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
Can I substitute white vinegar for the lemon juice? Or will that impact the flavor in a bad way? I always have white vinegar on hand, but not necessarily fresh lemons or lemon juice. Thanks!
You can use white vinegar in place and it will not affect the taste at all. Enjoy Lisa!
Phenomenal! Like this is a life changing cake. If you bring this to a function they will ask you to bring it every time and you will become the banana cake lady. This is my new favorite bday cake as well!
I am so happy to hear you love this recipe so much Crystal! Thank you for sharing.
AMAZING!
This cake came out so soft and delicious
Loooove this recipe. Always get great feedback on it.
My husband and kids like it. They said the best banana cake
Absolutely delicious and so moist. I added walnuts to it.
This is my go to banana cake!! Amazing!
If I wanted to make two small cake rounds to make a smash cake for my daughters first birthday what size would you suggest?
Hi Brooke, While I haven’t tried it, other readers have successfully baked this in 8-inch round pans at 350°F for 28-30 minutes. Let us know how it goes!
what happened s if you don’t put cake in. freezer. how are supposed to get hot cake out of pan and put in freezer?
Hi Sandy, if you don’t put it in the freezer it will still be delicious just not as moist. But we put the whole cake (pan and all) in the freezer. So make sure you are using a freezer safe pan. Some readers have let their glass pans cool for a bit first before putting in the freezer to prevent cracking. I hope that helps!
I’m wondering, have the best way to keep this cake for a few days cause, I might make it a day or 2 before I’m going to eat it with friends, but also, if we don’t eat at all, it’s best to put a tinfoil on it and keep it in. The refrigerator or what’s the best way to so it doesn’t get soggy and it doesn’t get dry, thank you. I appreciate any advice you can give it sounds delicious and I’m going to make it. Weekend
I usually store it in the refrigerator, with plastic wrap on top of the baking dish or in an air tight container. I try to leave it at room temp at least 30 min before serving too. I hope that helps!
Are you supposed to wrap it in plastic wrap before you freeze it?
Kim, if it is only in the freezer for the 45 minutes then there is no need to wrap it in plastic wrap.
Hi there
Can this cake be made on a Bundt pan for a prettier presentation?
Many thanks
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!
Straight forward recipe and absolutely delicious!!
I cut down on the icing sugar in the frosting to reduce the sweetness and bring out the tang from the lemon. Perfect flavour combination.
Stupidly complicated and the whole cake mix curdled. Spent €20 on ingredients and threw it in the bin.
I am sorry that happened, Lou. I am not sure exactly what happened but when making the buttermilk (adding milk to lemon juice) it can cause tiny curds to appear. This is normal and doesn’t affect the end results of the cake. Your batter could also look curdled or lumpy if your eggs and butter aren’t at room temperature before combining or if the liquid is added too quickly or the batter is beaten for too long. This shouldn’t affect the baked cake though. I hope that helps!
Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe! I made this for my daughter’s first birthday smash cake and shareable for the adults and it was a hit!! This will now be one of our birthday traditions thank you, thank you!!!
Rather than a cake, could I use this in a muffin tin and make cupcakes?
Understanding cook time will vary and I’d have to watch them carefully.
I want to take this to an event and Cupcakes’s are so much easier to grab.
I’ve made the cake and it is delicious!!
Raelene, while I haven’t tried it, many readers have successfully made this into cupcakes. I would suggest filling your cupcake liners ⅔ full and baking for about 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. We would love to hear how it goes for you!
What exactly is the point of pre-heating the oven to 350 if you immediately turn it down to 300 when you put the cake in?
This helps to improve the rise while reducing the temperature helps the cake to cook without browning too much.
I’m so bummed, I read through this several times and didn’t see the part about reducing the heat until it was too late. that’s so frustrating, especially since I used the last of my flour for it. I wish it had been maybe listed in a separate step or something considering it’s such an important step. I guess my kid is getting store bought cake today unless the freezer trick is somehow able to work some magic.
Oh no! I am so sorry to hear that Ashley. Hopefully you are still able to salvage it!
This is tasty but unfortunately I didn’t notice the reduction in temperature of the oven so it’s not as moist as it could be. I will definitely try it again though when I’m paying closer attention. The freezer trick is interesting and maybe it salvaged my cake. Sadly I did over bake it though.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing this amazing recipe. This cake has become a tradition in our family. My son even bakes this cake for his children now. My daughter just asks me when she wants this cake for Birthdays, holiday dessert or just because she loves it. BRAVO
I set my timer for 40 minutes so I could turn my pan around and the cake was already overcooked and dry. 60-70 minutes is extremely incorrect.
I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you, we’ve made it several times and it always comes out moist and delicious. If you don’t turn down the oven, the cake will become overcooked.
Cake turned out perfect thanks for a great way to use those overripe bananas. I’m getting tired of banana muffins!!
It’s a beautiful cake, so moist and flavorful