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
Hello Holly,
Made your banana cake today, and it is amazing! The batter was enough for two 6″X3″ cake pans, and 6 regular size cupcakes. The are not over powering in sweetness (as other recipes). I did however find that once I’ve added the eggs, the batter seemed to have separated at the bottom ( I have a glass bowl kitchaid mixer). Therefore, I had to stop a couple times to scrap the bottom and mix on high for JUST until it back together then quickly added the dry before it separated again. My thoughts were, maybe this is why others were having problems. Anyhow, Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipe :)
My cake turned out dense. But the flavour was gorgeously yum.
Getting ready to try this cake!! Can a ceramic pan be used?
Yes, a ceramic pan can be used.
do these bananas need to be really ripe for the flavor?
Yes, they should be ripe.
Just made this cake with cake flour, omitting the baking soda and salt, and accidentally used 1 1/2 c of mashed bananas… but it turned out great!
Nothing wrong with a little substitution to any recipe :) Glad to hear they still tasted great!
OK I made it today. But I just added a bit extra lemon in the icing and I added nuts to the cake and OMG it was good. Thank God I had the first little peace because there is none left, it was gone within minutes lol
I just made this exactly like it read. It did not rise it is mushy I have never had a cake fail before ever I am ticked. All that time all those ingredients in the trash . Yes my baking soda was a new one I used king Arthur flour I had everything it said at room temp . If I score this _0
I’m sorry this didn’t work for you. I can’t say for sure what went wrong as this recipe has great feedback. Was your milk soured with lemon juice (or vinegar)?
I’m trying to find out in your banana cake recipe when to add the milk?
This is added in step 5.
HI Shirley,
Did your batter seem to separate once the eggs were added? If so, this also happen to me, I scraped the bottom, then mixed on high speed until it all came together and fluffed, then quickly add some of the dry before it had time to separate again. Just a thought. I would definitely give it another try, I made it tonight (I’m a hobby baker) and it was amazing!
Good Luck!
Made the banana cake. It was very good. I will be making again.
Thank you! Glad you thought it was delicious!
I made this cake tonight and added double the lemon juice in the icing since it turns out I have no “zester” and I absolutely had pregnant mommy brain when I put the softened butter into the batter because I put two whole sticks!! I’m going on 20 minutes past the 55 recommended so that may be why! Hahaha smells amazing
As long as it tastes great, that’s all that matters! LOL
Is there any sugar alternatives ? That I can use to make this cake ? My sister has diabetes.
I have only made this as written however if you choose another sweetener, there are usually directions on the package that will tell you how to substitute in baking.
I didnt reduce heat to 300 F after I put the cake in and only cooked for 40 mins and it turned out great
I have made many different versions of banana breads, and cakes. This is by far my favorite banana cake I have ever baked. The only thing I would do differently is reduce the amount of lemon juice and/or lemon zest in the cream cheese frosting. This is just a personal preference. I can’t thank you enough for posting this recipe. This is a keeper =)
So glad you loved it Wendy!
Can you add pecans
Sure!
I cooked this today and it was great, I honestly cooked it at 350 degrees for 45 miNUTES and it turned out perfect. very delicious!
I am going to try this recipe this Saturday. I wonder if it will still turn out great in cupcake form?
While I haven’t tried it, several readers have and said they work great.
I was very unhappy with this cake but I used buttermilk thinking that you were making buttermilk with the lemon and milk. Do you think that might be why it was so dense? It did not call for baking powder right? I didn’t see baking powdered in the ingredients. Also I forgot to lower the temp, could that have been the reason as well?. I will try it again
Buttermilk does work just fine in this recipe. If you don’t lower the temperature, the cake will overcook so that would likely be the problem.
Cant wait to have a taste of dem all thank lady
How many bananas did you use? New to this baking desserts and want to make sure I have enough
Just read this on fb and really live banana cake.
Thanks.
You’ll need 3-4 bananas.
In instructions it daid turn oven on 350 then bake at 300 then i c 275 what is it? I bake mine at 300 was done in 50 min. Kind of dark so did i bake it wrong waiting for it too cool down to frost it i put a banana in it
The updated instructions are correct. Enjoy!
Wowzer! This cake was amazing! I make banana bread often, but this cake recipe is way better. So moist. The icing was a little too sweet for me, but top the cake with sliced bananas and it dulls it down a bit. Definitely a recipe I will be keeping in my catalog.
Thank you!
Sarah
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Sarah! We love this cake too!