Banana cake is everyone’s favourite! It is fluffy, soft and moist with a delicious banana flavour and lemon cream cheese frosting.
This is our favourite banana cake with cream cheese frosting and so far everyone who has tried it has said it is the best they have ever had!
What is so special about this banana cake? Well, it is fluffy and light with a soft crumb but above all, like all good cakes made with fresh fruit, it is moist and you can really taste those bananas!
So all that, together with the delicious lemon cream cheese frosting, this banana cake is one you will be making over and over again as it is perfect for almost every occasion.
This recipe makes a two layer banana cake with enough frosting for the layers, sides and top, but you could also just as easily use it to make cupcakes (check to see if they are done after 18 minutes).
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Helpful tips
- Use very ripe bananas, those with brown skins are best. Very ripe bananas have a more intense banana flavour and are so much sweeter, making them perfect for baked banana desserts .
- Prepare the cream cheese frosting before making the cake. Cover and keep it in the fridge till ready to use so it thickens slightly.
- Add ½ cup more powdered sugar for a thicker frosting.
- Stir the powdered sugar into the whipped butter so it doesn’t blow around during whipping.
- You could mix in a drop of food colouring to the frosting, I used a drop of natural yellow food colouring for the images above.
Your questions answered
If you do not have very ripe bananas, here is a quick hack – place them in the freezer for a while (a couple of hours will do) so they darken, then remove them an hour before using to allow them to thaw.
If you don’t have powdered/icing sugar, you can make your own. Simply blend your regular cane sugar on high-speed for several minutes till it turns to powder. Store any extra as you would regular sugar.
Make it ahead
You can certainly make this cake ahead of time and assemble it before serving. After the cakes have cooled, wrap them tightly and chill for up to 4 days, or freeze them for up to 3 months, then thaw fully before frosting.
Substitutions
In case you have run out of these ingredients or prefer not to use them, below are suggestions for substitutions:
- yogurt – beat in the same quantity of ricotta cheese. I tried this recently and it was delicious!
- vanilla – use almond extract.
Variations
To make it nutty – mix a handful of crushed walnuts into the batter before pouring into the cake tins to bake.
Storing leftovers
Banana cake with or without the frosting, will keep well in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw fully before serving.
⭐️ Are you making this recipe for banana cake with lemon cream cheese frosting? I’d love to know how this turns out for you, let me know in the comments below and share a photo on Instagram with the hashtag #endofthefork.
Are you craving more banana desserts? Check out my mini banana cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, banana muffins with streusel topping and best banana bread recipe.
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📋 Recipe
Banana Layer Cake
Ingredients
Cream cheese frosting
- 110 grams butter ½ cup, softened at room temperature
- 225 grams cream cheese 8 oz
- 240 grams icing/powdered sugar* 2 cups (see notes)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
Banana cake
- 110 grams softened butter ½ cup
- 200 grams sugar 1 cup
- 2 medium eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 210 grams all purpose flour 1¾ cups
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 300 grams very ripe bananas, mashed 1 cup
- 140 grams full fat yogurt ½ cup
Instructions
To make the frosting
- In a medium bowl, beat butter with the cream cheese till fully combined. Add sugar, vanilla, zest and beat for around two minutes till fluffy and creamy. Cover and keep in the fridge till ready to use.110 grams butter, 225 grams cream cheese, 240 grams icing/powdered sugar*, 1 teaspoon lemon zest, 1 teaspoon vanilla
To make the cake
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F, grease two round 20 cm or 8 inch cake pans and set aside.
- In a large bowl beat butter with the sugar for around 2 minutes till smooth and creamy. Add eggs, vanilla, lemon juice and beat till fully blended. Stir in the mashed bananas and yogurt then set aside.110 grams softened butter, 200 grams sugar, 2 medium eggs, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, 300 grams very ripe bananas, mashed, 140 grams full fat yogurt, 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt into the butter mixture and stir gently till just incorporated, taking care not to over mix.210 grams all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon baking soda
- Divide the mixture into two greased pans and bake for 25-30 minutes, or till a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before running a knife round the edges before turning them out.
Assemble the cake
- Place one of the cakes on a plate or cake stand and spread a layer of frosting over the top. Place the second cake over the top and cover the top and sides with the remaining frosting.
Notes
- Prepare the cream cheese frosting first, then cover and keep in the fridge till ready to use so it thickens slightly.
- *Add ½ cup more powdered sugar for a thicker frosting.
- TIP: Stir in the powdered sugar so it doesn’t blow around during whipping.
- You could mix in a drop of food colouring to the frosting, I used a drop of natural yellow food colouring in the images above.
- Make ahead – After the cakes have cooled, wrap tightly and chill for up to 4 days, or freeze for up to 3 months then thaw fully before frosting.
- Storing – Banana cake with or without the frosting, will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw fully before serving.
- For cupcakes, divide the batter into 12 cupcake cups (or 24 mini) and bake at the same temperature for around 18-20 minutes or till a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
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