This banana cake is so light and fluffy. A lot of banana cake recipes seem more like banana bread with frosting. NOT this cake! After you make this recipe, I promise it'll be your go-to banana cake batter recipe for cake or even banana cupcakes.
This post does contain affiliate links. Please see my Affiliate Link Policy.
There is a bakery that we frequent in our area called Icing on the Cake. This bakery is one of the bakeries that, on the weekend, you can find a line out the door. Cookies and cupcakes are flying off the racks.
One of my favorite things at Icing on the Cake is there banana cake recipe. Their cake is light and fluffy. If you’ve ever tried making banana cake before, you probably know that it can be really heavy. It sometimes seems more like a quick bread.
This recipe is perfect for making not only cakes but banana cupcakes. And the cream cheese frosting is soo good with the sweet cake.
Lucky for me, my friend Kit had worked hard to recreate their recipe. It turns out that Icing On The Cake’s Banana Cake was her family’s favorite too!
Kit brought over this cake one afternoon and showed me how to make it. Since then, I’ve made it several times. It ‘s a hit every time!
Why This Is the Best Banana Cake Recipe
- This banana cake is moist and fluffy.
- The Cream Cheese Frosting is AMAZING!
- Whenever I serve this cake, it makes people happy, and I get a million requests for the recipe.
Foodology Geek Recipe Notes
Not only is this banana cake easy to make, but it's also super easy to eat. Here are a few tips before you get started!
Ingredients Needed to Make Banana Cake
- Dry Ingredients: Flour, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt. I've used both all-purpose flour and cake flour in this recipe. I didn't notice a significant difference either way. The cake is moist and fluffy, using either type of flour.
- Sugar: I use granulated white sugar in this cake recipe.
- Butter and Eggs: Make sure the butter and eggs are room temperature. I always use unsalted butter when baking.
- Bananas: 3 very ripe banana. The blacker, the better. Overripe bananas have a lot of sugar and give this cake it's sweet banana flavor. You will want to peel and mash the bananas with a fork or a potato masher. Add the vanilla to the banana and mix.
- Sour Cream: Sour cream is the key to getting a light, fluffy crumb in this cake. Sour cream has a perfect balance of acidity and fat. The acidity helps to bolster the performance of the baking soda. The fat and acid help to inhibit the formation of gluten in flour, so the cake crumb remains tender and moist.
- Other: Vanilla and Salt
How to Make Banana Cake
- Get Ready to Bake: Preheat your oven to 350℉. Then grease and flour two round cake pans. Alternatively, you can bake this cake as a sheet cake in a 9 by 13-inch cake pan. Make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature.
- Sift together the dry ingredients: If you don't have a sifter, you can add the dry ingredients to a bowl and whisk them together.
- Cream the butter and sugar: After the butter and sugar are light and fluffy, add the eggs, and then continue to mix until blended.
- Alternately add the bananas and flour: Add half of the bananas and then half of the flour mix until everything is just incorporated. Then add the remaining banana and then flour. Mix again. Do not overmix.
- Bake: Add the batter to the cake pans and then bake 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean from the center of the cake.
- Cool: Before frosting, allow the cake to cool for several hours.
Variations and FAQs
Can I use gluten-free flour?
I haven't tested baking this cake with gluten-free flour. I would love to hear about it if you do try it, though. I have swapped out King Arthurs Gluten Free flour for many recipes and not had an issue.
Piña-Colada Filling for This Cake
I have made several times a pineapple and coconut filling for this cake. To do this, beat heavy cream and coconut cream together with a little bit of coconut extract. Drain crushed pineapple and fold it into the mixture. Fill the middle layer with this piña-colada whipped cream filling.
Other recipes you might like
If you like this cake recipe, here are a few more of my favorite cake recipes. Give one or two a try!
- Gluten-Free Carrot Cake
- Vanilla Cupcakes
- Guinness Cupcakes with Whiskey Ganache
- Bleeding Halloween Cupcakes
- Mocha Cake
- Swedish Birthday Cake
- Apple Cake
- Pavlova with Berries and Lemon Curd
Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Equipment
- Cake Lifter
- Icing Spatula
- Icing Comb
- Sifter
- Potato Masher
- 9-inch Round Cake Pans
Ingredients
Banana Cake
- 2 ½ cups cake flour
- 3 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 medium bananas very ripe, peeled, and mashed
- 1 cup sour cream room temperature
- 3 tsp vanilla
- 1 ½ cup sugar
- 1 cup butter (2 sticks) room temperature
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 large egg yolks room temperature
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 16 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
- 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks) room temperature
- 4 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 cups powdered sugar sifted
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
Banana Cake
- Position the oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat to 350°F degrees.
- Grease and flour two cake pans (9" diameter)
- Whisk the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl (flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt). Set aside.
- Mash the bananas in another bowl. [I use a flat bottomed bowl and a potato masher.] Add the sour cream and the vanilla to mashed bananas. Mix well. Set aside.
- Beat the sugar and butter together in a large bowl using an electric mixer. Beat for at least 3 minutes. Add the eggs and egg yolks. Continue beating until well blended.
- Add the dry ingredients and the banana mixture into the sugar, butter and egg mixture. ALTERNATE the addition of the dry and wet ingredients, starting with the dry and ending with the dry. Stir after each addition until the added ingredients are just combined.
- Divide the batter between the two prepared cake pans.
- PRO-TIP: If you have a kitchen scale, weigh each of the pans to ensure that the batter is divided evenly.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. All the cake to cool completely on a rack before icing.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together using an electric mixer.
- Add the salt, and then the sifted powdered sugar, one cup at a time.
- Beat until smooth after each addition.
Thanks a lot Laura for this wonderful recipe. I just finished baking and the result seems perfect. My entire house smells so good. It's 10pm now (I'm in Indonesia), will continue the frosting tomorrow morning. Meanwhile I'll wrap them and refrigerate first. My kids can't wait to try this cake 😄
Once again, thank you for making my evening so delightful.
Does this have to be refrigerated with the cream cheese frosting?
I probably would refrigerate it. Especially, if it's warm in your house. When it is cooler, I have left it out overnight with not problem.
Made this cake recently and absolutely loved it! Such a great cake with THE most delicious frosting! Such a great cake recipe for any occasion!
Thanks Jessica! I'm so happy to hear that you loved this cake.
Couldn’t wait to make this recipe. I did modify it by using less sugar in the cake as well as the frosting and I added another banana and 1 more tsp of vanilla in the frosting. Next time I think 1/2 the salt in the frosting would be better. Overall I think it’s a good cake but not the ultimate banana cake.
Phyllis, I am so glad you liked the cake. Thank you for the feedback.
Modifying the ingredients always leads to a little bit different results. Sugar adds moisture to the cake. Banana cake is tricky to get a fluffy and light texture. A lot of times, the cake ends up being more like banana bread. The flour to sugar ratio and the acid in this cake are what give this cake it's light fluffiness.
How long and what temp to bake cupcakes?
Kristina, The cupcakes will still bake at 350℉. Reduce the time to 15-25 minutes. Most likely it will be about 18 minutes. But make sure a toothpick comes out clean. If you do have a probe thermometer, the internal temp for perfect cake/cupcakes should be between 205 and 210℉.
Very moist and tasty cake !
A couple of notes-
Recipe calls for salt in the frosting but instructions do not include the addition of this. I wasn’t sure if I was to add or not, so I skipped it.
A reminder to sift the powdered sugar would have been helpful for me. I should have thought of it, but didn’t, and my frosting was a little lumpy.
Karen, Thank you for pointing that out! I've updated the recipe! Thank you for all of the feedback! It's very helpful!
Just baked this cake ...smells sooo good! Can't wait to eat it!😁 Thank you for sharing!
Thank you Cheyanne, I hope it tasted as great as it smelled! This is definitely one of my favorite cakes. Thank you for sharing a review!!
I'm baking it right now. Can you tell me how long to bake if I use a 9×13 pan please?
Kim,
The bake time should be the same for the 9x13 pan. Although timing can vary based on different ovens. If you have a probe thermometer you can check the internal temp it should be around 205 degrees F.
It took 40 or 50 minutes for my 9x13
Thank you Diana! I hope the cake was delicious. Did you use a thermometer? Or just a toothpick?