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Easy Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

This soft, moist, and absolutely delicious banana cake is made from scratch and it’s incredibly easy to make. It’s a great and tasty way to use up those overripe bananas that have been sitting on the counter for a couple of days!

Best Bananas for Banana Cake

This classic dessert is so easy to make and it all starts with using the right bananas. For maximum flavor in this banana cake, use bananas that aren’t bright in color but the ones that seem they are on their last leg.

Bananas that have peels that have turned black have the most flavor and cream incredibly well into recipes.

You can use bananas that have streaks of black or brown as well but don’t use bananas that have not ripened or have just ripened, you’ll lose out on flavor throughout the recipe.

Banana cake with cinnamon cream cheese frosting in 3x9 ceramic baking dish.

RELATED: Blueberry Banana Bread

Ingredients in Banana Cake

  • Bananas - the more ripened the more flavor
  • All-purpose flour
  • Baking Powder
  • Baking Soda
  • Ground Cinnamon
  • Salt
  • Butter - unsalted
  • Granulated Sugar
  • Light brown sugar
  • Eggs - room temp
  • Vanilla extract
  • Buttermilk - this can be substituted for milk and lemon juice
  • Cream cheese - softened
  • Butter - unsalted
  • Confectioner’s sugar
A slice of banana cake cut out of 13x9 baking dish frosted with cream cheese frosting.

RELATED: Caramel Banana Muffins

How to Make Easy Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Preheat the oven and prepare the baking dish - Preheat the oven to 350º and line a 9x13 baking dish with parchment paper or grease and flour the baking dish instead.

Combine the wet ingredients - Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment makes combining the wet ingredients easy and quick but it’s easy enough to combine by hand as well.

Remove the bananas from the peel and add them to the mixing bowl and beat until the bananas are creamy.

Add the unsalted butter and beat until combined well and smooth. The next step is to add the vanilla extract and the granulated and brown sugars and combine well.

Once this is done, add the eggs one at a time and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy.

Combine the dry ingredients - In a separate bowl, sift together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients - Add half of the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and slowly mix. Add half of the buttermilk mixture to the combined ingredients and alternate once more between the dry ingredients and the buttermilk.

Mix until just combined and then transfer to the prepared 9x13 baking dish.

Pour the banana cake batter into the dish and bake - Pour the banana cake batter into the prepared baking dish and spread evenly.

A slice of banana cake with cinnamon cream cheese frosting resting on a cake serve with a wooden handle.

Bake for 45-55 minutes in the preheated oven. Check the center of the cake to see if it is done by sticking a toothpick into the center. If it comes out with little to no crumbs it is done baking and can be removed from the oven and allowed to cool completely before frosting.

If it is still wet, add a few more minutes to the bake time and check again with a toothpick. Once it is done, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool completely before frosting.

Make the cream cheese frosting - To make the cream cheese frosting, start with room temperature ingredients. Room temperature cream cheese will cream together much easier and quicker than using cream cheese that is still cold.

Beat the cream cheese until it is smooth and add the softened unsalted butter to the mixture and beat until well combined.

Add in the vanilla extract and the ground cinnamon.

Slowly add in the confectioner’s sugar and beat until the cream cheese frosting is well combined.

If for some reason, the frosting is too thick for frosting the banana cake, add one to two tablespoons of milk to the mixture to thin it out.

A slice of sheet cake on a beige plate next to a decorative yellow napkin.

📖 Recipe

Yield: 24 servings

Easy Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Banana cake with cinnamon cream cheese frosting in 3x9 ceramic baking dish.

This soft, moist, and absolutely delicious banana cake is made from scratch and it’s incredibly easy to make. It’s a great and tasty way to use up those overripe bananas that have been sitting on the counter for a couple of days!

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

Banana Cake

  • 3 bananas, the darker the better
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • 1 ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 3 eggs, room temp
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 ¾ all-purpose flour, spooned & leveled
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 ¼ cup buttermilk

Cream Cheese Frosting

Instructions

Banana Cake

  1. Preheat the oven to 350º and line a 9x13 baking dish with parchment paper. (You can also grease and flour the baking dish instead.)
  2. Remove the bananas from the peels and beat them until they are creamy.
  3. Add the unsalted softened butter to the bananas and beat until creamy.
  4. Beat in the granulated sugar and the brown sugar until combined.
  5. Add the vanilla extract and beat in the eggs one at a time and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy.
  6. In a separate bowl, sift together the all purpose flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
  7. Beat half to the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
  8. Pour in half of the buttermilk and beat until combined.
  9. Beat in the remaining dry ingredients and then the last of the buttermilk.
  10. Do not overheat, mix until just combined.
  11. Pour the banana cake batter into the prepared dish and spread evenly.
  12. Bake in the preheated oven 45-55 minutes. Check the center of the cake with a toothpick to check it if is done. Add a few minutes at a time if needed for the center of the cake to come out clean.
  13. Allow the cake to cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

  1. Beat the softened cream cheese until creamy.
  2. Add the unsalted butter and beat until smooth.
  3. Pour in the vanilla extract and the ground cinnamon and combine well.
  4. Slowly beat in the confectioner’s sugar until the ingredients are smooth and creamy.
  5. If needed, add 1 to 2 tablespoon of milk to the mixture if the frosting is too thick.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

24

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 325Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 59mgSodium: 247mgCarbohydrates: 48gFiber: 1gSugar: 35gProtein: 4g

Nutrition calculation is a rough estimate and can vary depending on the cooking technique and the exact ingredients used. For informational purposes only.

Did you make this recipe?

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Megan

Friday 20th of August 2021

This recipe really reminds me of what me and my nan would make together when she was still with us. Thanks for such a great recipe.

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