This is, hands down, the BEST banana cake I’ve ever had. It’s soft, moist and rich all at the same time! Once cooled this cake is topped with a totally irresistible lemon cream cheese frosting for a perfect dessert your family will love.
I love a good banana cake, it just reminds me of being a kid because my Grandpa and Grandma made the BEST banana cupcakes. I can still smell them baking in my grandma’s kitchen, waiting impatiently with my sisters.
This cake is reminiscent of my favorite banana cupcakes. It is soft and fluffy and incredibly moist and topped with my favorite ever lemony cream cheese frosting.
As much as I love a fluffy banana cake, I love it even more when it’s topped with an amazing cream cheese frosting! I add in a little bit of lemon zest and lemon juice for extra flavor in my cream cheese frosting but if you prefer, you can leave out the lemon and substitute vanilla.
Regardless of how you top it, once you try this cake, it’ll be your go-to. Every time you have overripe bananas on the counter you’ll want to make this recipe! In fact, I often buy extra bananas to ripen and make this cake!
Tips to ensure a soft moist result:
- Ensure your ingredients are at room temperature (eggs and butter)
- You need the acidity from the lemon juice (& milk) mixture. Subbing in just milk or cream won’t work. (You can use buttermilk in its place if needed).
- When mixing your butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla, beat the mixture until VERY fluffy, almost the consistency of a fluffy buttercream frosting. This should take about 5 minutes.
- When adding the flour mixture you want to mix until just combined. Over-mixing will cause a dense chewy result.
- The cooking time on this cake can vary! Check your cake at 55 minutes, if it isn’t ready, continue cooking until a toothpick comes out clean (this can be up to an additional 20 minutes depending on your oven). The result will be a moist and irresistible banana cake.
Happy Baking!
The Best Banana Cake
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups milk
- 2 ½ tablespoons lemon juice divided
- 1 ⅓ cup mashed bananas
- ⅔ cup butter softened
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 cup white sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 cups flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
FROSTING
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- ⅓ cup butter softened
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 ½ teaspoons lemon zest from 1 lemon
- 3-3 ½ cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour a 9 x 13 pan.
- Place 1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice in a measuring cup. Top to 1 ½ cups with milk. Set aside.
- Mix together mashed banana with 1 tablespoon lemon juice, set aside.
- Beat together butter, brown and white sugar until combined. Add in eggs one at a time and vanilla. Mix on high until light and fluffy (almost the texture of frosting).
- Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Alternate adding flour mixture and milk to egg mixture stirring just until combined. (Do not overmix). Fold in bananas. Pour into prepared pan.
- Put into the oven and reduce heat to 300°F. Bake 60 – 70 minutes (see note below) or just until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean (do not over bake).
- Remove from oven and place in the freezer for 45 minutes to make the cake extra moist. Cool completely before frosting.
FROSTING
- Cream together butter & cream cheese until fluffy. Add in lemon zest and juice.
- Add powdered sugar a little at a time until you reach desired consistency. Spread over cooled cake.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
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This recipe has been retested and updated 11/20/16.
Very slightly adapted from food.com
I have made this cake and it is DELICIOUS! Can I make this into cupcakes? If so, what adjustments do I need to make, if any? Thank you
I haven’t made this into cupcakes so I can’t say for sure, but many readers have. I think this recipe would make closer to around 24 cupcakes and would suggest filling your cupcake liners ⅔ full and baking for about 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Absolutely the best banana cake I have tasted or made. The lemony fluffy cream cheese icing is the perfect topper. I did try it with 2 extra teaspoons of lemon juice. That was so good. The cake itself is easy, moist, and a great way to use up a couple of extra bananas. Wonderful recipe!
Excellent moist, large cake
I love to bake and I am always looking for new recipes. This cake is PERFECTION. The addition of lemon in the cream cheese frosting is genius! Super moist and so delicious that my ultra picky hubby requested another one only days after I baked it for the first time. I’ll openly admit that it’s so good I have to share with my neighbors so I don’t eat it all myself!! Today I’m doing cupcakes and small loaves with a red, white and blue swirl frosting. Thank you for this recipe that will stay in my family forever and happy Fourth of July!
How fun Kimberly! I am so glad to hear you love this recipe so much!
nice flavour but even though I followed the recipe word for word, the outside of the cake felt almost like the crunchy rice at the bottom of a rice cooker and the cake itself felt gummy.
Oh no! I have made this cake many many times and never had this issue so I can’t say for sure what happened.
So delicious and a breeze to make. I added chocolate chips, which took it over the top in my families opinion.
Use the centre rack in your oven to make sure to not over cook the edges and bottom.
It took 55 minutes to cook mine.
Why can’t I Seem to find the temperature of the oven
The first instruction is “Preheat oven to 350°.” Enjoy the cake Sherri!
I just baked this cake using gf all purpose flour, non dairy butter & cream cheese. Very moist and oh so YUMMY. No one notices it is gf and diary free.
What brand of dairy free butter & cream cheese did you use? I’m having a hard time finding any that will bake well.
I made cupcakes for a gathering with this recipe and several people asked me for the recipe. It was a hit!!! I baked them at the same temperature and for 25 minutes. They were so delicious. Thank you for sharing this.
Delicious and moist cake! I was not a fan of the lemon flavored frosting so I stirred up a new batch with vanilla. My family enjoys spicier cakes. Has anyone tried adding cinnamon to the cake batter or frosting?
I have not tried cinnamon but I think it would be delicious Kortney!
Look no further for an amazing banana cake. it is absolutely perfect. Freezing straight from oven is the key. I always have bananas in my freezer just for recipes like this. just put them in a ziplock bag when too ripe to eat. then, thaw for baking. try this recipe..you’ll be glad you did.
This Cake recipe started as a first birthday cake for my son 7 years ago. Then was a first birthday cake for my other two…now it is a full blown family tradition of banana cake for birthdays and my kids ask for it. I hope to contiue to make banana cakes for my kids as long as they let me and one day God willing I will make them for my grandbabies. Thank you for creating a heirloom recipe.
What a wonderful compliment Erin, this made my day! I am so glad your family loves this recipe as much as mine does.
My son was asking for a banana cake and this recipe was perfect. It was sooo good and easy to make.
This is more like banana bread than banana cake to me ♀️
OMG! Made cupcakes with this recipe and they were fabulous! Baked for 30 minutes. This is a great one!
Hi there, haven’t tried it yet but wondering what I can substitute for eggs?
I have only made this as written. I would suggest looking online for egg replacement options.
you can use applesauce instead of egg. 1/4 cup per egg.
Hi! I was wondering should I use all purpose flour or cake flour? Thanks!
I use all-purpose flour in this recipe Demi. Enjoy!
Excellent!!
Your spot on Right cake yummy.
my Grand daughter is egg allergy, I just tweak & she loved it!!
Baked in small cake loaves, bundle of love!
Thank you!
The place I work is an old time tavern with a large ballroom and we added a cafe when the owner purchased it over a year ago. I need to make use of lots of leftovers from the cafe and ballroom events, including many bananas from the cafe that get put in the freezer if not used before becoming overripe. I needed dessert for 100 and decided to try this recipe. I used the 2X and put into 18 x 12 1/2 sheet cake pans. It turned out wonderful!!! Loved the cream cheese frosting as well. I will be printing this out and saving it in our recipe book!