This soft and fluffy Banana Cake is loaded with bananas and topped with a creamy vanilla frosting. A cozy, comforting and delicious treat!
This Banana Cake is a reminder that sometimes simple, old fashioned recipes really are the best. This cake is low maintenance, perfect for snacking, and 100% as cozy and comforting as a Banana Cake should be.
This sour cream-based cake batter is flavored with vanilla and mashed banana, and it bakes up moist and soft. The cake gets topped with a fluffy vanilla bean buttercream frosting. There are optional garnishes (see below), but, this cake is delicious enough to stand on its own, too.
MORE BANANA RECIPES: EASY BANANA BREAD – BANANA NUT MUFFINS – BANANA BUNDT CAKE
How To Make Banana Cake:
This is a simple 9×13 sheet cake. Preheat your oven, grease your cake pan and whip up the cake batter:
- Beat butter, egg, vanilla, and mashed banana.
- In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients: flour, baking soda and salt.
- Alternate adding the dry ingredients with sour cream until fully combined.
- Pour into the pan and bake for 25-30 minutes.
Tips for Making Banana Cake:
- Use overripe bananas. Brown speckled overripe bananas are extra sweet and mash really easily, making them ideal for this cake.
- I chose to let the flavors of banana and vanilla be the stars of this recipe. If you prefer a spiced banana cake, you can add 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon right into the cake batter (add it into the dry ingredients).
- Oven times vary, begin checking the cake for doneness around 25 minutes, then every 2-4 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Toppings and Garnishes:
I adapted my favorite Vanilla Buttercream Frosting to make the perfect topping for this cake. To make the frosting:
- Beat butter, powdered sugar and salt.
- Add vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste and cream.
- Whip on high speed until fluffy and combined.
TIP: Adjust the consistency of the frosting by adding more powdered sugar (to thicken), or more milk (to thin). Using cream (instead of milk or half & half) will result in a fluffier frosting.
Garnishes (optional): Feel free to add chopped nuts, salted caramel sauce, sliced banana, or any garnish of your your choice onto the cake before serving. Note: sliced banana will turn brown, so wait to add it until right before serving.
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Banana Cake
Ingredients
Cake:
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 1 1/2 cups mashed very ripe banana approximately 3 large bananas
Frosting:
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened to cool room temp
- 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar plus more, if needed
- pinch of salt
- 1 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 2 teaspoons cream*, half and half or milk plus more, if needed
- sliced banana, chopped nuts, salted caramel sauce optional garnishes
Instructions
Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Using a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add eggs, vanilla and mashed banana, beating until combined, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. The mixture might look curdled, that's OK.
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Add half of the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, beating until just combined. Add the sour cream, beating until combined. Then mix in the remaining dry ingredients, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- Pour the batter into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, around 25-30 minutes. Place the pan on a wire rack to cool completely.
Frosting:
- Using a hand mixer, or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, half of the powdered sugar and a pinch of salt until well-combined (starting out the mixer low and increasing to medium-high). Slowly add the remaining powdered sugar, followed by the extract and 1 teaspoon cream, beating until combined. Continue to add more cream, a little bit at a time, until you reach your desired consistency. If necessary, add a little more powdered sugar to thicken. Turn the mixer to medium-high and beat well for 1 minute, until fluffy.
- Dump the frosting onto the cooled cake and spread it into an even layer. Top with optional garnishes, if desired.
Sarah M says
I needed a ‘no nuts’ cake for the schools cake walk fundraiser. This will do perfect…. with out the chopped nuts in the frosting. Thank you!!
Pam Greer says
Your are so right, classic old fashioned recipes are the best! This banana cake is a family favorite and is always requested for dessert or snacking!