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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Amazing! I made cupcakes out of this batter and holy smokes! 10/10!
Omgosh this banana cake recipe is the best!! I’ve been looking for a banana cake recipe for my mom for awhile. My cousin always orders a banana cake for her twins, from a home baker, on their birth date, the first time my mom tried it, she fell in love. Buying a cake from a home baker when you have a craving for one is not easy though – they require an advance notice sometime months before you need it. This cake though tops the cake my cousin orders, hands down. I did add a small can of drained crushed pineapple one of the times I baked this and it was delish. You can’t go wrong with this recipe though, with or without the pineapple. I’m a novice baker and tend to over mix causing a dense, not pleasant cake to eat, so I used the reverse creaming method and it turned out amazing!! If you’ve never used this strategy, look it up it’s a game changer, it was for me at least. Thank you so much for sharing your recipes Jocelyn!
can you leave out the pineapple
Yes you can.
On your cake recipe do you add any walnuts or pecans !?? I SEE YOU PUT ON TOP OF CAKE !! IF I’M ADDING BANANAS ON TOP OF CAKE , FOR LATER AFTER DINNER HOW WOULD I KEEP BANANAS FOR TURNING BROWN !! THANKS
I wouldn’t put the bananas on top of the cake because they will indeed turn brown. To keep them from browning super fast, you can add some lime or lemon juice to the slices.
Such a beautiful presentation; almost too gorgeous to eat! Excited to give this a try this week; looks too good to pass up1
This banana cake is out of this world! So delicious! My whole family basically inhaled it. Thanks for sharing!
delicious – i love the pineapple addition – so good!
The crushed pineapple is definitely the secret ingredient that takes this to the next level!
This looks stunning and so yummy! We love banana recipes. They’ve always been one of our favorite! I’m so excited to make this cake very soon!
I enjoyed reading your banana cake recipe
I am going try to make it soon