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.
Lise
Just wondering if you don’t have buttermilk can I use sour cream instead
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
You could, but you’d need to thin it out. Or you could just use our buttermilk substitute 🙂
Jo Scott
Question, how long in the oven for cupcakes?
Sam
I would recommend following my banana cupcake recipe. 🙂
Teresa
Does this cake need to be refrigerated because of the cream cheese frosting?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Teresa! This cake can sit out for a few hours but ultimately needs to be stored in the fridge. Hope that helps!
Susanne
I’m making this recipe and want to bake it using the 12-count brownie baking pan, how long would you recommend baking? Would it follow more along the lines of cupcakes, 20-25 minutes?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Susanne! Honestly without trying it ourselves we’re not sure how long it would take. We’d just recommend keeping an eye on it and testing with a toothpick for doneness. Hope that helps! 😊
Rachelle Bishop
I have made this cake now about 6 or 7 times. My entire family loves it — including picky 3 and 6 years olds. Every time it’s come out perfect. Perfect balance. This time we put half in some fun Star Wars shaped cake tins… curious if you think there is some glaze we could put on top to not hide the Star Wars characters faces…? Thank you!!
Sam
Hi Rachelle! You could do a simple vanilla glaze, which is just powdered sugar, a splash of vanilla extract, and enough milk to thin it out. It won’t have quite the flavor of the regular frosting though. 🙂
Jacueline
You may want to put a warning sign at the top of your buttermilk substitute recipe. I put the whole cup in. UGH!
PERHAPS WARN: NEED ONLY 1/4 CUP
Sam
Hi Jacueline! I’m not sure that will work as the buttermilk substitute works for really any recipe that needs buttermilk. I do have 1/4c in the instructions for the banana cake though.
Ani
Hi! I just made this recipe!! I halved the recipe, but I accidentally added the full amount of buttermilk! 🙁 It turned out scrumptious, just super gooey (which could be a good thing). It had great flavor. Another winner!
Patti
OMG!!!I MADE THIS IN A BUNDT PAN. AWESOMELY AWESOME
Jackie Harvill
First I love your recipes! But I am older and now have diabetes. Wanted to ask if you were to ever make lower calories and sugar recipes Please let me and everyone know. For now I change using oat flour, applesauce for oil. And honey with very little real sugar.
Sam
I’m glad you still enjoy everything, Jackie! Unfortunately I’m not super familiar with the low sugar/calorie side of baking. I do appreciate feedback on how you do it so I can relay the information to others though. 🙂
Tammy
Without a doubt the BEST BANANA CAKE. Made it yesterday for my family and it just vanishes within seconds. Keep up the awesome recipes and please continue to share more
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Thank you so much, Tammy! You should try our banana cupcakes and banana cream pie too 😊
Kat
Amazing!!
Sydney
Hello!! I just made a test cake with your recipe. I want to use this for a grooms cake. I did some cupcakes and OH MY GOSH it is delicious!! My question to you is, do you think this cake would hold up as a stacked cake. I want to do 2 or 3 layers.
Thank you for any advise!!
Sydney
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Sydney! I think it would work being at least 2 layers, but I haven’t tried it to be sure. 🙂
SYDNEY L MACINTYRE
Thank you!! I made a 6″ tasting cake. I put a caramel sauce in between the layers and a chocolate ganache buttercream on the outside!! I hope he loves it!! Everyone at my house who tried the tester muffins loved them!!
Sam
That sounds so incredible! I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it, Sydney! 🙂
Alexis
Is there any way I can use something other than buttermilk? I mean, I just don’t have any on hand. Thank you in advance!
Sam
Hi Alexis! I do have a buttermilk substitute you can use. 🙂
Jessica
I keep powdered buttermilk on hand too and there are directions on the box for substituting for fresh. It has always worked for me!
Becky
Can you freeze this cake for later?
Sam
Hi Becky! Yes, that will be fine, enjoy! 🙂
Mary McMahon
As with all your recipes this was a winner. It is my husband’s new favorite. I have had great results with your muffin recipes, my favorite is blueberry. Thanks for all your hard work.
Sam
Thank you so much for trusting my recipes, Mary! I’m so glad to hear that you and your husband enjoyed the banana cake, and the muffins! 🙂
Kristin
Super delicious and a great way to use up overripe bananas. Made this for friends and family and got lots of compliments. Now I’m trying really hard not to eat the rest!
Evelyn
Thanks Sam for answering my comment, Can you tell me how much cake flour I would need if I use 3 round 8″ pans to make my cake. I trying to make a cake for my son this Saturday.
Sam
Hi Evelyn! You will need to increase the recipe by 50% so if using weights you’ll need 468g of cake flour. 🙂