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Banana cake with white cream cheese frosting, topped with bananas and nuts.
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4.67 from 12 votes

The Best Banana Cake

Old-fashioned homemade banana cake is hard to beat! Make your own cake with ripe bananas and a hand mixer. This recipe is so easy, and you can make it all in just one bowl!
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time40 minutes
Cooling Time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 55 minutes
Course: Cakes & Cupcakes, Frostings & Sweet Sauces
Cuisine: American
Servings: 12
Author: Rachel Gurk

Ingredients

For Cake:

  • 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
  • ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (3 medium-sized bananas)
  • ½ cup buttermilk or sour milk (or ½ cup milk mixed with 1 tablespoon white vinegar)
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 cups white whole wheat flour (or all purpose flour)
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
  • ¾ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt

For Cream cheese frosting (see note):

  • 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened (reduced-fat will work, we don’t recommend fat-free)
  • ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 4 cups powdered sugar (confectioner’s sugar)
  • 1 teaspoon milk, more if needed
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

For Cake:

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare 9 x 13-inch cake pan by spraying with cooking spray, or greasing and flouring (see note).
  • In a large mixing bowl, beat sugar and butter with an electric mixer at medium high speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. 
    1 ½ cups granulated sugar, ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
  • Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, about 30 seconds each.
    2 large eggs
  • Add mashed bananas, buttermilk, and vanilla extract to the bowl, then remaining ingredients. Beat 30 seconds at low speed to combine; continue to beat at medium high speed for 3 minutes. Batter should be light colored, smooth, and somewhat fluffy.
    1 cup mashed ripe bananas, ½ cup buttermilk or sour milk, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, 2 cups white whole wheat flour, 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder, ¾ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt
  • Scrape batter into prepared pan, smoothing the top. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center of cake comes out clean (see note).
  • Cool completely before frosting.

For Frosting:

  • In a large bowl, with electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter until fluffy, about 1 minute. Add powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla; beat until light and fluffy, 2 minutes.
    1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened, ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened, 1 teaspoon milk, more if needed, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, 4 cups powdered sugar
  • If frosting seems too thick, beat in additional milk, ½ teaspoon at a time. If frosting is too thin, add powdered sugar, ¼ cup at a time. 
  • Frost completely cooled cake. Frosted cake should be refrigerated.

Video

Notes

  • Frosting: For 9 x 13-inch cake, a half batch of frosting is usually enough, unless you like an extra thick layer of frosting. (The nutrition information is calculated with a full batch of frosting.)
  • For layer cake: Divide batter between two 8 or 9-inch round cake pans. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. You'll need a full batch of frosting to frost a layer cake.
  • Banana cupcakes: Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners. Bake at 375°F for 14 minutes (see banana cupcakes).
  • Chocolate banana cake: Replace a half cup of the flour with a half cup of unsweetened cocoa powder. Frost with chocolate cream cheese frosting. You can also add chocolate chips (or try my banana chocolate chip cake!).
    Banana spice cake: Add a teaspoon or two of apple pie spice or pumpkin pie spice for a banana spice cake.
  • Banana nut cake: Stir 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts into the batter. The nuts will taste better if you lightly toast them first (see how to toast pecans). To prevent them from sinking to the bottom, toss them with a tablespoon of the flour before adding them. Another option is to pour half of the batter into the pan, sprinkle on the nuts, then top with the remaining batter

Nutrition

Serving: 1square | Calories: 525kcal | Carbohydrates: 85g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 82mg | Sodium: 303mg | Potassium: 196mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 68g | Vitamin A: 684IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 76mg | Iron: 1mg

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