This is the best easy, moist banana cake recipe, and it’s made completely from scratch! My recipe is perfectly balanced with extra bananas and complementary spices and it’s crowned with a silky smooth cream cheese frosting. This is the snack cake of your dreams!
An Easy, Moist Banana Cake Recipe
This banana cake recipe exist solely because so many of you wrote to tell me how much you loved my banana muffins (see, I don’t call them “the best” for nothing) and asked if you could use that recipe to make a cake. The translation from muffin to cake wasn’t perfect, so I headed to the kitchen and, well over a dozen well-browned bananas later, finally have a perfectly moist and yet fluffy version that I think you’ll love.
Why This Recipe Works:
- The bananas do the heavy lifting. Overripe bananas are of course key for intense flavor, but they’re also full of natural sugars and pectin. These help lock in moisture and create a plush, super moist crumb, without making the cake dense.
- Oil for moisture, butter for flavor. Just using butter can leave you with a dry cake, while the flavor can fall flat without it. A balance of both works great here: butter adds rich flavor and oil keeps the crumb tender longer (especially helpful if you refrigerate the cake!). There’s a reason I use this blend of the two in so many cake recipes, like my vanilla cake and chocolate cake recipe!
- Cream cheese frosting, balanced just right. Cream cheese frosting is good enough to eat on its own by the spoonful, but the tangy element of it works especially well here to counter the sweet, banana-rich base. A little acidity balances the whole bite, so it doesn’t feel too heavy! Psst: If you really want to make this cake luxurious, try my cream cheese-based brown butter frosting!)
I went through a lot of overripe bananas (and some not-so-ripe ones, in moments of desperation), and finally ended up modifying my pumpkin cake (of all things) to land on this winning banana cake recipe. It’s incredibly soft, fluffy yet moist, and topped with a smooth and creamy version of my popular cream cheese frosting (though to make things extra decadent try it with my brown butter frosting!).
What You Need:
My banana cake recipe was carefully and intentionally designed to be sweet, simple, super flavorful, and moist. When developing it, I largely drew from my pumpkin cake (of all things), and it worked wonderfully. Let’s talk about a few of the key players:
- Bananas. For the best flavor & moistest cake, you should use ripe, spotty bananas. Have some that are looking a little overripe on your counter and starting to attract fruit flies? Grab those. Ideally I prefer mine to be browner than the too-yellow ones shown in the photo above (but my recipe is versatile, so use what you have on hand!). King Arthur has a great guide on choosing the best bananas to use.
- Butter AND oil. Those of you who have made my Funfetti cake or marble cake recipe know that a blend of the two yields a better cake than simply using all butter or all oil. For my banana cake recipe I sought balance, and a blend of the two yielded a perfect moist cake. For the oil, any neutral cooking oil (canola or vegetable are most common) will work.
- Sugar. Another best-of-both-worlds scenario. Granulated sugar adds sweetness without weighing the cake down too much, while brown sugar adds depth of flavor, thanks to the molasses.
- Leavening Agents. Baking powder and baking soda create a perfect rise. The baking soda reacts with the banana and buttermilk (and helps create that beautiful golden surface), while the baking powder ensures a reliably even lift across the cake. Without the two of them we’d have a dense, gummy cake.
- Buttermilk. While this plays a role in helping the banana cake to rise a bit when combined with the baking soda, perhaps more importantly it adds moisture and a very subtle tangy flavor. You may use my buttermilk substitute if you can’t find buttermilk in stores (or just don’t have any), but the “real” stuff is best here as it will yield the best texture.
This is just an overview of a few of the main ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Banana Cake
Make the cake
- Mash the bananas! A potato masher or even just a fork works well. Try to mash out as many lumps as you can, but it’s OK that you won’t be able to get all of them.
- Beat together the sugars and butter. Look for a light, creamy, well-combined mixture, then stir in the oil until it’s well incorporated.
- Add the bananas to the butter/sugar mixture and stir well to combine.
- Add the eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla extract and stir well. The batter most likely won’t be smooth since your mashed bananas are bound to be a bit lumpy, but everything should be thoroughly mixed (especially since you need to be quite light-handed in the next step.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients.
- Stir the dry ingredients into the wet. You want the ingredients to be thoroughly combined, but as with banana bread or pancakes, over-mixing can result in dense, dry results.
- Spread the batter evenly into a greased baking pan. I use a metal pan, if you use a glass one note that your cake will take longer to bake than indicated.
- Check the doneness of the cake by inserting a toothpick into the center. The toothpick should come out mostly clean, or, preferably, with some moist crumbs (but not raw batter!).
Make the Frosting
- Combine (softened!) cream cheese, butter, vanilla extract, and salt and beat until smooth and creamy. There should be no lumps remaining (if it’s lumpy, your cream cheese may have been too cold).
- Gradually add the powdered sugar until completely combined.
- Add the cream. If you want a thicker frosting, you can skip this step, but I like the looser, silky feel that adding a splash of cream adds.
- Spread the frosting over the (cooled) cake. Top with regular or toasted pecans or walnuts (or a drizzle of caramel sauce! Or dulce de leche!) for a finishing touch!
Frequently Asked Questions
This banana cake recipe should yield results that are perfectly moist, but certainly not oily. If yours seems more of the latter than the former, consider these possible issues.
1) Using too much banana can make the cake too wet and make it seem oily. While just grabbing 4 ripe bananas might work out just fine for you, if they’re larger than you realize it could cause a wet cake, and for this reason I recommend you mash and then measure your bananas.
2) Not thoroughly combining the wet ingredients, or not thoroughly combining the wet and dry ingredients together. Make sure you stir very well when mixing the butter/bananas etc., then when you combine the wet and dry ingredients do so carefully but thoroughly (remember that over-mixing at this step can yield dense, dry results).
3) Under-baking. Examine your toothpick carefully when testing. With such a moist cake, sometimes the toothpick may appear clean when there’s actually a thin, nearly translucent layer of banana cake batter on it. The toothpick should be dry or (preferably) have moist, discernible crumbs.
I have not one, but 3 secrets to share with you, but know it’s all about a smart selection of ingredients and a little baking science. First: very ripe bananas are key to a good banana cake recipe! As bananas ripen, their starches turn to sugar and the moisture content increases, keeping the cake moist and flavorful. Second: a blend of oil and butter adds both moisture and flavor. Finally: just the right amount of brown sugar. Brown sugar doesn’t just add flavor, it also helps the cake stay soft and tender even after a night in the fridge, thanks to the fact it’s hygroscopic (this just means it loves moisture!).
Banana bread is baked in a bread pan, is more dense and hearty and a bit less sweet. It has more of a “let’s call this breakfast” energy. Banana cake would be hard to pass off as breakfast food. It’s baked in a cake pan, fluffier and even more moist, and dressed up with a heavy-handed swirl of frosting.
Either over or under-mixing can result in a cake that sinks as it cools. If the banana cake is not baked thoroughly, this can also cause it to sink after baking. Finally, if your baking powder or baking soda are expired and/or not properly stored, this may cause the cake to not rise properly. Store these in a cool dry place and make sure they are not expired before you use them.
This cake is very carefully and specifically designed to be moist, so it’s unlikely you’ll run into this issue (I’m not sure anyone has so far!) BUT, if you do it’s likely because:
1) The flour was accidentally over-measured. I recommend that you use a kitchen scale or stir your flour, spoon it into a measuring cup, and then level it off (see my post on how to measure flour).
2) It was baked too long or your oven is running too hot. Unfortunately many ovens do not run true to temperature, and for this reason I recommend keeping an oven thermometer in yours.
More Banana Recipes to Try!
It took quite a bit of tweaking and testing but I’m very proud to finally be sharing my favorite banana cake recipe with you. If you try it, please leave me a comment letting me know how you liked it!
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! Make sure to check out the how-to VIDEO in the recipe card!
The Best Banana Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (170 g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- ¾ cup (175 ml) avocado, canola or vegetable oil
- 1 cup (200 g) light or dark brown sugar
- ½ cup (100 g) sugar
- 2 cups (470 g) well-mashed ripe bananas (this is typically 4 bananas for me)
- 2 large eggs room temperature preferred
- ¼ cup (60 ml) buttermilk
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups (312 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
Silky Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 8 oz (225 g) cream cheese softened
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 ½ cups (315 g) powdered sugar
- 1 Tablespoon heavy cream
- ½ cup chopped walnuts for topping (optional)
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and spray a 9×13" (approximately 23x33cm) pan with baking spray or lightly grease and flour. Set aside.
- Combine butter and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl and use an electric mixer). Beat until well-combined and light and fluffy.¾ cup (170 g) unsalted butter, 1 cup (200 g) light or dark brown sugar, ½ cup (100 g) sugar
- Add oil and beat to combine.¾ cup (175 ml) avocado, canola or vegetable oil
- Stir in mashed bananas.2 cups (470 g) well-mashed ripe bananas
- Add eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla extract and stir until well-combined.2 large eggs, ¼ cup (60 ml) buttermilk, 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.2 ½ cups (312 g) all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoons baking soda, 1 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt
- Gradually add to wet ingredients until completely combined.
- Spread batter into prepared pan and bake on 350F (175C) for 45-55 minutes (see note 1) or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean with few moist crumbs. Allow to cool completely before covering with frosting.
Silky Cream Cheese Frosting
- Combine cream cheese, butter, vanilla extract, and salt in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until creamy.8 oz (225 g) cream cheese, ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon salt
- With mixer on low-speed, gradually add powdered sugar until completely combined.2 ½ cups (315 g) powdered sugar
- Add heavy cream and gradually increase speed to high. Beat on high for 30 seconds.1 Tablespoon heavy cream
- Spread over completely cooled banana cake. Top with chopped walnuts (if using). Slice and serve!½ cup chopped walnuts
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
This banana cake recipe was first published March 2018. The recipe remains unchanged, but the content of the post has been updated to include more helpful information as well as a how-to video tutorial.
Leah
Hi there! Always enjoy your posts! Could this cake be layered? Like maybe a double layer 8” round? I’ve had a request for a birthday cake and the celebrant loves banana!
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Leah! Yes, it can. Since you will be using different size pans, please keep in mind that the bake time will be different than what is listed. I also have a Banana Cake with Brown Sugar Frosting that is an option as well. Happy Baking. 🙂
Sue
I only had a 9×9 metal pan so I winged it. Thankfully, it came out brilliant! I tented it at around 30 min (the edges were turning brown) and it took about 55-60 min to cook through. I added a chopped up 100g semisweet chocolate bar which turned into these lovely molten pockets of chocolate. The cake was moist and delicious with a good banana flavour and not overly sweet. Also used your buttermilk substitute. THANK YOU!!!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that the banana cake turned out so well, Sue, and that everyone loved it! I love the addition of the semisweet chocolate flakes too, sounds delicious! Thanks for trying my recipe and for commenting. 🙂
Julie Howard
I wish the people that comment on it’s cooking time would also let you know whether they are using a glass pan or metal. Did cooking it in a glass pan cook faster, so then the foil tent is needed. In a metal pan or Bundt pan, took longer time? I make my banana cake with a small can of crushed pineapple, but sometimes I have leftovers of peaches and would like to add instead. Just don’t know if modifications are needed. Thanks.
Mary
Delicious cake, my favorite one indeed. Banana is delicious
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed the banana cake, Mary! Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Dani
I’m planning on making this cake for my son to take to school for his birthday. My question is with the cream cheese frosting will the cake need to be refrigerated?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Dani! Cream cheese frosting can sit at room temperature for up to 2 hours, but I recommend refrigerating the it. I hope that your son has a nice birthday. 🙂
Janet
This is the best!! Very moist & delicious. I would eat it plain if I didn’t have to frost it for the dinner I was taking it to.
I used a snack size container of unsweetened applesauce and coconut oil in place of the vegetable oil without a problem. The only issue I had was that the cake sank in the middle after it cooled. I checked it at 30 min and then reset the timer for another 10 because I thought it was 40-50 total time. Anyway at 40 min it was a beautiful golden brown, bouncy, pulling away from the edges, and tester came out clean, so I took it out. Maybe another 5 and it wouldn’t have sank…
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed the cake, Janet! It could have needed a few additional minutes in the oven or it could also be that the batter was overmixed. Over mixing the batter and incorporating too much air can then cause a collapse. Regardless, I happy that it tasted delicious. 🙂
Lori
Do I have to use butter milk
Cathy
Can you sub soured milk for buttermilk?
Sugar Spun Run
Hello, Cathy! I have personally never tried it, but it should work fine. I hope that you enjoy the banana cake! 🙂
Leialoha McAnally
Aloha Sam,
Can I substitute a light olive oil for the vegetable oil?
Mahalo, Lei
Sugar Spun Run
Hello, Leialoha! I recommend a neutral oil like canola or vegetable for this recipe. Olive oil tends to impart a bit of an olive oil taste into the cake. If you don’t mind the taste, it would work. Let me know what you decide to use and how your banana bread turns out! 🙂
debbie
This REALLY is the BEST banana cake! I almost didn’t make it because I didn’t know if I was in the mood for banana cake vs banana bread. This cake is truly delicious. I used coconut oil for the canola and added 2 T of ground up freeze dried banana. My grand daughter asked me if there was caramel in it, it was so rich and caramely!! Thank you so much for this recipe! It’s a keeper. Also, I am a frosting lover but this was so good I only sprinkled with powdered sugar so as not to mask the great banana taste.
Sam
Thank you so much, Debbie! I am so glad you enjoyed the banana cake so much! 🙂
Vicki
Mmmmmmm……..I’ve never had a banana cake better than this one, or even as good, so I think it IS the best banana cake ever! Now, I’m not a frosting person…..the most I’d ever want would be for a layer of icing so thin you could see through it……but I do appreciate that this frosting is not as sweet as most of them. Hubs, though, thinks cake isn’t a cake unless it’s iced, and being the sugar monster that he is, he LOVES this frosting and is more than happy to eat what I scrape off. A great recipe….it will be my go-to when I want to make banana cake! (By the way, the cake was nowhere near done at thirty minutes, and it took to almost forty five minutes before it was done.)
Sam
I am so happy to hear you enjoyed the banana cake so much, Vicki! The recipe does indicate 45-55 minutes to bake completely, checking at 30 minutes is just in case your oven tends to over-brown (possibly burn) the top. Thank you so much for commenting (and I’ve gotta admit I’m with your husband about cakes and frosting 😉)
Etta Jerkins
Could this be baked in a bunt pan?
Sam
Hi Etta! That should work just fine. You will probably get a thicker “crust” to the cake than what is intended. 🙂
Sarah Hibbing
I just made this….but instinctively felt it minutes was too much, maybe for just my oven. Smelled suspicious at 30 minutes, and when I took the cake out to cover it with foil to prevent over browning, the edges were already caught and the toothpick came out dry! My oven isn’t great and often I need to take things out a little early, but 15 minutes below the minimum… that’s weird! Super glad I trust my nose 🙂
Sam
Hi Sarah! That is weird. Does you oven run really hot? I’m glad you were able to salvage the cake. 🙂
Erin Gray
Should this go in the fridge over night?
Sam
Hi Erin! It should be ok to stay out overnight. Since it has a cream cheese frosting, I would refrigerate it if you wanted to keep it longer than a day or two, or if you are in a really humid climate. Enjoy! 🙂
Kim
Baked this today. Smells delicious – can not wait for it to cool down to give it a try!!
Sam
I hope you love it, Kim! 🙂