🍌🍰 This is the BEST Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, because it’s soft, tender, moist, and bursting with banana flavor thanks to the 4 bananas used! Tangy-yet-sweet cream cheese frosting takes this cake over the top and makes it a guaranteed family FAVORITE! Plus, it’s fast and easy to make!
Best Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe
I am no stranger to banana recipes. If there is one thing I’ve been making consistently since 2009, when I started my blog, it’s everything from fudgy banana bars to flour’s famous banana bread, banana strawberry pineapple smoothies, upside-down banana bread cake, and so much more!
And with a nearly five-star rating, this banana cake recipe is a reader fave for good reason!
- Soft, tender, moist, with a texture that is just dense enough but not heavy, it’s filled with robust banana flavor thanks to the four bananas.
- The tangy cream cheese frosting is the true icing on the cake. Of course, you don’t have to frost the cake, or you can use another type of frosting. But cream cheese + banana pairs so well and was the natural frosting choice for me. It’s guaranteed to be your new favorite banana cake recipe!
I made it for mother’s day. It was so fluffy and delicious! I used sour cream for cake, but not heavy at all, I was afraid… Good recipe for consuming bananas! No need frosting, as enough sweet for my family, lol! Will bake again:)
June
Recipe Ingredients
You’ll need the following easy-to-find refrigerator and pantry ingredients:
- Milk + lemon juice OR buttermilk: If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, that’s fine. You’ll want to sour regular milk by adding 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to 1 cup of 2% or whole milk, letting it stand for 5 minutes, stirring with a small spoon, and using that in the recipe. You can also use powdered buttermilk and mix it as directed on the packaging to create 1 cup of buttermilk
- All-purpose flour: Make sure to measure your flour correctly. This is one of the most common reasons a banana cake comes out dense. Don’t scoop your flour directly from the bag. That packs in too much and throws off the entire recipe. Instead, use a spoon to scoop flour into your measuring cup, then level it off with a straight edge. Or better yet, use a kitchen scale
- Leaveners: Baking soda and baking powder help give the cake a beautiful lift, keeping it nice and fluffy
- Spices: Ground cinnamon adds warmth and depth, and salt enhances the rest of the ingredients
- Unsalted butter: Must be room temperature
- Granulated sugar and light brown sugar: These sweeten the cake, giving it enough structure to hold its shape while staying soft and moist. The brown sugar adds a subtle molasses flavor that pairs wonderfully with the banana, too
- Large eggs
- Greek yogurt: Or substitute sour cream
- Vanilla extract
- Fresh bananas: I suggest using overripe bananas, like you would use for six banana banana bread, for a couple of reasons. First, they’re naturally sweeter, and this isn’t an overly sweet cake. So, starting with nice and ripe bananas will give you the best-tasting cake. Plus, if they’re ripe enough, you can simply add them whole straight into your mixing bowl when the time comes for them in the recipe, and your mixer will make quick work of mashing them for you
- Cream cheese frosting: Use room temperature, full-fat, brick-style cream cheese, room temperature unsalted butter, confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar), vanilla extract, and salt. Note: You can also use another type of frosting such as buttercream frosting or chocolate frosting
Want a silkier frosting?
Add 1-2 tablespoons of heavy cream to the frosting while beating. It won’t make the frosting runny, but will create a silkier, fluffier texture. Regular milk works in a pinch, but heavy cream gives noticeably better results.
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make the Best Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Follow my straightforward directions for the best banana cake with cream cheese frosting:
- Combine milk with lemon juice, or just set your buttermilk aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt with a whisk and set the dry ingredients aside.
- Beat the butter until it’s smooth before adding the sugars and beating to combine. Add the eggs, Greek yogurt, and vanilla, and beat to incorporate. Add the mashed bananas, and beat them in.
- Alternate between adding the buttermilk and the flour mixture in three rounds. Turn the cake batter out and bake until lightly golden with a slightly domed top and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs. Pay close attention to how your banana cake is looking as the baking time is nearing a close. You don’t want to overbake because your cake will be drier.
Set aside to cool completely. - Beat the frosting ingredients in a bowl, and frost your cake. Garnish with bananas on top and a sprinkle of cinnamon if you’d like, and enjoy!
Use the freezer trick for an extra moist cake
The moment your banana cake comes out of the oven, place it, still in the pan, directly into the freezer for 45 minutes. It sounds counterintuitive, but this is the secret to an exceptionally moist banana cake. The rapid cooling locks moisture into the crumb before it has a chance to escape. Then, you can frost it straight from the freezer once the 45 minutes are up.
Recipe FAQs
When I just can’t be bothered, Duncan Hines Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting is my go-to trick to frost a cake. Scratch is always better, but this is a really close second.
There are so many different kinds of frosting, from whipped and easy-to-spread to homestyle creamy. Honestly, I’m not quite sure of how they all differ exactly.
Easy-to-spread is great, so you don’t “rip” your banana cake as you’re spreading the frosting. Approximately 14 ounces of frosting in a tub covers a 9×13-inch cake in my experience.
If you want to make a layer cake, I suggest making three 8-inch round cakes OR two 9-inch round cakes.
For those wanting to make a Bundt, use a big 12-cup Bundt pan.
Note: I have only made the cake as written as a 9×13, so make sure if you alter the recipe that you don’t fill either round cake pans for a layer cake, nor a Bundt cake pan more than 2/3-full. You potentially may need to discard some batter based on your exact variables.
Yes. Fill standard cupcake liners about 2/3 full and bake at 350°F for 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set aside to cool completely, and top them with the cream cheese frosting.
Overbaking is almost always the reason. Ovens vary, so start checking at the 40-minute mark. The cake is done when the top is set and springy, and a toothpick comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs. If you see wet batter, give it 5 more minutes. Also, make sure your baking soda and baking powder aren’t expired. Old leaveners cause cakes to rise poorly and bake unevenly.
The most common causes are underbaking, overmixing, or expired leaveners. If the cake is pulled from the oven too soon, the center hasn’t fully set and will collapse as it cools. Make sure your toothpick comes out truly clean before removing from the oven, not just “mostly” clean.
Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Equipment
- 1 Glass Measuring Cup
- 2 Large Mixing Bowls
- 1 Stand Mixer Fitted with a Paddle Attachment (or a Hand Mixer)
Ingredients
Banana Cake
- 1 cup 2% or whole milk + 1 tablespoon lemon juice OR 1 cup buttermilk, at room temp
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- 1 ½ cups unsalted butter, softened to room temp
- 1 cup granulated sugar, or 1 1/3 to 1 1/2 cups for a sweeter cake
- ½ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 5 ounces Greek yogurt or sour cream, about 1/2 heaping cups
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 medium very ripe bananas, about 1 3/4 to 2 cups total mashed banana
Cream Cheese Frosting* (See Notes)
- 8 ounces brick-style cream cheese, softened to room temp (do not use anything labeled lite, fat free, or whipped)
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened to room temp
- 3 to 3 ½ cups confectioners’s sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt, or to taste
Instructions
Banana Cake
- Preheat oven to 350F and line a 9×13-inch baking pan with foil if desired for easier cleanup although it's optional and spray well with cooking spray. Tip – I like to use a square cornered 9×13-inch pan because they're a bit deeper but use what you have; set aside.
- To a glass measuring cup, add the lemon juice, top with the milk, and allow to set while you prep the cake batter. If using buttermilk, no need to also use lemon juice; simply set it out and have it at room temp and ready.
- To a large mixing bowl, add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and whisk to combine; set aside.
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or large mixing bowl and handheld electric mixer), add the butter and beat on high speed for about 2 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add the sugars and beat to incorporate and until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add the eggs, Greek yogurt (one small 5 ounce container of Chobani is what I used) or sour cream, vanilla, and beat to incorporate, about 1 minute. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add the bananas and beat to incorporate. Tip – If your bananas are sufficiently ripe, you can simply add them whole and your mixer will mash them in seconds. However, if they're not very ripe and are at all on the hard side, I suggest mashing them ahead of time and adding them now, already mashed.
- Add half the dry ingredients mixture and half the milk or buttermilk and beat lightly to incorporate.
- Repeat by adding the other half of the dry ingredients, the remainder of the milk, and beat lightly to incorporate. Do not overmix. Batter will be thick and somewhat lumpy from the bananas; this is normal and don't try to smooth it out.
- Turn the batter out into the prepared pan and bake for about 45 to 50 minutes, or until cake is set on top, lightly golden browned and springy to the touch, and a toothpick test in the center of the cake comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter.
- Allow cake to rest in the pan as it cools. It's normal for the cake to fall a bit as it cools. While the cake cools, make the frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or large mixing bowl and handheld electric mixer), add the cream cheese, butter, and beat together for 2 minutes, or until smooth and creamy. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add 3 cups confectioners' sugar, vanilla, salt, and beat on low speed initially to incorporate the sugar, then increasing to high speed, and beat for about 2 minutes.
- If desired, based on the consistency of the frosting, you may wish to add up to an additional 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar if you want a slightly thicker frosting.
- Turn the frosting out over the cake and lightly spread it to evenly frost the cake.
- Serve immediately or when desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Desserts Using Lots of Bananas:
Six-Banana Banana Chocolate Chip Cake — Yes, 6 bananas in 1 cake means it’s super SOFT, moist, and has robust banana flavor with chocolate chips in EVERY bite! EASY and one bowl! Now you know what to do with all your ripe bananas!
Caramelized Banana Upside-Down Cake — Have ripe bananas? This cake has their name all over it! Dripping with rich, buttery, caramel sauce!
Cream Cheese-Filled Banana Bread — Banana bread that’s like having cheesecake baked in! Soft, fluffy, easy, and tastes ahhhh-mazing!
Six-Banana Banana Bread — Yes, 6 bananas in 1 loaf means it’s super soft, moist & robust banana flavor! Now you know what to do with all your ripe bananas!
The Best Strawberry Banana Bread — Baking with bananas and strawberries adds so much moisture that it’s impossible to have a dry loaf!
Zucchini Banana Bread — This zucchini banana bread is so soft, tender, uber-moist, dense enough to be satisfying, but still light! It’s just sweet enough to taste like a dessert and not like you’re eating vegetables. It really is the BEST zucchini bread recipe!
Banana Bread Bars with Vanilla Bean Browned Butter Glaze — Banana bread in bar form with a glaze that soaks in and is just so.darn.good!
This is my 2nd time baking:) It’s so delicious and always finish quick as I reduce sugar to 75% so that can eat as breakfast… Thanks for delicious recipes always:)
Thanks for the 5 star review, June, and I’m so glad to hear that you love this and that you’re able to cut the sugar back and that it still turns out great!
I made it for mother’s day. It was so fluffy and delicious! I used sour cream for cake, but not heavy at all, I was afraid… Good recipe for consuming bananas! No need frosting, as enough sweet for my family, lol! Will bake again:)
Thanks for the 5 star review, June, and I’m glad this turned out so well for you and I hope you had a happy Mother’s Day! Glad you will make the cake again, too!