to soften them or your frosting will be too runny.  Always let frosting ingredients soften at room temperature.
• Use desired amount of frosting. The frosting is rich, so don’t feel like you have to use all of it.  We love the Banana Cake smothered in all the frosting, but its personal preference.
• Let the cake come to room temperature before serving. Let the cake sit for at least 30 minutes after frosting before servings, OR make the frosting at least 30 minutes before frosting.  The frosting is WAY better after 30 minutes and the flavors have melded. The cake is also much easier to slice once the frosting has set.

Recipe Variations

• Frosting: Use your favorite cream cheese frosting.
• Omit chocolate: You don’t have to add the chocolate chips – but you should!
• Chocolate chunks: You can swap the chocolate chips for chunks of chocolate – yum!
• Nutella swirl: Instead of a Nutella frosting, swirl it directly into the cake instead.
• Add nuts: Chopped up walnuts or macadamia nuts would be tasty.
• Add coconut: Make it a coconut banana cake with cream cheese frosting.
• Hummingbird cake style: add pineapple, coconut and walnuts – yum!]
• Berries: Add blueberries or raspberries.

Do you refrigerate banana cake?

To confess, I never refrigerate my cakes, even with cream cheese frosting and I have never gotten sick from it.  But to keep all my readers safe, I did some research for this Banana Cake recipe. 

According to Jan Moon, Cooking Light Test Kitchen expert, you do not need to refrigerate cake with cream cheese frosting (the sugar will act as a preservative) IF your house stays below 70 degrees and you plan on eating it within 2 days.  If your home is warm or its the Spring, Summer and even Fall months, you will likely want to refrigerate your cake. So, to be safe (seeing as its Spring), I suggest refrigerating your Banana Cake.

How Long Does banana cake last in the fridge?

To store, cover Banana Cake tightly with foil or place it in an airtight container.  Refrigerate cake for 5-7 days.  Let cake come to room temperature before serving or I like to microwave for 10-15 seconds.

Can I Freeze Banana Cake?

Yes!  Banana Cake freezes very well, with or without the frosting.  To freeze Banana Cake:

1. Let the cake cool completely.
2. Double wrap the cake tightly in plastic wrap and then in 1-2 layers of foil until completely sealed.
3. If you are freezing individual slices, then place these plastic/foil wrapped slices in a freezer bag. If you are freezing your entire Banana Cake for an extended period of time, then secure the aluminum foil with freezer tape to prevent freezer burn.
4. Freeze cake for up to 3 months.   
5. Allow the cake to thaw overnight in the refrigerator then unwrap and come to room temperature on the counter before serving.

Can I make Banana Cupcakes?

Absolutely!  This Banana Cake recipe makes adorable, delectable cupcakes:

1. Prepare the recipe as written.
2. Pour batter into 20-22 greased cupcake liners. 
3. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-24 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. 
4. Cool completely before frosting.

Looking for more Spring Cake Recipes?

• Coconut Cake (Triple Coconut!) 
• Kentucky Butter Cake
• Carrot Cake with Pineapple Cream Cheese Frosting
• Cream Cheese Stuffed Carrot Cake
• Lemon Poke Cake
• Chocolate Raspberry Cake
• Chocolate Eclair Cake
• Lemon Blueberry Cake
• Strawberry Cream Cheese Pound Cake
• Chocolate Covered Strawberry Pound Cake
•  Strawberry Shortcakes

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Tools Used in This Recipe

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Casserole Dish 9×13 inches

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Banana Cake with Nutella Cream Cheese Frosting

This Banana Cake is uber soft, moist, fluffy and flavorful. It’s infused with sweet ripe bananas, cinnamon, vanilla and optional chocolate chips and walnuts and smothered with intoxicating Nutella Cream Cheese Frosting. This from-scratch Banana Cake recipe is super easy to make and made in a 9×13 pan, so you don’t have to worry about layering cakes or your cake falling apart. This Banana Cake recipe is always a crowd pleaser and is guaranteed to be a new family favorite!

Servings: 12 -16

Total Time: 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Prep Time: 30 minutes mins

Cook Time: 45 minutes mins

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Ingredients

Banana Cake

• 3 large over-ripe bananas (1 ½ cups mashed)
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 3 eggs at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk or sour milk* at room temperature (see notes)*
• 3/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips optional
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts optitonal

Nutella Cream Cheese Frosting

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter softened to room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups Powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2-3 tablespoons milk
• 4 oz. oz. cream cheese cut into pieces softened to room temprature
• 1/2 cup Nutella
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Banana Cake

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9×13 baking pan.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside. Whisk vanilla with buttermilk and set aside.
• Add butter and sugar to a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium-high speed for at least 3-4 minutes (no shorter!), until light and fluffy, scraping down sides occasionally. Reduce speed to medium and add eggs, one at a time, beating just until the yellow disappears after each egg, then beat in mashed bananas just until combined.
• Reduce speed to low and gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture in thirds, alternately with buttermilk in between each third. Beat just until combined.
• Add chocolate chips and walnuts and fold in by hand just until combined.
• Transfer batter to prepared pan and tap pan on the counter a few times to get rid of any air bubbles. Bake at 350 degrees F until a wooden pick inserted near the center of cake comes out with a few crumbs, 45 – 55 minutes.
• Place cake on a wire rack and let cool completely before frosting. You can place the cake in the refrigerator after 30 minutes if you want to speed the process along. While the cake cools, you can make the frosting.

Nutella Cream Cheese Frosting

• Beat butter, sugar, cocoa powder and 2 tablespoons milk with handled mixer at medium-high speed until the mixture is smooth.
• Add cream cheese, 1 piece at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition. Add Nutella and vanilla and beat to combine. Add additional milk if needed to reach desired consistency.
• Evenly spread frosting over COOLED cake. Cake is best if frosting is allowed to set for at least 30 minutes.

Video

Notes

Don’t miss the “how to make” recipe video at the top of the post!

*DIY BUTTEREMILK

You can make DIY buttermilk/sour milk by adding 1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice or white vinegar to a measuring glass. Add enough milk (not nonfat) to equal 1 ½ cups.  Give it a stir and let sit 5-10 minutes.  The milk will curdle so you know it’s ready.

Storage

Cover cake tightly with foil or place it in an airtight container.  Refrigerate cake for 5-7 days.  Let cake come to room temperature before serving or I like to microwave slices for 10-15 seconds.

HOW TO FREEZE BANANA CAKE

1. Let the cake cool completely.
2. Double wrap the cake tightly in plastic wrap and then in 1-2 layers of foil until completely sealed.
3. If you are freezing individual slices, then place these plastic/foil wrapped slices in a freezer bag. If you are freezing your entire Banana Cake for an extended period of time, then secure the aluminum foil with freezer tape to prevent freezer burn.
4. Freeze cake for up to 3 months.
5. Allow the cake to thaw overnight in the refrigerator then unwrap and come to room temperature on the counter before serving.

Banana Cupcakes

1. Prepare the recipe as written.
2. Pour batter into 20-22 greased cupcake liners.
3. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-24 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs.
4. Cool completely before frosting.

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