Y’all I feel like banana cake doesn’t get enough shine. Folks steady talking about banana bread but honestly, a banana cake recipe is a whole mood when done right. Starting with ripe banana so it’s sweet and soft is the key. Then the secret ingredient of a little pineapple adds more moisture to the batter with a little texture too. And of course, I play no games with a bomb cream cheese frosting. I can’t get enough and neither will you.
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How to make Banana Cake
Make the Batter and Bake
Step 1: Add mashed banana and pineapple to a small bowl. Stir together until combined then set aside.
Step 2: Add flour, baking soda and salt together in a clear bowl. Whisk together then set aside.
Step 3: In your stand mixer bowl, mix together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing them in after each addition. Then add in the vanilla extract.
Step 4: Beat in the flour mixture. Then alternate with the buttermilk. Finally fold in the mashed banana mixture.
Step 5: Divide the batter between the two prepared cake pans.
Step 6: Bake the cakes for 55-60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove the cakes from the oven and allow them to cool completely.
Step 7: Mix together the cream cheese and butter until ultra smooth. Add confectioners’ sugar and vanilla extract and beat until combined.
Step 8: Arrange one cake layer on a serving platter. Top it with half of the frosting. Arrange the second cake layer on top. Frost the top of the cake with the remaining frosting. Slice and serve it up boos.
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Banana Cake recipe
Want to Save This Recipe, Boo?
I’ll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Banana Cake
- cooking spray
- 1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas
- 8 oz crushed pineapple drained
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 2 cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup buttermilk
For the Cream Cheese Frosting
- 16 oz cream cheese room temperature
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
Instructions
For the Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease 2 9 inch round cake pans with cooking spray. Line the pans with parchment paper, then grease the parchment paper with cooking spray.
- In a small bowl, stir together the mashed bananas and pineapple. Set aside. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating between each addition, then add the vanilla extract. Beat in the flour mixture alternating with the buttermilk. Fold in the mashed banana mixture.
- Divide the batter between the two prepared cake pans. Bake the cakes for 55-60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove the cakes from the oven and allow them to cool completely.
For the Frosting
- In the clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add the confectioners' sugar and vanilla extract and beat until combined.
- To assemble the cake, remove the cake layers from the pans and discard the parchment paper. Arrange one cake layer on a serving platter. Top it with half of the frosting. Arrange the second cake layer on top. Frost the top of the cake with the remaining frosting. Slice and serve.
Notes
How to store easy banana cake
If you are gonna finish this baby up in about 2 days, it can stay at room temp. If you need to store longer than that, place the cake in the fridge uncovered for about 15 minutes to allow the frosting to harden a bit. Then, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and pop back in the fridge. You can also keep it in a cake cover too.How long will cake with banana last in the fridge?
Banana cake will keep in the fridge for 4 to 5 days.Can I freeze this simple banana cake recipe?
Yep for sure boos. Let the frosting stiffen up then cover in plastic wrap super tightly then wrap the cake in aluminum foil, place in a (labeled) freezer-safe bag and keep it in the freezer. Once frozen, the cake will keep for 2-3 months.Nutrition
Recipe Tips
- Go Ripe: Choose fully ripe, brown-spotted bananas for the best natural sweetness and moisture.
- Sift it Up: Now this is optional y’all but it produces a more tender cake.
- Go Room Temp: Sugar and butter won’t cream together if the butter is not at room temperature. So, set out the butter at least an hour or two before baking.
- Don’t Overmix: Chill out when you start adding in your dry ingredients. Overdoing it will overactivate the gluten and make your cake tough boos.
Recipe help
It’s all good boos. If you need to ripen your bananas quickly, use this great trick. Add your unpeeled bananas to a foil lined baking sheet pan, and bake at 300 degrees F for 15-20 minutes until the banana skins turn black. Then use those right up in the recipe.
For sure y’all. You can bake and frost this cake for best results up to 2 days ahead of serving. Just make sure you store in an airtight container or covered really well so it stays nice and moist.
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Hi. Can you make this in a 13×9 pan? Thank you
You can, but you will likely have leftover batter and the cooking time will need to be adjusted. I have not made this recipe in a 9×13 myself so I do not have exact times/measurements for it.
What can you substitute. The crushed pinapple with. . My grandchild is allergic to pineapple
Applesauce should work just fine! Hope everyone enjoys!
This recipe Looks delish! Would it work as cupcakes? (I’m thinking for a toddler birthday, cupcakes may be easier) if so, what temp / time do you recommend?
You can for sure turn it into cupcakes, I have not personally tested this recipe in cupcake form so I am not sure on the temp/time. It would be something that would need to be watched for sure.
Hi! I’m wondering if you have a vanilla frosting recipe that would go great with this cake? I don’t like cheese of any kind.
Thank you!!
Absolutely! I really love these two buttercreams. One is American style and the other is swiss meringue. https://grandbaby-cakes.com/perfect-american-buttercream-recipe/
https://grandbaby-cakes.com/swiss-meringue-buttercream/
Hi – I’d like to make this into bars in a 13 x 9 pan…how long would I cook it?
Hi Peggy, are you trying to make a sheet cake? What do you mean by bars?