Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
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This Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting is an irresistible cake! If you’re looking for a banana cake recipe, let this be the one you choose. I’m telling you, it does not disappoint!
It’s made from scratch and one of the best you’ll find. Just think of banana bread made even better, and that’s what you get here!
Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
This easy banana cake recipe tastes just like banana bread, but in cake form with the delicious addition of a light and tangy homemade cream cheese frosting…yes, I definitely accept! You are going to want to eat this frosting by the spoonful (like I may or may not have done).
Banana bread has always been one of my favorite desserts/snacks/breakfasts since I was little, so when I finally tried it in cake form many years ago it was a given that I was going to be hooked. I mean, I still have a hard time resisting a piece of this first thing in the morning. Leave the frosting off and it does make a perfect weekend breakfast.
Lately, I just buy more bananas at the grocery store than I plan on my family eating on their own, because I love to bake with them and add them to smoothies or oatmeal. The hard part, though, is waiting for them to ripen. It’s like Christmas when I’m at the grocery store and every once in a while they have those overripe bananas wrapped with a red tape.
That means they’ve done the hard part for me and I don’t have to wait a week for my bananas to become generously speckled. I’d pay more for those bananas than the regularly priced ones, but they label and sell them like they are the lesser quality.
I love this banana cake with cream cheese frosting so much that I’ve made it twice in one week, and both times it disappeared in no time!
Banana Cake Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make the best ever banana cake:
- All-purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Mashed overripe bananas
- Lemon juice
- Granulated sugar and brown sugar
- Butter
- Vegetable oil
- Eggs
- Vanilla
- Buttermilk
- Heavy cream
- Cream Cheese
- Powered sugar
How to Make Banana Cake
- Preheat oven and butter and line cake pans.
- In a bowl whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.
- Mash bananas with 1 tsp lemon juice.
- In a stand mixer whip together butter, 2 Tbsp vegetable oil, sugars until pale and fluffy.
- Stir in remaining 2 Tbsp vegetable oil then blend in eggs one at a time.
- Stir in vanilla and mashed bananas.
- Stir in flour and buttermilk alternating with several additions.
- Divide batter evenly among prepared cake pans and spread batter into an even layer.
- Bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 45 – 50 minutes.
- Allow to cool completely then frost with whipped cream cheese frosting.
How to Tell If a Cake is Done
Can I Add Less Sugar to the Cream Cheese Frosting?
Can I Use a Buttermilk Substitute?
Yes, you can make your own by measuring out 1 1/2 cups milk, removing 1 1/2 Tbsp, and replacing it with 1 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice or plain vinegar. Whisk and let sit 5 minutes before adding to the batter.
Can I Freeze Banana Cake?
Yes, this homemade banana cake should be fine to freeze. Ideally, you should freeze the banana cake frosting in a separate container (rather than freezing the frosted cake).
But if you wind up with leftovers, go ahead and freeze the frosted cake — just note that the texture of the cake may change slightly once thawed.
Tips for the Best Banana Cake
- I’d recommend frosting the cake within 30 minutes of serving, as the top layer of cake will begin to weigh down that center layer of frosting (and you may not want a really thick layer in the center, just because after a while it will begin to spill out the sides).
- You want to use overripe, practically black bananas for this easy cake recipe.
- If you only have salted butter on hand, scale back on the amount of salt you add into the cake batter.
More Banana Desserts You’ll Love:
- Banana Bread
- Banana Oat Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Banana Bars with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
- Banana Cake with Salted Caramel Frosting
- Banana Cream Pie Cups with Salted Caramel Sauce
- Banana Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Follow Cooking Classy
Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Banana Cake:
- 3 cups (425g) all-purpose flour (scoop and level to measure)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cups (368g) mashed overripe bananas (from about 4 medium bananas)
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1/2 cup (113g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/4 cup (60ml) vegetable oil
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light-brown sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups (350 ml) buttermilk
Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 1 1/4 cups (295ml) heavy cream
- 14 oz cream cheese, nearly at room temperature
- 1/3 cup (74g) unsalted butter, nearly at room temperature
- 1 3/4 cup (210g) powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
For the Banana Cake:
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- Butter two 9-inch round cake pans then line bottom with a round of parchment paper, butter parchment and dust lightly with flour.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt for 30 seconds. Set aside.
- Mash bananas with 1 tsp lemon juice.
- In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, whip together butter, 2 Tbsp vegetable oil, granulated sugar and light brown sugar on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy.
- Stir in remaining 2 Tbsp vegetable oil then blend in eggs one at a time.
- Stir in vanilla and mashed bananas.
- With mixer set on low speed, slowly add flour mixture alternating with buttermilk in 3 separate batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture and mixing just until combined after each addition.
- Divide batter evenly among prepared cake pans and spread batter into an even layer.
- Bake in preheated oven 45 - 50 minutes, until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely then frost with Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting.
For the Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting:
- In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip heavy cream on high speed until stiff peaks form, then transfer whipped cream to a mixing bowl and set aside.
- Replace whisk attachment with paddle attachment and add cream cheese and butter to stand mixer bowl.
- Whip together cream cheese and butter until smooth and fluffy on medium-high speed, about 2 minutes, occasionally scraping down sides and bottom of bowl.
- Add in powdered sugar and vanilla and whip on medium speed, about 2 minutes longer.
- Add half of whipped cream into cream cheese mixture and gently fold until combined, then fold in remaining half. Spread over cake and keep cool.
Notes
- For best results, frost within 30 minutes of serving and store leftover cake in refrigerator. Allow to rest at room temperature about 10 - 20 minutes before enjoying.
- You want to use overripe, practically black bananas for this easy cake recipe.
- Recipe Source: Cooking Classy