This Fresh Banana Cake is moist and flavorful like any good made-from-scratch banana cake should be, and it’s topped with a fluffy cinnamon cream cheese frosting.  Your friends & family will devour this delicious cake.  

A slice of banana cake.

Each and every time I make this Banana Cake, it takes me back to my teenage years when my mom and I would bake this cake together on a Saturday.  We would slice and serve it the following day after eating our Sunday lunch, after church.  My mom would always serve a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side as well.  My brother-in-law and I would sit on the front porch and entertain everyone with our singing and guitars while they enjoyed their cake and ice cream.  We often did the same with homemade fresh strawberry cake.

When you think about it, any cake made from fruit should be full of delicious fruity flavor and they should be moist and dense from all that fruit, but some cakes tend to be too heavy.  That’s why I like this cake.  It’s moist and dense and incredibly flavorful, yet it’s not too heavy.

Fresh Banana Cake.

WHAT MAKES A GREAT BANANA CAKE

Buttermilk – Buttermilk adds moisture and a bit of tang to the cake.

Cinnamon Cinnamon, and bananas are like best friends.  One should never be without the other.  They greatly complement each other.

Brown Sugar – Brown sugar also pairs great with bananas.  Brown sugar adds a slight caramel-like note to the cake as well as added moisture.

Granulated Sugar –  The white sugar contributes to sweetness, but it also helps in the rising of a cake.  When white sugar gets mixed with eggs, butter, and liquids, the sugar creates thousands of tiny air bubbles.  During the baking process, the bubbles expand and help the batter to rise.

Salt – Salt might not sound like an important ingredient but it is.  It sort of works like the balancer in a sweet recipe.  Any sweet recipe needs a little bit of salt to offset all of the sweetness, plus salt helps to enhance the other flavors in a recipe, such as the bananas in this recipe.

Very Ripe Bananas – The secret to a full-flavored banana cake is very ripe bananas.  The ones you might not necessarily want to eat but are great in baked goods made with bananas.  The more ripe and spotty, the more sweet and flavorful.

And did I mention the frosting?  OMG!

Fresh Banana Cake.

The Cream Cheese Frosting is simply to die for!  The frosting is a combination of cream cheese, butter, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, powdered sugar, and some half & half for easy spreading consistency.  Talk about melt in your mouth delectable, this frosting sends an already moist and delicious cake right over the top.

Banana cake.

You might also like Old Fashioned Sour Cream Banana Bars

If you make this recipe please rate it, and leave a comment below on how you liked it. I love getting your feedback! 🙂

Wanna see different recipes each day? Feel free to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, & Instagram.

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon

Fresh Banana Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 5 reviews
  • Author: Cindy Gibbs
  • Prep Time: 30 Minutes
  • Cook Time: 45 Minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
  • Yield: 1213 slices 1x
  • Category: Cakes
  • Method: Baked
  • Cuisine: American

Description

This Banana Cake is moist and flavorful like any made from scratch banana cake should be, and it’s topped with a fluffy cinnamon cream cheese frosting.  Your friends & family will devour this delicious cake.


Ingredients

Units Scale

Cake

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups very ripe mashed bananas, about 3 very large or 4 medium
  • 1 1/2 cups full-fat buttermilk

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 12 ounces cream cheese, softened, 1 1/2 packages
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted real butter, softened
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 3 to 4 tablespoons half & half, as needed for the perfect consistency


Instructions

Cake

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

  1. Line two 9 inch cake pans with rounds of wax paper.  Lightly grease and flour the insides of the pans and the wax paper and set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt & cinnamon, and set aside.
  3. Add the butter to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or use a hand mixer.  Beat the butter on medium-high speed until it’s light and creamy, about 1 minute.  Add the vegetable oil, sugars, and vanilla and mix on medium speed until all the ingredients are well combined.  Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Add the bananas and mix on medium speed long enough to incorporate.  Add the dry ingredients and buttermilk in alternately in thirds, starting and ending with the dry ingredients.  Stop the mixer and scrape the sides and bottom of bowl as needed.  Mix the last addition of dry ingredients just long enough to incorporate.  Do not over mix.
  4. Divide the batter equally between the two cake pans.  Tap the pans gently on a counter-top to release any air bubbles.  Bake cakes on a middle oven rack until a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean, about 45 to 50 minutes.  The tops should also be golden brown.
  5. Allow cakes to cool for about 5 minutes.  Run a sharp knife around the edges to make sure cakes are loosened from the pans.  Invert cakes onto wire racks and allow to cool completely before frosting.

Frosting

  1. Add the cream cheese to the bowl of a stand mixer, using the whisk attachment, (or use a hand mixer).  Beat the cream cheese on medium-high speed until it’s smooth and creamy and free of any lumps.  Add the butter, vanilla, salt, and cinnamon and mix on medium speed until all ingredients are incorporated and the mixture is smooth and creamy.  Add 2 cups of the powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons of the half & half and mix on medium speed until well combined.  Add the last two cups of powdered sugar and mix again until well combined.  Add the last 2 tablespoons of half & half, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the frosting is a perfect consistency.  It should be creamy and thick enough for easy spreading, yet not too stiff.
  2. Run your hands around each cake layer to remove any loose crumbs.  Place 1 cake layer on a cake plate or stand.  Spread approximately 1/3 of the frosting over the cake layer.  Place the 2nd layer on top of the frosted layer.  Spread a second 3rd of the frosting over the top of the cake, and use the remaining frosting to frost the sides.  I use a large offset spatula for frosting the cake.  This frosting is so creamy and easy to work with.  I used a teaspoon and made upward swoops on the sides of the cake, then I used the spoon to make circular swoops on the top of the cake.
  3. Refrigerate cake until ready to serve.  Also refrigerate the cake for at least 1 hour before slicing or serving, for easy slicing.  I also think cream cheese frosting tastes best when it’s cold.
  4. Store refrigerated in an air tight container for up to 5 days.

Notes

  • This cake can also be baked in three 8-inch cake pans. It can be baked in a 9 x 13 inch pan and will take approximately 50 minutes.