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!
Judith Wahlgren
This is a wonderful tasting recipe and worked great getting out of my bundt pan. My bundt pans are 8 cup so I also
had a bread pan to bake . It also turned out great. Thanks for the recipe
Celebrating Sweets
Fantastic! I’m glad enjoyed it. Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
Debbie
Made the banana cake with the brown sugar glaze…Wow it was delicious!
Celebrating Sweets
Fantastic! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. 🙂
Vee
Hi! Do I need to fridge the leftovers or room temperature will be OK? Thanks!
Celebrating Sweets
Hi! Room temp should be fine, unless your kitchen is really warm. Enjoy!
Nikki
I’m new to the baking thing, my bundt pan is also 8, so do I just pour 3/4 the batter in there?
Celebrating Sweets
Yes, that should work. You can use the remaining batter for cupcakes/muffins. The muffins should bake somewhere between 15-25 minutes. Enjoy!
Michelle
This was super yummy! I substituted brown sugar for the granulated sugar which made the batter more sticky but it turned out perfect! I couldn’t even wait for it to cool down before digging in so- no icing for the first few pieces I guess! Lol
Thanks so much for this super yummy banana cake!
Celebrating Sweets
You’re welcome, Michelle! Thanks for the kind review. Enjoy!
Linda Williams
can you substitute cake flour for all-purpose flour in this recipe
Celebrating Sweets
Hi, Linda. I have never tried that, so I can’t say for sure. I’ve only made this recipe as written. Thanks for stopping by!
Sha
Turned out beautifully! Thanks for the recipe. Followed the recipe to a T except I used homemade caramel sauce instead of the brown sugar glaze, just because the caramel has fewer ingredients (three!) and easier for me to whip up ha ha.
Celebrating Sweets
That sounds delicious! Thanks for taking the time to comment. Enjoy! 🙂
Taiya Gregory
This recipe is amazing. I have made it many times now! A few times I could not resist adding walnuts, coconut and chocolate chips into the batter! Thank you for this recipe!
Celebrating Sweets
That sounds delicious! I’m glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for stopping by.
Monique
The first time I made this, I made a mistake and put 1/2 cup packed brown sugar into the cake mixture as I was accidentally reading the glaze mixture at the time. Not one to throw away good ingredients, I tried to rectify the situation by adding 1 cup white sugar and calling it a day. (The recipe says 1 & 2/3 white sugar. ” My” recipe has 1 cup white sugar and 1/2 cup packed brown sugar for the cake recipe.)
I liked this mistake so much, I redo it every recipe! It worked great.
I also use 1 cup vanilla flavored yogurt instead of the sour cream.
Celebrating Sweets
Those changes sound delicious! Thanks for sharing! 🙂 -Allison
Carolyn
I baked this cake for a family gathering. Both my sons mentioned to me since that it was really good; I think they’d like to have it again. Everybody loved it. It was so pretty too, really made a nice presentation. Definitely a hit. Thank you!
Celebrating Sweets
I’m glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for taking the time to comment and share your experience. 🙂 -Allison