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.
Prefer a sheet cake? Try this Banana Cake topped with vanilla frosting.
Prefer a different flavor? Try this Pumpkin Bundt Cake.
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.
MORE BANANA RECIPES: BEST EVER BANANA BREAD – BANANA BROWN SUGAR FRENCH TOAST – BANANA BAKED OATMEAL
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Recipe
Banana Bundt Cake with Brown Sugar Glaze
Ingredients
Cake:
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 ⅔ cups granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ¾ cups mashed very ripe bananas, approx 4 bananas
- 1 cup sour cream, I used light
Brown Sugar Icing:
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- ½ cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 tablespoons milk
- ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- ¼ 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 out 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 ¼ 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.
Nutrition
Nutritional Information is an estimate based on third-party calculations and may vary based on products used and serving sizes.
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and rating below!
Linda
That is TOOOO much butter! Has anyone tried substituting applesauce for some of the butter? Thanks
Allison
Hi, Linda. I’ve only made the recipe as written. This recipe has tons of great reviews, so I assure you that amount of butter works in this recipe. If you want to play around with it you’re welcome to. Enjoy!
Gary
I have found that cutting the butter by 1T and adding a 1/2tsp of vanilla instead of 1/4 works well for the glaze if you’re not feeling all that butter but I’m a butter kinda guy so I always use the original recipe I also use this glaze on my maple brown sugar blueberry cake!!!
Chicky
This Banana Bundt Cake was a hit!!!
Awesome!!!
Allison
I’m glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
Sandy Senn
This cake was fabulous but I will say that it needs a very large Bundt cake pan as evidently mine was too small but I’m not complaining other than having to clean the oven a little bit because the cake was fabulous. I added candied bacon on top of the icing. Awesome!
Allison
Hi, Sandy. Yes, you need a 12-cup bundt pan (as specified in the recipe). Sorry to hear you had a mess in your oven. I’m glad you enjoyed it anyways. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
Caroline
Are there any substitutions I can use for sour cream or can I leave it out?
Allison
You can use plain yogurt. I think some other readers have tried buttermilk (you can check the comments). Enjoy!
Amanda
Hey I’ve made this cake several times and I always use heavy whipping cream and it turns out Amazing!
Kathryn lacombe
Best pound cake I have ever made! Thank you for providing this delicious recipe but unfortunately my waist dosen’t feel the same appreciation lol.
Allison
Haha! I agree. 🙂 I’m glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Natasha
Can I make this cake a few days ahead of when I need it for and make and put the icing on it the day of? What would the best way to store it in the meantime be?
Allison
Ye, that will be fine. I would store it in the fridge. Enjoy!
rae verrocchio
My husband loved it !!!!
autom
I have tried and tested many a bundt recipes and this one has become my go-to base recipe. Everything works perfectly per recipe (I simply substitute the mashed bananas with whatever puree’d fresh flavour I want 😉
CakeDude
I am a huge cake hobbyist and have tried and tested many an online recipe on bundts. This one has become my go-to base recipe. Everything works perfectly. I simply substitute the bananas with whatever fresh puree’d flavour I want (mango puree is bomb). Thanks for sharing this : )
Allison
Thanks for sharing your experience. I’m glad you enjoyed it. Happy baking!
john k
Everyone that tried this caked said it was one of the best I ever made! it was easy and really yummy. I am going to keep this for sure as one of my go to things to make. Thank you so much for posting this online!
Allison
You’re welcome. I’m glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂