Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Published 2/5/2023
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This banana cake with cream cheese frosting is creamy, moist, and full of yummy banana flavor. If you love banana bread or banana cream pie, you’re going to go nuts for this tasty cake. And it’s so easy to make!
Best Ever Banana Cake
If you’ve never had banana cake before, good. This is the only banana cake recipe you NEED in your life. Bananas are a secret ingredient in a lot of our dessert recipes. They add creamy flavor, are a natural sweetener, and make THE moistest cake. Ever. (Well, aside from our Tres Leches cake, which is soaked in milk.)
We can’t discuss this flavorful banana cake without mentioning the delicious cream cheese frosting made with PEANUT BUTTER. Yes, you read that right. What may seem like an unlikely pair is actually a heavenly match to this banana-flavored cake. I mean, who doesn’t love bananas with peanut butter anyway?
why you’ll love it!
- It’s a great recipe if you’ve got overripe bananas you don’t want to waste!
- The peanut butter cream cheese is HEAVENLY with the banana cake.
- Bananas give the cake a wonderful flavor and texture unmatched by other cakes.
- It’s an impressive cake that is great for any special occasion!
Banana Cake Ingredients
FOR THE CAKE
- Ripe bananas
- Granulated sugar
- Brown sugar
- Vegetable oil
- Eggs
- Vanilla extract
- Sour cream
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
FOR THE FROSTING
- Butter
- Cream cheese
- Peanut butter
- Vanilla extract
- Powdered sugar
How to Make Delicious Homemade Banana Cake
PREHEAT OVEN
Preheat the oven to 350℉ and spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Or, line the dish with parchment paper.
MIX WET INGREDIENTS
Next, place the bananas in a large bowl and mash until smooth. Add the rest of the wet ingredients to the bowl and mix using a hand mixer.
COMBINE WET + DRY INGREDIENTS
In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Then mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients until they are completely combined.
BAKE
Transfer the batter to the baking dish and bake for 40 minutes. When done baking, remove from the oven and allow at least 3 hours to cool completely.
MAKE FROSTING
While the cake is baking, prepare the frosting. Add the butter, cream cheese, peanut butter, and vanilla extract to a bowl.
Using a hand mixer, beat together the ingredients until thoroughly combined. Add in the powdered sugar and blend until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to frost.
FROST + SERVE
Allow the frosting to sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes before frosting the cake. Then, spread the cream cheese frosting on top of the cake and serve.
Enjoy your delicious banana cake!
Top Tips for the Best Banana Cake Recipe
If you only have fresh bananas but really want to make this cake, you can bake them in the oven at 350°F for 10 minutes. Make sure you allow them to cool for at least 20 minutes before using them.
For best results, make sure you allow your eggs, butter, and cream cheese to warm up to room temperature before starting the recipe.
Only mix your dry ingredients until just combined to avoid getting a denser, chewier cake.
FAQs
Although both have a banana flavor, banana cake and banana bread taste much different. Banana cake is softer and moister in texture, while banana bread has a firmer, breadier consistency.
Not really, unless they’re moldy! Brown, overripe bananas will taste even sweeter than spotted, ripe bananas. Even blackened bananas with a strong smell and gooey inside taste great, so no need to waste them!
Storage
Since this cake has cream cheese frosting, we recommend storing your moist banana cake in the fridge.
However, many bakers are fine leaving it on the counter for a day or two in room temperature conditions. If you prefer to refrigerate your cake, cover it with a piece of plastic wrap and store it in the fridge for up to 3-5 days.
Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- 2 cups mashed, very ripe bananas (~4 large bananas)*
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup sour cream
Dry Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
- ½ cup unsalted butter, ~1 stick, softened
- 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
- ¼ cup drippy peanut butter
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉ and spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray or line the dish with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Place the bananas in a large bowl and mash until smooth. Add the rest of the wet ingredients to the bowl and mix using a hand mixer. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients until they are completely combined.
- Transfer the batter to the baking dish and bake for 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow at least 3 hours to cool completely.
- While the cake is baking, prepare the frosting. Add the butter, cream cheese, peanut butter, and vanilla extract to a bowl. Using a hand mixer, beat together the ingredients until completely combined. Add in the powdered sugar and blend until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to frost.
- Allow the frosting to sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes before frosting the cake. Spread on top of the cake and serve.
Tips & Notes
- If your bananas aren’t ripe yet, bake them in the oven at 350℉ for 10 minutes. Cool for at least 20 minutes before using.
- Substitute buttermilk for the sour cream in this cake.
- To make buttermilk, place 1 tablespoon of white vinegar into a 1-cup measuring cup. Fill to the 1 cup mark with milk.
Watch It
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This frosting combo of cream cheese and peanut butter is amazing! Just enough peanut butter to have an impact flavor-wise but not too overpowering. One adjustment- I did just one teaspoon of vanilla in the cake instead of one tablespoon listed in the recipe. Thank you for this recipe, it’s a keeper!