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!
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups milk
- 2 ½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice divided
- 1 ⅓ cups mashed bananas about 4 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
How long will the cake last after freezing? Would love to make this for a party a day ahead of time but don’t want it to not taste as good or go bad. Thanks!
Yes, this cake freezes perfectly. Then defrost, frost, and serve!
Thank you so much for your quick response!
I made this cake as written only I used a cup for cup gluten free flour (and I used 420g instead of 3 cups) as we have 2 celiacs in our family. Although many say our taste buds have changed since eating gluten free, even our non celiac friends enjoyed this banana cake. It was lighter and moister than our typical banana bread. Will definitely make again.
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I am a little late on posting a review but have been making this cake over and over again and it’s requested at every party I go to! I have tried several recipes using bananas and my family and friends always tell me not to deviate from this recipe. I follow the recipe exactly as stated. It will please multi generations, the pickiest critics and the ones that don’t like banana. You will not be disappointed!!!
Hi Holly!
I made this cake a few months ago, and it was the tastiest treat I’ve ever made. I was blown away. The lemon in the cream cheese frosting really put this off the charts. I’ve been wanting to experiment with making fancy layered cakes, and I have a ton of bananas in the freezer to use up. Since this is a tried and true recipe, I’d love to make it again.
Do you have any advice for making this in three 9″ round pans? Will the quantities above work? Also, will the frosting hold up for layering? Is the frosting a good consistency for piping?
Thanks a bunch!
Jamie
The frosting for this cake is quite soft and not ideal for piping. Some readers have successfully put this into 2 9″ pans, I don’t know that there would be enough batter for 3 pans but I haven’t tried it. Let us know how it goes!
Should I soften the cream cheese for the frosting? It doesn’t say to but I just want to be sure.
Room temperature would work best. Enjoy the cake Megan!
Sounds and looks delish!!! Will make this cake this weekend. How many bananas are needed (approx) to make the 1 1/3 cups? Want to be sure I have enough. Thank you!
Between 3-4 depending on size. Enjoy the recipe!
This is the best banana cake I’ve ever had or ever made!! It’s so moist and delicious. This recipe is definitely a keeper!
Yummy fluffy cake! Great recipe!
I’ll try to do this banana cake
This sounds so good. Do you have to put it in the freezer? I don’t have room in the freezer just went shopping lol. Can I put it in the refrigerator for a couple of hours? Thanks for the recipe
You’re very welcome Sonya! I’ve only made the recipe as written. Let us know how it goes if you try popping it into the refrigerator instead of the freezer!
The banana cake looks amazing! Can’t wait to try it.
I would’ve never guessed lemon & banana! Yummy, delicious cake!
Made this cake last weekend for work. I work in a hospital so, of course, it didn’t last long. Everyone LOVED it! I used dark brown sugar because that’s what I had. I was also reluctant to put the hot cake in the freezer. So in true Minnesota winter fashion, I covered it and put it outside.
The cake was moist and absolutely delicious. The lemon cream cheese frosting put it over the top. The only thing I would change when I make it again is to double the frosting recipe, because I don’t think you could ever have too much of that divine frosting. Thanks for an awesome recipe!
So happy to hear how much you love this cake Barbara! It’s a family favorite. And yes, that frosting ;)
The best banana cake/bread/loaf I’ve ever tasted let alone made!!!!! Sooo delicious, couldn’t fault a thing. I put 2/3 of the sugar on the recipe as I’m trying to cut down and did the icing with vanilla rather than the lemon. Would recommend this 1000000%
This cake is amazing! Thank you for the wonderful recipe. It’s very moist and fluffy! I don’t think I’ll be making banana bread anytime soon, my ripe bananas will be cake moving forward.
Delicious! Initially questioned the 300 degree baking temp. But it turned out great. Placed in garage where temp was about 45 & it was very moist!
Delicious, moist, perfect balance of sweetness. It only took 55 minutes for my cake to cook. The mix of banana cake (which isn’t too sweet) and the frosting with the hint of lemon are a perfect balance if you don’t your cake too sweet. Also, I didn’t put it in the freezer, but put tin foil over it after if cooled and iced it in the morning. I couldn’t imagine it could’ve been any more most.
My hubs does not like banana-anything but I love bananas and usually eat one almost every single day so when I purchase too many to keep from going to the store every four days they will turn brown- ish… long story short …I cannot eat brownish bananas. I love banana bread but he won’t eat it either but he said he would try banana cake. This recipe is my second try at banana cake – the First was a thumbs slightly down for him BUT THIS CAKE…THIS CAKE HE LOVED!!! It’s moist – not gonna lie I thought putting it from the over into the freezer was crazy BUT IT WORKED!! The moistest cake EVER!! The fresh lemon added a sparkle to the cake I was not expecting! Hubs told me tonight “this is a keeper cake”!! Thank you, SpendWithPennies! We both LOVE IT!!
I made this cake and it’s awsome and moist. Thank you so much..
Cake texture and icing textures are good. The lemon and lemon zest overwhelm the banana flavor.. will leave off lemon and lemon zest the next time I do this recipe
Can I make this cake today, then store in the fridge until serving tomorrow? I would think then I wouldn’t have to put in freezer..??
I usually store it in the fridge and try to leave it at room temp at least 30 min before serving. Enjoy Kelley!
Wow , I’m going to try this recipe straight away. Thanks!