Step up your cake baking with this amazing, delicious, and elegant banana cake recipe that is sure to impress everyone with the look and taste!
Jump to RecipeWhen my youngest son, Ryan, asked me to have a banana party for his third birthday, I was at a loss for what to do for food. I have a few recipes I make with bananas, but nothing that would be good for a birthday cake. So, of course, I scoured the internet for ideas, while also trying to come up with my own. I found a recipe (here) that is called the Best Ever Banana Cake. I figured I would give it a shot. My cake was very similar to this, and it was a hit! Everyone loved the cake. I hadn’t even tried it before we served it for the party. I warned everyone that it was something new and no guarantees.
The original recipe says to bake it in a 9×13 baking pan, but I wanted a round cake for Ryan. So I did it a bit different than the directions. Either way, this cake was amazing.
If you plan to make a banana cake (and you totally should), you need to have a few hours to make it. The cake itself is easy to mix, but it has to bake for over an hour. Then, if you want to frost the cake, you need to let it cool entirely first, so the frosting doesn’t melt right off.
I made a cream cheese frosting for the cake. It works really well with the cake, and I just love cream cheese frosting! The cake stays very moist with the bananas in it and will last for a few days if refrigerated.
The recipe makes a lot of frosting. The first time I only used a little to hold the two layers together. But I ended up with a decent amount of leftover frosting. I would put more in the middle next time to get a nice layer of frosting.
I’ve found a trick to keep your serving plate clean. Cut up pieces of parchment paper and slide them slightly under the edges of the cake all the way around. Frost your cake. Once it’s done gently pull the pieces of parchment paper away. Your serving plate will be clean of stray frosting.

Step by Step
Preheat the oven to 275F. I thought this seemed low at first. But the cake stayed very moist since it was slow-cooked. Grease and flour your cake pans. I used two 9-inch round pans for my cake.

Mash the bananas in a small bowl and mix in the lemon juice to keep them from turning brown.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt and set that aside.

Cream together butter and sugar in a large bowl using an electric mixer or a stand mixer.

Add the eggs, one at a time, as well as the vanilla extract.

Then beat in small amounts of the flour and buttermilk at a time, alternating between the two.

Add the mashed bananas.

Pour the batter into your cake pan(s) and bake for at least one hour, until a toothpick comes out clean. My cakes took closer to an hour and a half until they were done, so make sure to keep a close eye on their progress.

Remove the cakes from the oven and cool on a wire rack until they are completely cooled.
When you are ready to frost the cakes, combine the butter and cream cheese in a large bowl. Use an electric mixer or stand mixer to beat until they are smooth and creamy. Add in the vanilla extract.

Slowly add the powdered sugar to the bowl on low speed until it is all combined, then turn up the speed to mix until the frosting is smooth. If you want to add any color (I suggest yellow since it is a banana cake), then add it in before turning up the speed.

Frost your cakes, putting some in between the layers if you made multiple cakes. Slice up enough bananas to go around the top. Last, I sprinkled the cake with some yellow sugar sprinkles. If you put color in the frosting, you probably don’t need the sprinkles as well.


Recipe
Originally Published On: March 21, 2018
Last Updated On: January 9, 2020

Elegant and Creamy Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp flour
- 3 bananas (overripe)
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 12 tbsp butter (softened)
- 2 1/8 cups granulated sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
- 8 tbsp butter (softened)
- 8 oz cream cheese (softened)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 275F
- Grease and flour your cake pan(s)
- Mash the bananas in a small bowl and mix with lemon juice
- Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside
- In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy using an electric mixer or stand mixer
- Add in the eggs, one at a time, then the vanilla extract
- Mix in the flour and buttermilk, a little at a time, alternating between the two
- Stir in the mashed bananas
- Pour the batter into the cake pan(s) and bake for about one hour, until a toothpick comes out clean (cook time will vary based on the size of the cake pan used)
- Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack
- When the cakes are completely cool and ready to frost, cream butter and cream cheese together with an electric mixer or stand mixer
- Beat in the vanilla extract
- Slowly add the powdered sugar while mixing on low speed
- Set the mixer to high speed and mix until the frosting is smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed
- Frost the cake as desired
- Decorate with extra sliced bananas and sprinkles if desired
All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutrition content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.
I have never had banana cake before but I like the bread so I’m sure this would be delicious too. I also tend to skip making the frosting but with the cream cheese in this it is pretty tempting.
This is somewhat similar to banana bread, but in a cake form! And definitely add the cream cheese frosting, it makes the cake so yummy 🙂
this look fairly easy and simple to make! It sure looks delicious, who doenst love a good creamy banana cake! On my to do list!
It really isn’t much harder than making any other cake! I only make it look so pretty because it was for a party. But if you’re making it for yourself, then it would be even easier since I wouldn’t worry about getting the frosting on so smoothly.
Going to have to make this great looking banana cake. Love the look of it. Bet it is so moist and good. We love our bananas.
The bananas really help keep the cake moist inside. It’s similar to banana bread but taken to a completely new level!
Banana cake AND a cream cheese frosting?? You are speaking my language. This is perfection!
Yep, both of them, together, is an awesome combination!!
A banana cake is an awesome idea and not something I would have thought to look for. Hope your son enjoyed it!
I was surprised at just how yummy the cake was! He really enjoyed it and still talks about his banana party even as we are starting to plan his 5th birthday party now!!
banana cakes are my favorite! Love that this recipe yields a moist cake because that’s how I like it:) Oh and that cream cheese frosting is the perfect combo!
Oh my gosh, the cream cheese frosting is what really pulls this whole cake together.
This cake looks so delish!! I love bananas and this is a great way to use some up since they can go bad fast.
Yes! We always have bananas in the pantry and as much as my boys love them, some don’t get eaten quick enough.
Ooh, that looks simply amazing! It reminds me a bit of the yummiest birthday cake I ever had – a banana cake with chocolate frosting and mini chocolate chips mixed into the batter! MMMMMMM!
Oh man, that sounds amazing too! I will have to try that next time. I love chocolate and bananas together.
This cake looks and sounds amazing. It’d be perfect for Easter!
April
I didn’t even think about that, but yes, it would be a great Easter one, too!
Oh i love this banana cake. It’s a perfect for my aunt’s birthday party. Thanks for sharing.
Awesome, I hope your aunt enjoys her birthday and the cake!
This is the most delicious looking banana cake I’ve ever seen! I always feel like banana breads and cakes taste better than they look…but this cake LOOKS sooooo delicious too!
I know what you mean, it can be hard to make certain foods look as yummy as they taste!
I love banana cakes and I must say that the cake looks delicious. I have never tried it with cream cheese frosting. But after looking at this recipe, I am craving for a slice.
Oh man, you definitely need to try the cream cheese frosting on it! I may be a bit biased because cream cheese frosting is my favorite, but it adds so much to the cake.
This looks like a dream come true! It looks so fluffy and soft! I wish could not have bananas allergies and just eat it!
Oh yeah, a banana allergy would not be good with this cake. My boys wouldn’t know what to do with a banana allergy as they both have one almost every day!
Banana is one of my favorite flavors so I try to bake with it as often as possible. This cake looks so yummy!!!
We love all things banana here, too. Hence why Ryan wanted a “banana party” for his birthday!!
I absolutely love a good banana cake! This recipe sounds amazing….I can wait to try it!!!
This was the first time I had a banana cake, and it was so good! I hope you like my version, too.
I love banana bread! This looks like it would be even more amazing. I will have to try making it soon.
Yes! It’s like giving an upgrade to your banana bread 🙂