Before I get into today’s post, I want to address those of you out there who read “banana cake” and thought, “Eh, doesn’t really sound like something I’d be that into.” Trust me, it is. I was skeptical myself before I took my first bite…but seriously, this cake is heavenly. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way…
Yesterday was my sister’s birthday. She’s kind of in love with the banana cake from Icing on the Cake, so I was planning to get one for her little party we threw last night. And then the saddest thing ever happened (okay, maybe not ever, but certainly when it comes to birthday cakes it was!). I called to order the cake yesterday morning only to discover they are closed on Mondays. Noooooo!!!! Since we were all craving the cake, I decided I would just have to make one myself and hope that it even paled in comparison to the one we would be missing.
I started digging around the Internet for banana cake recipes. I found one on Food.com that looked more than promising. The person who posted the recipe said it was the best banana cake ever…and one of the commenters said that to say it was the best banana cake ever was an understatement. Sounded good to me!
The cake was awesome. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still going to go to Icing on the Cake because it’s always better when someone else makes the cake for you, but seriously, the cake I made last night TOTALLY hit the spot. And now, if we ever move, I won’t have to mourn the loss of banana cake from my life…I’ll be able to whip one up if I need to!
On a side note, this cream cheese frosting was PERFECTION. My sister said next year I could just stick the candles in a mound of that frosting and she’d be happy. Done and done.
- 1½ cups ripe bananas, mashed (Jane note: mash the bananas REALLY WELL...no lumps!)
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 3 cups flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup butter, softened
- 2⅛ cups sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1½ cups buttermilk
- Preheat oven to 300°.
- Grease and flour a 9 x 13 pan or two 9-inch round pans. (Jane note: For the round pans, I actually had some leftover batter - you want to fill the pans up about halfway - the cake grows when cooking)
- In a small bowl, mix mashed banana with the lemon juice; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream ¾ cup butter and 2⅛ cups sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then stir in 2 tsp vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk. Stir in banana mixture.
- Pour batter into prepared pan(s) and bake in preheated oven for about 45 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean and cakes are lightly browned.
- Remove from oven and place directly into the freezer for 45 minutes. (Jane note: if you are making two rounds, let them cool in the pan 5-10 minutes, pop them out of the pan onto cooling racks, THEN put in the freezer. The original recipe claims this immediate freezing step will make the cake very moist...I also like doing this because then my cake is ready to be frosted more quickly.)
- Frosting
- - ¾ cup butter, softened
- - 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
- - 1 teaspoon vanilla
- - ~3½ - 4 cups powdered sugar
- Cream the butter and cream cheese until smooth. Beat in 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add powdered sugar and beat on low speed until combined, then on high speed until frosting is smooth. (Jane note: the recipe calls for 3½ cups of powdered sugar...I used a bit more butter and I didn't measure the sugar as I added it - just kept adding until it was the right consistency.) Spread on cooled cake.
Hi! My name is Jane Maynard and you've landed yourself on my blog, This Week for Dinner™. Every Sunday I share a weekly menu...and count on you to share yours! You'll also find other deliciousness that I hope you'll enjoy!
This cake is incredible! I was totally craving it today! So yummy!!!
Our school lunch ladies started making banana cake a couple months back and it has been the death of me. I’ve been trying not to eat school lunch, but on days when they serve that cake, I just can’t resist. (Like today) If I like the school lunch version, I should most definitely not try your recipe – I’d probably want it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Banana bread is one of the best foods on earth, so I can only imagine, banana cake, smothered in cream cheese frosting has got to be amazing!
I want a slice and a big one:)
I can attest that this is an awesome cake – I am KC_Cooker on Food.com and made this back in 2007. It was so so so so good!
That cake looks awesome! Sounds so good!
This cake looks and sounds amazing! I can’t wait to make it!
The frosting was to die for! I thought about it a couple of times longingly!
Looks so yummy! If there were bananas in this house right now… Can’t wait to try this!
Just made this cake this morning – it was easy and delicious! My bananas weren’t overly ripe and I didn’t want to wait for them to ripen, so I also added a teaspoonful of banana flavoring, and I had to cook my cake longer than 45 minutes in a 9×13″ pan (I think it was about 75 minutes total), but it came out wonderfully! I’m not sure I’m keen on the idea of freezing the cake for 45 minutes – I did this step, and both my refrigerator and freezer still smell strongly of banana cake (which isn’t a bad thing!), but I’m curious to see if the other food in there picks up the ‘flavor’ of it too.
I must admit, I froze my cake in our big freezer in the garage, so I did not notice that at all – I actually almost always freeze my cakes because it makes icing them so much easier, but I’m sure you could skip the step and just ice a softer cake! but I’m glad that the cake came out so well regardless! 🙂
Just made this for my son’s birthday! Filled 2 round cake
pans and 6 cupcakes! It is so moist and delicious! It will
be a favorite for years to come!
yay! so glad it was a success!
Icing on the Cake banana cake is unworldly.
I’ve been looking for a great banana cake recipe. Thanks for posting this!
Hi Jane, When I saw this cake, it reminded me of my high school friend Nancy, her mother made a banana cake and I always loved it. I never made one, always used the ripe bananas for bread, but not any more. I loved it, just loved it. Best served cold. Come over and check it out. Thanks for the recipe I will keep forever……andi
I’ve made this cake and posted a link to this page on my blog, I hope that’s cool! It is an AMAZING recipe and I am recommending it to everyone I know! 🙂
Thanks so much, m’dear!
(my post is here: http://whenskiesaregreycooking.wordpress.com/2013/03/05/birthday-cake/ )
of course that’s cool – love your post! 🙂
What did I do wrong? It tasted like banana bread with awesome frosting…not that banana bread and cream cheese frosting is bad, just not what I expected.
well, it IS banana flavored, so I suppose it does taste a lot like banana bread, but the texture should be like cake. how was your texture? the crumb should be smaller than with bread.
you’re right, though…I suppose banana bread with cream cheese ain’t half bad. 😉
anyway, let me know!
The texture was definitely that of banana bread, much denser than a cake. The only thing I can think that I could have done differently would be to beat the mixture longer…??
I’m discovering more and more that homemade cake, while not hard to make, can be pretty finicky! you might be onto something. take a look at this recipe and see the times for how long to mix/beat the mix each step of the cake mixing process https://thisweekfordinner.com/2010/04/07/white-chocolate-raspberry-cake/ I’m thinking that might help, and is along the lines of what you’re thinking, too!
It turned out perfect 🙂