Banana Cake
This cake is so deceivingly innocent and unassuming, but the flavor is so big and the cake is so moist (ugh, but it is). You will wonder what you have been doing all your life without banana cake.
Recipe and image compliments of Laura from Lolo’s Home Kitchen
Banana Cake
Ingredients
- 3 large ripe bananas mashed
- ¾ cup Unsalted Hiland Dairy Butter (1½ stick) room temperature
- 3 cups flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup packed brown sugar light or dark
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1½ cups Hiland Dairy Buttermilk room temperature
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 ounces Hiland Dairy Cream Cheese (full fat) room temperature
- ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line with parchment paper and spray a 9×13 pan with non stick spray.
- In a bowl, mash the bananas until somewhat smooth. Set aside.
- In a mixer, beat the butter on high speed until light and fluffy – about 1-2 minutes. Add both the brown sugar and regular sugar and beat on high speed for another 2 minutes until creamed together. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add the eggs and the vanilla and mix again. Add the mashed bananas to the mixture then beat again on low speed.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Add the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with the buttermilk and mixing each addition just until combined. Careful not to over mix. The batter will be slightly thick with some lumps.
- Spread batter into the pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and set on a wire rack. Allow to cool completely.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- In a mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter together on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy.
- Add 3 cups of powdered sugar one at a time, vanilla, and salt. Beat on low to medium speed for another minute until combined. Spread the frosting on the cooled cake.
- Cover leftover cake tightly and store in the refrigerator for 5 days. This cake stayed so moist for almost a week, it was amazing!
This is my Grandma’s Banana Cake recipe and it’s good. It just is. Super simple, nothing fancy.
It’s got the soft texture from the Hiland Dairy Buttermilk, subtle but yummy banana flavor all topped with the best cream cheese frosting ever. It’s the perfect combo for the perfect bite.
I can’t wait for you to fall in love with it like I did. Give this a try and let me know if you think it’s one incredible cake too.
What ingredients are in Banana Cake?
The ingredients are very simple for this cake recipe. All the normal cake recipe ingredients. This cake calls for buttermilk but if you don’t have any on hand, you can make your own in about 5 minutes! See the note below on how to make your own buttermilk.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- 3 ripe bananas, ripe and mashed
- Hand Dairy Butter
- sugar
- brown sugar
- baking powder
- baking soda
- cinnamon
- eggs
- pure vanilla extract
- Hiland Dairy buttermilk
A very important part of this classic Banana Cake is the frosting. Cream Cheese frosting is a must for this cake.
Here’s what you need for Cream Cheese Frosting:
- Hiland Dairy Cream Cheese
- Hiland Dairy Butter
- Powdered Sugar
- Pure Vanilla Extract
- Salt
How do you make my Grandma’s Banana Cake?
Making this cake is pretty simple, not too many steps between ingredients and finished cake. The hardest part is waiting for it to cool.
Step 1: Before you start, mash the ripe bananas until they are smooth but still a bit lumpy. Set aside. In a mixer, beat the butter on medium high for a few minutes and then add the brown sugar and regular sugar and beat again until combined for a few minutes until combined and smooth.
Step 2: Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until just combined. Next, add the mashed bananas and mix again. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Step 3: Combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt) in a separate bowl. Measure out the Hiland Buttermilk. Starting with the dry ingredients, add about 1/3 of the mixture to the cake batter and mix on low until just combined. Next add about 1/3 of the buttermilk and mix. Continue alternating the dry ingredients and the buttermilk. Careful not to overman.
Step 4: Pour the cake batter in a prepared cake pan and bake for about 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Set aside to cool completely.
How to Make the Cream Cheese Frosting:
Step 1: In a stand mixer or with a handheld mixer, beat the Hiland Cream Cheese and Butter together on medium high speed until smooth.
Step 2: Add one cup of powdered sugar, salt, and vanilla and mix on low speed until combined. Continue with the remaining 2 cups of powdered sugar. Taste test and add more powdered sugar if you’d like it more sweet.
Step 3: Once the cake is cooled completely, spread the cream cheese frosting over top the banana cake and garnish with banana slices.
How to Get Ripe Bananas in Just a Few Minutes
Craving this banana cake but no brown bananas on your counter? No problem. Set your oven to 175 degrees and place the bananas in the oven for 5-10 minutes until they just start to turn brown. Remove from the oven and let cool. Mash away!
No buttermilk in the fridge? Make your own!
If there’s no buttermilk in your fridge and you don’t want to run to the store, you can make your own at home with just two ingredients.
Combine 1 cup of milk with 2 Tablespoons of white vinegar. (You can use lemon juice too) Stir and let sit for about 5 minutes. Voila, buttermilk!
How to store this Banana Cake
This cake stays soft for a good amount of time thanks to the buttermilk and the bananas. Keep it covered and in the fridge and you can enjoy this cake for 5-6 days.
Can You Freeze This Cake?
Absolutely! After baking and letting the cake cool completely, cover tightly with saran wrap and then foil. Will keep for up to 30 days. Once ready to eat, thaw cake overnight and then frost with the cream cheese frosting the day of serving.
The mix of the soft banana cake with the brown sugar and cinnamon flavor with the sweet cream cheese frosting is a perfect bite.
Explore More of My Favorite Cake Recipes!
Here are a few of my favorites:
- Strawberries and Cream Cake
- Caramel Apple Sheet Cake
- Brownie Ice Cream Cake
- Dark Chocolate Mousse Cake
- Butter Cake
And if you’re interested in creating more deliciousness with Hiland Dairy products, be sure to check out Hiland Dairy’s recipes too (including some created by yours truly!).
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