If you are looking for a Banana Cake with PURE banana flavor, this is the cake for you! It is based on my favorite Banana Muffins recipe. I did leave out one ingredient that might be a game-changer… scroll down to see more about that!
Banana Cake
So I am a brat when it comes to banana cake. I have another Banana Cake on my blog which is a giant 3 layer cake with fresh homemade banana curd. (It’s AHmazing BTW) These recipes have one big thing in common and that is NO CINNAMON. When it comes to banana cake I don’t want it to be banana bread. I want fresh, pure, perfect banana flavor. And this cake doesn’t disappoint! It is packed full of banana’s (3 cups!) and just enough sugar to sweeten them. It is dense yet light and has the most perfect crumb you will ever find. I often prefer this cake without any frosting at all, and when serving it naked you can also serve it for breakfast!
Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting
Because the star of this show is the banana sheet cake, I wanted to use a frosting that has a light and airy texture. This Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting still provides all of that classic joy that comes from Banana Cake + Cream Cheese Frosting, but goes a step further and makes it velvety smooth! I use a stand mixer when making this recipe just to incorporate as much airiness as possible, but it can also be done with a hand-held mixer.
Banana Cake Recipe
Let’s talk a little bit about how EASY this recipe is to put together. There are 7 ingredients in total. I was able to do that by using self-rising flour which took the place of the baking powder in the original recipe. It technically has a bit of salt in it, so you can opt to omit the salt I have listed in the recipe if you prefer. (But if you are frosting the cake with the Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting which is VERY sweet, be sure to leave the salt in the first time you make it. After that you can tweak to your preference.)
Self Rising Flour vs. All-Purpose Flour
Because the self-rising flour has baking powder already in it, switching out to all-purpose flour is very easy. Simply follow the recipe as listed but in place of self-rising, use the same amount of all-purpose flour and then add 2 teaspoons of baking powder.
Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
I mentioned above that you can eat this for breakfast because it is based on my banana muffin recipe. But OH MY WORD what that whipped cream cheese frosting does to this cake!!! It’s magical. Pure heaven. You will never want to make regular ole cream cheese frosting again!
I shared the cake with many friends and family and got RAVE reviews from everyone who tried it. I have a feeling it will be your new favorite Banana Cake and the only Banana Cake Recipe you will ever need!
Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Banana Cake
- ⅔ cup (152g) unsalted butter, melted
- 8 ripe (3 cups)bananas, mashed
- 1½ cups (300g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups (360g) sifted, self-rising flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1½ cups (357g) cold heavy whipping cream
- 8 ounces package cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 cup (120g) confectioners sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon table salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Banana Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare a 10x15-inch baking pan with butter and flour or non-stick spray.
- Melt butter and set aside to cool slightly.
- In a large bowl, mash bananas with a fork or with a hand-held mixer.
- Add butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla and mix well.
- Add in the flour and salt and stir until all ingredients are incorporated.
- Bake for 18-25 minutes. You want the top to be a light golden brown and an inserted toothpick to be removed mostly clean. The cake should have risen in the middle and spring back if you press gently with your finger.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or hand-held mixer), beat cold whipping cream on medium-high until stiff peaks form; about 2-3 minutes. Place whipped cream into a separate bowl and clean out stand mixer bowl.
- In clean stand mixer bowl (or using a hand-held mixer) whip cream cheese until light and smooth. Add in sugar, salt, and vanilla and beat until fully incorporated.
- Remove bowl from stand mixer and gently fold whipped cream into cream cheese mixture.
- Can be used immediately. You can store in the refrigerator until ready to use, just be sure to bring to room temperature before piping or spreading.
Video
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Thank you for making my recipe! You took pictures, right? Well go ahead and post them on Instagram! Be sure to mention me @iambaker and use the hashtag #YouAreBaker.
LYNNSOLIS, the salt is usually added to the flour before adding it to the wet ingredients in most recipes. Hope this helps.
5 stars for the Banana Cake and cream cheese frosting Bravo absolutely love it best banana cake recipe around Thankyou for such a Heavenly cake and frosting recipe Karen Cotton
So glad you enjoyed it Karen!
I didn’t have self rising flour so I added the baking powder like u said to. I didn’t have ripe bananas so I put them in the oven like u said to, cake turned out very dense, and no flavor, threw the whole thing away, and it was for Thanksgiving
So sorry that happened to you! However, I did not say to use bananas that are not ripe. There is no flavor in unripened bananas when it comes to baking.
This recipe is amazingly good, i love banana cake
I have a recipe that is very similar. However, I make a chocolate butter cream frosting made with cocoa and that is a delicious alternative to the cream cheese frosting and goes so well with the banana flavor of the cake.This is my favorite cake.
I notice the banana cake does not have baking soda. I was wondering if that makes a difference to the moistness as I’ve never seen a banana cake without it. I would like to try this but I’m hesitant because I find that cakes without baking soda tend to go dry very quickly.
Also your cake is very pale in colour when most banana cakes are golden or brown.
I used Cake Flour which has enough levening in it! Yes, it is very pale in color and still loaded with flavor!
I made this, and it was delicious. But mine turned out brown like banana bread. Any idea why?
I’ve made this banana cake recipe twice and I love it. I wanted a banana cake that didn’t taste like bread or be as dense as bread and this one is great. I would like to have different cooking times for different size pans or cupcakes, etc. Thanks!!!
Was disappointed. Very dense and the frosting was weird. I was hoping for a light fluffy banana cake.
Hi, Dar! I work with iambaker and am happy to help with questions. To prevent a dense cake, make sure to use room temperature eggs. In addition, try not to over cream the butter and sugar. I hope this helps, and have a great day!
Wow wow wow, thanks a lot. I always throw away my ripe bananas, now I can make use of it. The explanation is very easy to understand. I’m going to give it a trial. 😘😘