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This is, hands down, the BEST banana cake I’ve ever had. It’s soft, moist and rich all at the same time! Once cooled this cake is topped with a totally irresistible lemon cream cheese frosting for a perfect dessert your family will love.
I love a good banana cake, it just reminds me of being a kid because my Grandpa and Grandma made the BEST banana cupcakes. I can still smell them baking in my grandma’s kitchen, waiting impatiently with my sisters.
This cake is reminiscent of my favorite banana cupcakes. It is soft and fluffy and incredibly moist and topped with my favorite ever lemony cream cheese frosting.
As much as I love a fluffy banana cake, I love it even more when it’s topped with an amazing cream cheese frosting! I add in a little bit of lemon zest and lemon juice for extra flavor in my cream cheese frosting but if you prefer, you can leave out the lemon and substitute vanilla.
Regardless of how you top it, once you try this cake, it’ll be your go-to. Every time you have overripe bananas on the counter you’ll want to make this recipe! In fact, I often buy extra bananas to ripen and make this cake!
Tips to ensure a soft moist result:
- Ensure your ingredients are at room temperature (eggs and butter)
- You need the acidity from the lemon juice (& milk) mixture. Subbing in just milk or cream won’t work. (You can use buttermilk in its place if needed).
- When mixing your butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla, beat the mixture until VERY fluffy, almost the consistency of a fluffy buttercream frosting. This should take about 5 minutes.
- When adding the flour mixture you want to mix until just combined. Over-mixing will cause a dense chewy result.
- The cooking time on this cake can vary! Check your cake at 55 minutes, if it isn’t ready, continue cooking until a toothpick comes out clean (this can be up to an additional 20 minutes depending on your oven). The result will be a moist and irresistible banana cake.
Happy Baking!
The Best Banana Cake
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups milk
- 2 ½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice divided
- 1 ⅓ cups mashed bananas about 3 medium bananas
- ⅔ cup unsalted butter softened
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- ⅓ cup butter softened
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice or vanilla extract
- 1 ½ teaspoons lemon zest from 1 lemon, optional
- 3-3 ½ cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9 x 13 pan.
- Place 1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice in a measuring cup. Top to 1 ½ cups with milk. Set aside.
- Mix together mashed banana with 1 tablespoon lemon juice, set aside.
- Beat together butter, brown and white sugar until combined. Add in eggs one at a time and vanilla. Mix on high until light and fluffy (almost the texture of frosting).
- Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Alternate adding flour mixture and milk to egg mixture stirring just until combined. (Do not overmix). Fold in bananas. Pour into prepared pan.
- Put into the oven and reduce heat to 300°F. Bake 60 – 70 minutes (see note below) or just until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean (do not over bake).
- Remove from oven and place in the freezer for 45 minutes to make the cake extra moist. Cool completely before frosting.
FROSTING
- Cream together butter & cream cheese until fluffy. Add in lemon zest and juice.
- Add powdered sugar a little at a time until you reach desired consistency. Spread over cooled cake.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
This recipe has been retested and updated 11/20/16.
Very slightly adapted from food.com
This recipe is easy to follow and uses standard ingredients but there is nothing standard about this recipe! It absolutely delicious and took me back to childhood memories of my grandmother. I added finely chopped walnuts in the cake and sprinkled some on the top. Excellent
I am going to make this today but want to know if you can skip the putting the cake in the freezer for 45 min or just allow it to cool over night & frost the next day or even a few hours after making?
Popping it the freezer helps to keep the cake moist. Then you can let it sit out to cool completely before frosting. I hope that helps!
Thanks for the response back. I just feel like 45 minutes in the freezer would basically freeze the cake. I can see 5 or 10 minutes but not 45. Either way I just allowed it to cool for an hour on the counter and then frosted it like I normally do! Tasted great.
Could I make this cake in a Bundt pan as opposed to a 9×13 pan?
We have only tried this recipe as written but other readers have made it in a bundt pan with great results! Try baking for 55 minutes at 325°F in a greased and floured bundt pan, but check it early just in case. I hope that helps!
The cake was delicious. I tried a little piece of the edge. Yummy. I decided to make it into a banana pudding cake. I didn’t put the cake in the freezer since I would put pudding in it. I poked holes with my cooking spoon. I made 2 of the small boxes of French vanilla instant pudding. I whisked for 2 minutes as directed. I waited another minute. Then, I poured it into the holes. I let the rest of the pudding set for another minute and evenly layered it onto the cake. Cut thin slices of banana. Lastly, I spread thawed cool whip on top.
I tried your cupcake recipe – they were really good tasting and light. I have tried a lot of recipes that were just too heavy. I used peanut butter icing. Thank you for another “keeper” recipe.
I made this recipe today fora family gathering. It was delicious. I cooked it in a convection oven for just 30 minutes. It was in the freezer for only 20 minutes.
I’m assuming I could use an 8 x 8 pan or will it be too small?
For this recipe we use a 9 x 13 pan.
Hello! I want to make this on a half sheet pan. Do you know if I should double it or triple the recipe? Thanks!
I haven’t tried this on a half sheet pan so I can’t say for sure.
out of ALL the banana cake recipes, it was your picture that got my attention. It truly looked homemade. While other pictures were perfecty cut with the frosting precisionally sliced thru as well, without a drop of it out of place.
not by any means does your cake look sloppy, it just looks like the perfect homemade cake !!
And the taste, oh my, it is amazing!! thank you for such a wonderful recipe.
That is so sweet of you, Grace! I am glad you enjoyed it so much.
I’m making this cake for the first time it smells delicious I just pulled it out of the oven though but I used a glass baking dish obviously I can’t put it in the freezer straight away is it still going to work with keeping it moist if I wait until it cools down to stick it in the freezer or did I mess up by not using a metal pan
yes, that should be fine. Once cool enough you can pop it in the freezer.
This has become my go-to recipe for banana cake! I’ve made this for the kids at work (I’m a residential support worker) so many times, and they LOVE it! Have also swapped the bananas for feijoas, and it worked perfectly with that, even though feijoas are juicier. This is a beautiful, fluffy, and moist cake/loaf which doesn’t need precise measurements in my experience, so perfect to make quickly if needed.
I’ve made this cake twice now. Exactly as directed but no lemon zest. I am telling you, don’t hesitate, just do it! This cake is so moist and the frosting makes it deliciously sinful! I’d give it 6 stars if I could.
I saw this recipe but I haven’t tried it yet but I wanted to ask before I make it . Can I subsitute the white sugar for honey instead of would that ruin the texture of the bread itself ?
I haven’t tried it with honey so I can’t say for sure.
Can you help me and answer a question please, do I take the cake from the oven and let it cool down before putting it in the freezer? Because won’t the Pyrex dish I cooked the cake in break if I put it straight in the freezer from the oven.
Thank you
Kind regards
Rosemary
Rosemary, yes, let the cake cool down before placing it in the freezer.