Banana Bundt Cake with Brown Sugar Glaze – Thick and soft banana cake with a tender buttery crumb, topped with a decadent Brown Sugar Glaze. The BEST Banana Cake EVER!
This here is the only banana cake recipe you will need from now until the end of time. This is the BEST banana cake I have ever (I mean, ever!) sunk my teeth into.
Note: I now buy bananas, ban my family from consuming them, then wait for them to ripen so I can immediately bake this cake.
Also to be noted, I might need to move up one pants size if this banana cake habit doesn’t quit. Wah.
I have been on a search for the perfect banana cake for months. I went back and forth about whether it should be a sheet cake or a bundt cake. What should I top it with? Cream cheese frosting? Brown sugar glaze? Chocolate? Decisions, decisions.
All my testing landed me on this recipe, which comes from the brilliant Dorie Greenspan.
Banana Bundt Cake
I made very few changes to the cake recipe itself, and I would call it perfect. Nearly two cups of mashed bananas add the banana flavor, sour cream adds moisture and balances out the sweetness, vanilla extract compliments the bananas, and the right amount of butter creates a tender crumb. See what I said about perfect?
I resisted the urge to add cinnamon or chocolate chips in order to really allow the bananas to shine. I am so, so, happy with how this cake turned out. Its flavor and consistency are spot on.
This cake can absolutely hold its own as-is, without the brown sugar glaze. You can serve it plain, dusted with powdered sugar, or with a smear of salted butter. But, because I am a “more is more” type of girl, I went ahead and whipped up a brown sugar glaze to pour over this beautiful Banana Bundt Cake.
Brown Sugar Glaze
This quick and easy glaze is made with butter, brown sugar and vanilla. It tastes like carmel-praline-brown sugar heaven. It slowly drips down the sides of the cake, coating each bite with sweet and buttery deliciousness. The glaze firms up quickly, which means you don’t have to wait too long before diving in.
Bonus: the glaze also acts like glue if you choose to garnish your cake with chopped walnuts or pecans.
Now, what are you waiting for? You know you want a slice of this cake. Bake, eat, share and enjoy.
P.S. There’s bananas in it, so it can totally be eaten for breakfast, right? Morning, noon, or night – I will never, ever turn down a slice of this beauty.
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Banana Bundt Cake with Brown Sugar Glaze
The absolute BEST Banana Bundt Cake- Thick and soft banana cake with a tender buttery crumb, topped with a decadent Brown Sugar Glaze.
Ingredients
Cake:
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter softened
- 1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1 3/4 cups mashed very ripe bananas approx 4 bananas
- 1 cup sour cream I used light
Brown Sugar Icing:
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter cut into cubes
- 1/2 cup brown sugar packed
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup chopped toasted walnuts or pecans
Instructions
Cake:
Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
With a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter until smooth and creamy. Add sugar and beat for another minute, at medium speed, scraping down the bowl as necessary. Add vanilla, then beat in 1 egg at a time. Mix in bananas (the mixture might curdle, that's ok).
Add half of the dry ingredients, sour cream, and then the remaining dry ingredients, mixing between each addition.
Thoroughly grease a 12-cup bundt pan and add the batter to the pan. Rap the pan on the counter a couple times (to remove air bubbles), then smooth if the top. Bake for 55-65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Loosely cover the cake with foil if it starts to get dark (this was around 30 minutes for me). Place the pan on a wire rack until it is cool enough to handle, then carefully unmold the cake and place it back on the rack to cool completely.
Icing:
In a small saucepan combine butter, brown sugar and milk. Bring to a simmer, whisking frequently and cook until the sugar is dissolved, a minute or two. Remove from the heat and cool for 5 minutes.
Add vanilla, whisking to combine. Add powdered sugar 1/4 cup at a time, whisking vigorously, until you reach your desired consistency. The icing will start to firm up quickly so have the cake cooled and ready. Drizzle the icing over the cake and immediately sprinkle with nuts. The icing will set in a matter of minutes.
Can you make the icing ahead of time? If so, what’s the best way to bring back up to temp?
Hhhmmm, I’m not sure on this one. It would definitely need to be heated to thin it out again, but once you’ve added the powdered sugar it might separate when you heat it. I would really recommend making it right before putting it on the cake, it just takes a few minutes.
WOW this cake is simply gorgeous! I love the brown sugar glaze which make it absolutely beautiful and I bet it’s delicious.
What a great idea with the brown sugar glaze – YUM!!
Beautiful photos! This banana cake looks so fluffy and delicious! That glaze looks amazing too. Thanks for sharing.
What a gorgeous cake, I could do with a slice right now with a big cup of coffee!
My husband loves any kind of baked goods with bananas in it, so I am going to have to try out this recipe on him, because it looks and sounds delicious. Also, I am sure that with the addition of 1 cup of sour cream, it is going to be very moist. Many thanks to you for passing along this recipe to us!
My kiddos love anything with banana in it. I’m going to give this recipe a try! It looks beautiful!
im honestly not a huge fan of bananas but this looks AMAZING! I love anything with a good brown sugar glaze ha!
Oh wow, my husband would love this cake. Bananas are one of my favorite fruits, they are so good for you! The sour cream cuts the sweetness of this recipe, which I love.
This looks SO good!! Thank you!
This recipe looks delicious! I love anything with bananas!
My sister is a food blogger and she has a very similar orange bundt cake. I will show her this and ask her to make this for me!
What a great combination of flavors you have in this cake! I can’t wait to make this, how yummy!
i love banana bread specially if with walnut and Chocolate chips. Been keeping recipes.of.banana walnut.. will try this for sure.
Such a beautiful and simple cake with fabulous flavors!
BREAKFAST BUNDT CAKE! It’s got my vote. Two questions: Do you use a silicone or metal bundt pan? What plugin are you using for your recipes? I like it better than mine.
Thank you! Metal bundt pan. WP Recipe Maker for the plugin.
I love banana baked anything! This looks so good I’m gonna have to try it out!
This beautiful banana bundt cake was amazingly moist, tender and delicious! When making the brown-sugar glaze, I freely admit, I had to lick the whisk! Mmmm…it was good.
I love banana bread so I know I would love banana bundt cake! Need to try this!
Looks so good. Saving this recipe!
xoxo,
Angelle
http://www.dashingdarlin.com
Hi,
Can this cake freeze?
If you’re freezing the whole cake, I would recommend doing so without the glaze. Add the the glaze once it has thawed, right before serving. If you are freezing leftover slices, it should be fine to freeze with the glaze, although I have never tried it. Enjoy!