Banana Cake
intro
Ultra-moist, tender banana cake packed with ripe, sweet banana flavor, lightly spiced with cinnamon, ideal for casual sharing and everyday sweet treats.
Ingredients
Steps
Prep Oven and Pan
Preheat your oven to 175°C (350°F), with a rack positioned in the middle. Use 5g (1 teaspoon) of the softened butter to grease a 9-inch (23cm) round cake pan, then line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper to prevent sticking. Set the prepared pan aside.
Mash Ripe Bananas
Peel the 3 ripe spotted bananas, place them in a medium mixing bowl, and mash thoroughly with a fork until you have a smooth pulp with very few small lumps, about 2 minutes of mashing. Measure out 375ml (1.5 cups) of mashed banana, and set aside any excess for other uses.
Cream Butter and Sugars
In a large mixing bowl, combine the remaining 113g (1/2 cup) softened unsalted butter, 100g granulated sugar, and 100g packed light brown sugar. Beat with an electric hand mixer on medium speed (setting 4 on most standard mixers) for 3 minutes until the mixture is light, fluffy, and pale golden. Add the 2 room-temperature eggs one at a time, beating for 30 seconds after each addition, then stir in the 5ml vanilla extract and measured mashed banana until fully combined.
Mix Dry Ingredients
In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the 240g spooned and leveled all-purpose flour, 5g baking soda, 3g fine sea salt, and 1.5g ground cinnamon for 30 seconds until evenly distributed, with no visible clumps of baking soda or cinnamon remaining.
Combine Cake Batter
Alternate adding 1/3 of the dry ingredient mix and 1/2 of the 120ml room-temperature whole milk to the wet banana mixture, stirring gently with a rubber spatula after each addition, starting and ending with dry ingredients. Stop stirring as soon as no dry flour streaks remain—do not overmix. Pour the smooth, thick batter evenly into the prepared cake pan, and smooth the top with the spatula.
Bake and Cool Cake
Place the pan on the middle oven rack and bake for 38-42 minutes at 175°C (350°F), until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out with 2-3 small moist crumbs attached (not wet batter). Once done, remove the pan from the oven and let the cake rest in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely to room temperature, about 40 minutes, before slicing and serving.
Tips
2.Do not overmix the batter once dry ingredients are added, as overstirring develops wheat gluten and will result in a dense, tough cake instead of a light, tender crumb.
3.Store cooled cake tightly wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 3 days; the cake will become even more moist and flavorful on the second day after baking.
OMG this banana cake is ACTUALLY moist, not the dry crumbly mess I usually end up with when I use overripe bananas! My 3 kids devoured half the pan after school yesterday, even my super picky 7 year old asked for a second slice. I added a tiny handful of chocolate chips because we’re chocoholics over here and it was chef’s kiss. 10/10 will be making this for our neighborhood potluck next weekend!
I’ve never baked anything from scratch before and this was so easy to follow! I was worried I’d mess up the measurements since I don’t have a fancy kitchen scale, but the cup measurements were totally accurate. The cook time was spot on too—mine came out perfectly tender at exactly 1 hour 45 minutes, no raw middle or burnt edges. SO good, my roommates are already begging me to make it again.
I made this Sunday as part of my weekly meal prep for quick breakfasts and snacks, and it held up perfectly in an airtight container all week! I love that it’s not overly sweet so it doesn’t feel like a sugar bomb first thing in the morning. I sliced it up and wrapped individual pieces in parchment paper for easy grab-and-go, total game changer for busy work mornings.
Made this for my family’s Sunday dinner after church and everyone raved! I topped mine with a cream cheese frosting and a sprinkle of chopped pecans like my grandma used to do, and it transported me right back to her kitchen. The only tiny note I have is that my oven runs hot, so I turned the temp down 25 degrees and it still cooked 10 minutes faster than the listed time, so definitely keep an eye on it if your oven runs warm!
Wait, can I use frozen bananas for this? I have a ton stashed in my freezer from when I bought too many last week and I don’t feel like waiting for them to thaw fully if I don’t have to. Has anyone tried that?
I tested this with my go-to 1:1 gluten free all purpose flour blend last night and it came out PERFECT! No grit, no gummy texture, just as moist as the regular version. I was so shocked, usually gluten free baked goods are so hit or miss for me. 10/10, this is going in my permanent recipe rotation.
I paired a slice of this with my morning latte today and it’s the perfect match. Not too sweet, super banana-forward, moist without being soggy. I didn’t add any extra toppings or mix-ins because I wanted that classic banana bread-adjacent cake vibe, and it hit every single note. Will be making this bi-weekly for sure.
I made this for my son’s 8th birthday party because he begged for banana cake instead of the usual chocolate, and I was so nervous it wouldn’t be a hit with a house full of sugar-crazy kids. Y’all, every single kid asked for seconds, and multiple parents asked for the recipe! I slathered it with a peanut butter frosting because my son is obsessed with peanut butter and banana, and it was such a hit.
Quick question—has anyone tried making this vegan? I’m thinking of swapping the eggs for flax eggs and using oat milk instead of dairy, but I don’t want to waste bananas if it’s going to turn out dry.
I’ve been making banana cake for 40 years and I have to say, this recipe is better than my old go-to. The sour cream in the batter is the secret to that next-level moisture, I can’t believe I never thought to add that before. My grandkids are visiting next month and I already know this is going to be the first treat I bake for them.
I brought this to our office team lunch last week and it was gone in 10 minutes flat. People were scraping the edges of the pan to get the last bits! I didn’t even have time to grab a second slice before it was all gone. Definitely making a double batch next time so I can actually have more than one piece.
I made this in my tiny dorm oven with super spotty bananas I got for 20 cents each at the campus grocery store, and it turned out amazing! I didn’t even have a mixing bowl, I used a big plastic storage bin to mix the batter and it still worked. Super forgiving recipe, perfect for broke college kids who don’t have fancy kitchen stuff.
This cake is great, but I found it just a touch too sweet for my taste. I cut the granulated sugar by 1/4 cup when I made it a second time and it was perfect for me—still plenty sweet from the ripe bananas, but it didn’t leave that sugary aftertaste I don’t love. Just wanted to share that tip for anyone else who prefers less sweet baked goods!
Okay hear me out—this cake is so moist and flavorful on its own that you don’t even need frosting. I know everyone is talking about cream cheese or peanut butter frosting, but I ate mine plain and it was perfect. No extra sugar needed, the banana flavor is the star here.
I wrapped up thick slices of this cake to take on my day hike in Rocky Mountain National Park last weekend, and it was the perfect trail snack. It didn’t get squished in my pack, it held up for hours without being refrigerated, and it gave me the perfect sugar boost when I was halfway up the trail. Way better than boring granola bars!
I’ve burned every single banana bread/cake I’ve tried to make in the last year, so I went into this fully expecting to mess it up. Y’all, I followed the instructions exactly, set a timer, did the toothpick test, and it came out perfectly golden, moist all the way through, no burnt bottom at all. I’m actually so proud of myself, I brought a slice over to my neighbor to show off and she asked for the recipe immediately.