Moist Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
All-time favorite recipe for using overripe banana. Moist Banana Cake with Cream Cheese frosting is ultra moist, rich and packed with amazing banana flavor.
Once you try this recipe, I’m sure you will agree it is the best banana cake you have ever had! This banana cake gets rave reviews whenever I make it and is my number one most requested cake to make! I always buy extra bananas so I can have some overripe ones for this recipe as well as my Banana Bread or Banana Muffins.The secret to this cake being so moist is taking it out of the oven and immediately placing it in the freezer for 30 minutes to cool. Don’t skip this step as it takes this banana cake recipe to a whole new level of moist and delicious! Once cooled I slather it with fluffy cream cheese frosting.
How to make Moist Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Start with ingredients at room temperature.
- Bananas must be overripe. For baking, I like to use bananas that are mostly brown but still have a few yellow areas.
- I use buttermilk in this recipe. It adds to the soft texture, moistness and gives a bit of a tang. Can you substitute milk for the buttermilk in this cake? Although I prefer buttermilk, if you don’t have it available you can substitute with 1 1/2 cups of whole milk and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar. Stir and let stand for 5-10 minutes.
- If you love cream cheese frosting, you may want to double the cream cheese frosting in this recipe.
- I usually make this recipe in a 9 x 13 baking pan or 10 inch round pan which may require a longer baking time. I also bake on convection mode in my oven. If using a regular oven baking time may vary. Be sure to test with a toothpick, when inserted into center of cake the toothpick comes out clean.
- Moist Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting tastes best served chilled so cover and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve. It will keep refrigerated for up to 3 days.
Moist Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
My All Time favourite recipe for Moist Banana Cake with Cream Cheese frosting. Ultra moist and incredibly flavourful.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups very ripe bananas mashed
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup butter softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
- Frosting double recipe if you like lots of frosting
- 1 package cream cheese softened 8oz
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 3 1/2 cups icing sugar confectioners sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 275 degrees.
- Grease and flour 9 x 13 pan or 10 inch round.
- Mash bananas with lemon juice, set aside.
- Mix flour, baking soda and salt together.
- In large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Beat in eggs, one at a time.
- Mix in vanilla.
- Mix in flour mixture a bit at a time alternating with the buttermilk.
- Stir in banana mixture.
- Pour batter into pan and bake for about 1 hour (may required longer baking time depending on pan you use. Test with toothpick, when inserted in center of cake toothpick comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and place directly into the freezer for 30 minutes. (makes cake very moist)
- After 30 minutes remove from freezer, frost with cream cheese frosting.
- Keep cake refrigerated until ready to serve.
- Frosting
- Cream butter and cream cheese together until smooth.
- Add vanilla.
- Add icing sugar, combine, then beat on high speed until frosting is smooth.
- Spread on cooled cake.
Notes
I like to have a thick layer of cream cheese frosting so I usually double the frosting recipe.
Nutrition
Calories: 602kcalCarbohydrates: 98gProtein: 6gFat: 22gSaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 95mgSodium: 424mgPotassium: 160mgFiber: 1gSugar: 72gVitamin A: 712IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 52mgIron: 2mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Enjoy more tasty banana recipe like Best Banana Bread and Banana Muffins.
What if I don’t have a freezer big enough to store the cake? Can I just put the cake in the fridge instead?
Thanks
Hi Ruth, the freeze trick brings the temperature down quickly and makes for a moist cake. But I’m sure placing in the fridge would be good, may not be quite as moist, but still great.
Hi, would love to try this recipe. Should I remove it from the pan after the freezer step n then frost it? Will this method work for all cakes( as I just started a home business)?
When I bake it in a round pan I remove cake after freezing it to decorate (make sure you grease and flour cake pan) If using a 9×13 cake pan I leave in in the pan and frost top. I have not used this freezing method on any other cakes.
I’m making this recipe into cupcakes,how lovely long should I leave these in the oven for cupcakes,and are there any other changes I should make for cupcakes? Thanks
Hi Monica, I would check the cupcakes after 40 minutes.(using toothpick testing) ovens can vary especially I find when baking at lower temperatures so the cupcakes could take anywhere from 40-60 minutes to bake.
Hi Laureen your cake looks delicious I can’t wait to try it!
I was wondering if an angel food cake pan would be OK to use and how to adjust the baking time?
Hey Pauline, if you use an angel food cake pan you will have too much batter and it will overflow, the recipe would probably make 2 cakes in angel food pans or make a dozen muffins with excess batter. Not too sure about cooking time, so best to keep checking with toothpick test, I would start testing after 45 minutes.
Hi Patty, no don’t wrap it, just take it out of the oven and put immediately into the freezer.
Do you keep them in the cake pans when you put it in the freezer?
Yes the cake stays in the pan.
Can you double the recipe for the 9×13
Hi Lorie, you don’t need to double the recipe as it is for 9×13 pan. When I bake it in my round cake pan I usually have batter left over to make 6 cupcakes.
Hi laureen,
Is there a substitution for butter milk as we don’t have it around.
thanks
Make your own substitution for buttermilk the following way:
Add either 1 tablespoon of lemon juice OR 1 tablespoon of white vinegar to measuring cup.
Add milk (any kind will do) to fill to 1 cup line, stir and leave sit 10-15 minutes. Milk will curdle a bit and then you can substitute it in any recipe that calls for buttermilk!
Hi laureen,
thanks for the tip but one more question please di i use the whole thing meaning milk curdle and its water or only the curdle.
Hi, sorry but small correction- you need a total of 1 1/2 cups of buttermilk, so if you have already made 1 cup, just add another mix of 1/2 cup milk stirred together with 2 teaspoons of vinegar or lemon juice. After it has curdled, stir together and use entire 1 1/2 cups of homemade buttermilk as recipe directs.
HI laureen I was wondering how long this lasts in the refrigerator and can it be frozen after it has been iced? I would love to make two and freeze one. Thanks again
Good morning, I have kept mine in the refrigerator for a week, although it usually never lasts that long. I have never tried to freeze it but I think it would freeze quite well. I’ll will try freezing one this week and see how it works!
Thank you. Definitely let me know how you make out with freezing it. I think we should start a group for banana cake eaters anonymous. Whew!!!
SHUT THE FRONT DOOR!!!!!!!! HANDS DOWN THE ABSOLUTELY BEST EVER BANANA CAKE I HAVE EVER HAD AND MADE. SOOOOOO MOIST. THE FREEZER I THINK IS THE SECRET WEAPON. I HAVE NOT ONLY SHARED THIS WITH MY KIDDIES (LOL) BUT HAVE SHARED WITH THE NEIGHBORS AND THEY ARE SPEECHLESS AFTER TRYING IT. I STILL HAVE ALOT LEFT AFTER SHARING AND MANY TRIPS TO THE REFRIGERATOR AFTER EVERYONE IS IN BED . WILL DEFINITELY BE MAKING THIS AGAIN AND AGAIN!! THANK YOU FOR SHARING!! FOR SURE 5 STARS AND IS ONE OF THE BEST RECIPES IN MY RECIPE BOOK.
You’re awesome!, thank you so much for sharing!
Hiya! My dad’s planned his 50th a week in advance – 100+ invites and I’m stressing about desserts! What do you recommend the best way to store this cake if I make 2 days in advance? Keep frozen in the freezer and defrost 24 hrs before frosting….or do the freezer thing and keep in the fridge ready to frost? LOL thanks in advance!! 🙂
Hello, I just made this for my Dad’s 80th Birthday! I also made it 2 days ahead, after doing the freezer thing keep it in the fridge. Make sure it is tightly sealed so it doesn’t dry out. I didn’t frost it until day of. You can make the frosting ahead, but be sure to let it get to room temperature before frosting. If you run out of time store bought cream cheese frosting is a great alternative.
I also made this cake in a 9×13 baking pan so there would be more servings.
Thanks so much for replying!! Can’t wait to bake this, I can do it today now! 🙂
Will also be doing a larger tin! :S fingers crossed it works out! 🙂
Ended up using a random 11 x 15 roasting tray, about 2 inches deep, and turned out really well!
I used 4 bananas coming to about 2 cups in all, the cake was about 2 inches high, frosting included and I was able to get 48 pieces…everybody LOVED the cake, and all commented on how moist it was! Thanks again!
That is awesome, glad everyone loved it and you got so many servings from it.