This banana cake is so light and fluffy. A lot of banana cake recipes seem more like banana bread with frosting. NOT this cake!
This cake recipe makes a delicious light banana cake and equally delicious banana cupcakes. The cream cheese frosting is so good with the sweet cake.
After you make this banana cake recipe, I promise it'll be your go-to recipe not only for cake but for banana cupcakes too.
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 their 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 heavy and dense.
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.
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 (about 1 generous cup). 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 have 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.
Hungry for More Cake Recipes?
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
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Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Equipment
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.
Laura's Tips + Notes
- 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 bananas (about 1 generous cup). The blacker, the better. Overripe bananas have a lot of sugar and give this cake its 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 the flour, so the cake crumb remains tender and moist.
- Other: Vanilla and Salt
- This makes a ton of frosting.
- I used probably only 75% of it for the cake in the photos.
- There is extra in case you want to do any piping or decoration which many of my readers have done.
- If you do make this cake as a sheet cake, definitely only make one-half of the frosting.
- 2 cups of heavy whipping cream
- optional: a few tablespoons of coconut cream (I like karas brand)
- 1 small can of crushed pineapple, drained (you'll use ⅓ to ½ cup of crushed pineapple.)
- ⅓ to ½ cup of shredded coconut
- ½ teaspoon of coconut extract. I usually use coconut extract paste. You can adjust this to taste.
- Whip the heaving cream until it is nice and fluffy. You want it to be a little bit on the stiff side.
- Fold in the remaining ingredients.
- I don't ever add extra sweetener. But if you wanted the filling a little bit sweeter you could add a few teaspoons of brown sugar.
Hi Laura! Thanks for confirming one cup of bananas. As I said, I was making the cake for Cake4Kids. It came out fantastic, so fantastic, in fact we have made it for cupcakes several times. And it will be a featured cupcake at my sons engagement party this weekend. Thanks again
Carrie, That is so awesome to hear! I am so glad that this banana cake is bringing joy to friends and family. I feel honored that this recipe will be part of a new beginning at your son's engagement party. I love the way new memories are created by sharing happy times and delicious food! Thank you again.
Second time- killed it! Frosting is the best I ever made . Lite fluffy the perfect sweet. The cake fluffy and perfect. This is my favorite cake of all time. With the pan, same pan as the first time it cooked in 55 mins. I did one layer, I’m lazy. Family loved it too. 10 stars for this recipe.
Yay! I'm so happy to hear that the BEST banana cake was a success!!! This cake really is my favorite!!! So good.
Hi Laura!
I’m so happy I found this recipe...and you! I’m familiar with Icing on the Cake and live nearby in Willow Glen. I’m making this cake for a Foster youth request from Cakes4Kids, a volunteer baking organization for at risk youth.
I have a question about the bananas. The recipe calls for 3 medium but size can be subjective. What is the final measurement needed in the recipe? 1 cup?
Thanks in advance!
Carrie,
That's awesome! My friend that originally shared this recipe for me also does cakes for Cakes4Kids. Small world. I would say 3 cups is about right. Make sure it's mashed for the measurement. I will actually weigh it out next time I make this cake.
Wow! Small world indeed!
Just confirming....did you mean to say “1 cup is about right”?
Yes, 1 cup is about right. Let me know how it comes out.
I made this cake. I used a different size pan so my cake was not completely cooked even after I added 5 minutes. The center sinked. However the rest was fabulous. Moist just perfectly sweet and the best cake ever because I love banana. My family agreed. I plan on making it again and again. I didn’t make the frosting because it wasn’t 100%, but I can only imagine how good it’s going to be. This is definitely a keeper recipe. Thank you for creating it.
Thank you, Cynthia! I am so glad you loved this recipe. One pro-tip I use when I'm baking in different size pans is using a probe thermometer to test the temperature of the cake (or any other baked good() to make sure it is thoroughly cooked. Sometimes it's hard to tell, especially with really moist cakes.
Cakes should be 200℉ on the inside when they are done.
Hello! I made this cake and it was so delicious! My family loved it! My question is can you freeze this cake to be frosted later? Thank you!
Yes you can freeze the cake. Just wrap in tightly with several layers of plastic wrap. I like to add a layer of foil too. Cake usually freezes beautifully!! I’m so glad you loved this cake. Thank you for the review.
Colleen, Yes you should be able to substitute the greek yogurt for the sour cream. The cake my have a slightly different flavor.
I just did a practice round for my daughter’s first birthday cake... let me just say I am TERRIBLE at baking, but what on earth did I do wrong?! 😭
The cake and cupcakes (I split the batter into a small cake and 12 cupcakes) bubbled over and then sunk in so flat in the middle. It looks super wet, but the sides are almost burning and a toothpick doesn’t pick up any batter...
It almost sounds like your oven temperature was off. Sometimes oven thermostats are not set correctly. The best way to check it is to my an internal oven thermometer and set the oven to your desired temperature and then check it against the internal thermometer.
Here is one you can try: https://www.zoro.com/taylor-analog-oven-thermometer-with-100-to-600-f-3506/i/G9468627/feature-product?utm_source=google&utm_medium=surfaces&utm_campaign=shopping%20feed&utm_content=free%20google%20shopping%20clicks&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIs8qXwfC87wIVSSitBh3rIg7WEAQYAiABEgI4BfD_BwE
Can I use plain greek yogurt for the sour cream?
For some reason earlier I could reply directly to you. It kept leaving a comment above. Any how. Yes you can use Greek yogurt in this recipe.
Made this for a birthday cake, but used 3 large bananas which amounted to almost 2 cups of bananas. I think the normal amount should be 1 cup? Because u had to almost double the cooking time and it was not light and fluffy. Still delicious though.
Halved the frosting but it seemed runny so used 2 C powdered sugar instead of 1.5. Probably my favorite cream cheese frosting ever!!
Thank you so much for the review! I'm so happy that this cake came out delicious for you. I have had that issue with cream cheese frosting too. I think depending on the brand of cream cheese and how you measure the powdered sugar. Luckily it's flexible.
I’ve made this cake 4 times only change is in the frosting. Today though my family is looking at very ripe bananas and their telling me it’s time to make the banana cake BUT I don’t have enough sour cream but I have buttermilk. Will that work ?
Yes,
Buttermilk works great in this cake. You can substitute it.
Let me know how it comes out 💜
Laura
Icing on the Cake! This prompted me to snoop to find out where you're from. I lived/taught in San Jose for 7 years. Now I live just 30 min. away. This cake looks amazing and is giving me serious cravings!
Tara, what a small world! Definitely give this cake a try, and if you still live nearby, you can run by Icing On The Cake and compare!!! 🙂 They have so. many delicious cakes.
Hi Laura!
Random question:
Could you substitute Greek yogurt for the sour cream? Just a crazy idea I had! (I understand if it wouldn’t work 🙂
Thanks!
Mia
You could definitely substitute greek yogurt for the sour cream. I would recommend using full fat. It's the acid in the sour cream or yogurt that contributes to the tender crumb. I would love to hear if you give it a try.
Hi so excited to try this cake. What's the recipe you use for the pinacolada filling?
And for the icing amount wise, is it enough to crumb coat and coat again with decorating?
Hello 👋
Thank you! I can't wait to hear all about it.
The pina colad filling is whipped cream based. I will add it to the recipe notes. Which is a great idea btw.
Pina Colada Filling
2 cups of heavy whipping cream
1 small can of crushed pineapple, drained (you'll use 1/3 to 1/2 cup of crushed pineapple.)
1/3 to 1/2 cup of shredded coconut
1/2 teaspoon of coconut extract. I usually use the coconut extract paste. You can adjust this to taste.
Whip the heaving cream until it is nice and fluffy. You want it to be a little bit on the stiff side.
Fold in the remaining ingredients.
I don't ever add extra sweetner. But if you wanted the filling a little bit sweeter you could add a few teaspoons of brown sugar.
I made it with a springform round pan and it came out perfect... problem when moving I can never find all Ky pans... thank you for the amazing recipe
Thank you so much for the reivew. It makes me so happy to hear that this recipe came out great for you.
Super yummy and easy recipe to follow! But the only made half he frosting recipe and had plenty! Will definately make again!
Hello, I’m new to baking. Regarding the eggs ( two eggs and two egg yolks), is this two eggs or four eggs?
Raven,
This will be 4 eggs total. You should use two whole eggs and then separate the remaining two eggs and add only yolks. You can save the egg whites for a healthy frittata. 😎
There is no amount listed for sugar for the cake, luckily it was listed on the doubled recipe. Can’t wait to try it.
So sorry, I found it. 😆
Pam, I'm so glad you found it. Hopefully, you really enjoyed this cake. It's one of my family's favorites. 🙂
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.
Elliana,
Thank you so much for the review and your wonderful comment. I'm so glad to hear from you all the way from Indonesia. I hope the cake tastes as great as it smelled. 🙂
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?