This is hands down the best banana cake recipe I’ve made. It’s easy, made from scratch, wonderfully moist, and topped with the simplest cream cheese frosting!
Ever since we shared our favorite banana bread recipe, I’ve been excited to share our recipe for banana cake. I took inspiration from our popular carrot cake to make sure this cake is wonderfully moist and super flavorful. I experimented (many times) until I landed on this gem, and I’m so excited to share it with you!
What makes this cake recipe so special is using extra mashed banana and melted butter in the batter. This simplifies the process (goodbye mixer, hello whisk!) and creates a tender, exceptionally moist cake with an intense banana flavor that surpasses other recipes I’ve tried.
Key Ingredients
- Bananas: I use a bit more mashed banana in my banana cake than I’ve seen in other recipes (3 medium). For the best cake, use very ripe bananas. I’m talking brown and speckled bananas. They are sweeter and make the baked cake soft and moist.
- Melted Butter and Oil: The butter adds incredible flavor, while 2 tablespoons of oil keeps the middle super moist. I’ve used avocado, safflower, and vegetable oil with excellent results. Melted coconut oil works, too, but the baked cake will have a light coconut flavor. I love this combo for cakes, and use both butter and oil for my favorite easy chocolate cake.
- Eggs: This cake calls for 2 eggs, which adds flavor and gives the cake some structure.
- Sugar: I love a combination of white and brown sugar. I have used 100% brown sugar, and while it was delicious, the brown sugar does make it more moist, which, because this cake is already so moist in the middle, made the cake ever-so-slightly dense.
- Sour Cream: This is the last trick in my arsenal for a moist center. Sour cream adds fat to our cake batter, which makes our banana cake extra tender and moist.
- Flour: I use all-purpose flour, but this recipe works with spelt flour or your favorite gluten-free flour blend for a gluten-free banana cake.
- Baking soda: This helps our cake rise. We don’t add baking powder (this cake recipe does not need it). Check that your baking soda has not been open for longer than 6 months (it loses its potency after that).
- Salt, Cinnamon, and Vanilla Extract: These make our cake taste amazing, resulting in an ever-so-slightly spiced cake.
- Cream Cheese Frosting: I keep the frosting for this cake really simple and a little less sweet than your typical cream cheese frosting. The banana cake has so much flavor that when I tested various frostings with it, many overpowered it. So, this stripped-down frosting with three ingredients (cream cheese, butter, and powdered sugar) was the winner! That said, if you love the creamier frosting from our carrot cake recipe, you can substitute it! For a chocolate option, try our chocolate buttercream frosting.
Find the full recipe with measurements below.
How to Make the Best Banana Cake
Tip 1: Use very ripe bananas. This holds true for all of our banana recipes. Unripe or barely ripe bananas won’t give you the same flavor, sweetness, and moisture as overripe, brown, and speckled bananas. I’ve seen some suggestions for speeding up banana browning, but the only thing I’ve found to do the job is to place them in a paper bag for an extra day or two. Patience is key on this one.
Tip 2: Whisk wet and dry ingredients separately. The cake batter couldn’t be easier. You only need two bowls, a whisk, and a spoon. Whisk the dry ingredients together in one bowl and whisk the wet ingredients together in another. When both are ready, gently fold them together. This helps prevent overmixing and keeps the banana cake tender.
Tip 3: Make our cream cheese frosting. It took a few tries to get this one right. I started with a classic recipe, but it was too sweet. After testing and adjusting, I landed on the version below, which is less sugary and perfectly balanced with the strong banana flavor of our cake. It comes together in about five minutes with an electric mixer or stand mixer.
Note, this photo was taken when we made this recipe in a round cake pan for our video. An 8-inch or 9-inch square pan or round cake pan works really well for this cake recipe.
Tip 4: Let it rest overnight (if you can wait). This cake is delicious right after frosting, but the banana flavor deepens even more by the next day. As it sits, the flour fully absorbs the banana’s moisture and sweetness. If you think it’s good on day one, wait until day two. It’s even better.
More of Our Favorite Banana Recipes
Easy Banana Cake
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
This is hands-down the best banana cake I’ve made, and it’s easy! I love this cake so much and can’t wait for you to make it. Wait until you have brown speckly bananas. Otherwise, the cake will not have enough banana flavor. This cake is lovely the day you make it, but I prefer the flavor the next day (it tastes even more like bananas), making this is a fantastic cake to make in advance!
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
Banana Cake3 medium bananas, ripe with brown speckles, 1 ¼ cups mashed banana (330g)
6 tablespoons salted butter, melted and cooled slightly, see tips (85g)
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled (195g)
¼ cup granulated sugar (50g)
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons brown sugar (38g)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs
¼ cup sour cream (55g)
Cream Cheese Frosting4.5 ounces room temperature cream cheese (128g)
6 tablespoons room temperature salted butter, see tips (85g)
1 ½ cups powdered sugar, sifted if lumpy (170g)
Directions
1Prep: Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and grease a 9×9-inch square baking pan (or use a 9-inch round cake pan). You can also line it with parchment paper to make removing the cake easier from the pan.
2Prepare the batter: In a large bowl, whisk 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, ¼ cup granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon cinnamon.
3Mash the bananas in a separate bowl until almost smooth. Then, whisk in 3 tablespoons brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of oil, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 2 eggs, and ¼ cup sour cream.
4Add the mashed banana mixture and the melted butter to the bowl with dry ingredients and whisk until combined.
5Bake the cake: Spread the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top, and then bake until the top is springy when lightly pressed, 25 to 35 minutes.
6Remove the cake from the oven and cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then carefully transfer the cake out to a cooling rack. Cool completely before frosting.
7Make the frosting: In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter with a handheld mixer at medium speed until smooth and creamy, for about 1 minute.
8Beat in the powdered sugar, a ¼ cup at a time, until combined. Continue to beat at medium speed for 30 to 45 seconds until the frosting is light and fluffy.
9When the banana cake is completely cool to the touch, frost the top, swirling the cream cheese frosting all over. Use as much or as little of the frosting as you like.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Storing: The frosted banana cake lasts at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. I keep it covered with plastic wrap or use a cake keeper or large bowl turned upside down to cover the cake. You can refrigerate unfrosted cake layers for up to 5 days or freeze them for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before adding your frosting.
- Salted butter: I typically use salted butter for this recipe (for the cake and frosting). If you have unsalted butter, add ⅛ teaspoon of extra salt to the cake batter and a small pinch to the frosting.
- Room temperature butter and cream cheese: You will need this for the frosting. If I forget to remove them from the fridge far enough in advance, I use my oven’s “proof” setting, which makes the oven between 70°F and 90°F. I place my butter and cream cheese inside and turn the oven off after 20 minutes. In about 40 minutes, the butter and cream cheese will be soft enough to use in the recipe.
- Measuring the flour: Either weigh it or use the “spoon and level” method: Fluff the flour, spoon it into the measuring cup, then level off the top with a flat edge.
- Make larger cake: Double the recipe and bake in a 9×13-inch baking pan. Expect a slightly longer bake time (40 to 50 minutes)
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
This is the first time making your banana cake but have made your banana bread many times, very delicious. My question is I have stomach issues and was wondering if I could use all avocado oil and skip the butter or if not could I make it with less butter and more avocado oil. Am making it today
Made these into mini muffins since that’s what my kids prefer and wow were they good! Made 36 mini muffins and they were gone in one setting. Didn’t even get to put any icing on, they were gone too fast!
This recipe made a delicious,moist and tasty cake. I iced this cake with peanut butter frosting.
Yum! 🙂
This was really very good. I like how the cake itself is not overly sweet – although I did splurge and use all the icing (added the sugar in 1/4 cup increments as you suggested), because it paired so well with it. The next time, I’ll add a few nuts. Snacking cake is the perfect description; just right with a cup of tea or served as an afternoon treat for friends. Thank you!
Adding nuts is a great idea! 🙂
i have a question after reading the “tips” section regarding the butter. i will most likely use salted butter as mentioned in the ‘tips’. question is: if using salted butter is the 1/4 tespoon of salt still added to complete the ingredients list for the cake? also would that 1/4 teaspoon of salt have to be adjusted [i.e. lessened] to compensate for the salt in the salted butter, like the opposite of adding 1/8 teaspoon for to compensate for the use of unsalted butter??
I usually have salted butter in my fridge, so that is what I use here. I do not reduce the salt called for in the recipe. If you are sensitive to salt in baked goods, you may consider reducing slightly. As a general rule, one stick of salted butter has 1/4 teaspoon salt.
what temp?
The full recipe gives you all of the information you need. We bake this cake at 350 F.
I mashed the bananas couple hours before I was ready to mix them. The batter seemed somewhat loose when pouring in pan. I wonder if the mashed became a little more liquid? We’ll soon see cake is in the oven. Thank you for your wonderful recipes.
I had some overripe bananas that I knew would be perfect for this delicious cake! So moist and tender and full of banana flavor. We really enjoyed it!
Yay! Such a perfect use for overripe bananas 🙂
I made this banana cake for the February 2026 challenge and my family was so excited to try it that I forgot to take a picture until after I had already cut into it. Honestly, it’s so spongey and delicious. Not overly sweet so it’s perfect to have as an afternoon snack with a cup of tea.
Really good. I added nuts to the top…taste just like banana bread! Please add an other entry for the challenge.
Love the addition of the nuts on top. That would be delicious! 🙂
I have not made this yet it’s on my to do list. However i wanted to leave a review if the entire site. I have made many of their recipes and every one was total success. Thank goodness so much to ALL of your recipes. I have saved so many that I look forward to making. One thing that you could improve is how to get to the saved recipes. It’s hard to figure out so I end of putting them in pinterest
Ha! I agree, though I’ve only made the Easy Green Chicken Enchiladas from this website, & they are SO good! It’s the only one I use. Cant wait to try their dessert recipes!
This is a very easy, but moist and delicious recipe. I made it for my neighbors 23rd anniversary and she LOVES banana. Thank you for making this a hit! This is delicious and even BETTER the next day. Definitely a keeper
We loved this cake! It wasn’t dense at all, it was very soft and the icing was so creamy and delicious! Thanks for the great recipe!
You are so welcome! We are so happy you loved the recipe 🙂
YUM! Waiting for day two where it will taste even better!!
This recipe looks great! Planning to make it tomorrow, so just confirming: salted butter AND the sea salt? Thanks!
If I doubled the recipe for a 9×13 would that work?
Yep, for me anyway. If you are sensitive to salt, you can reduce slightly.
Very easy, delicious and moist! 😋 YUM!
Yay! So happy it turned out so well for you!
I am not a huge fan of banana bread type meals, but somehow, watching this recipe on Instagram, I decided to give it a try. Besides, I had some brownish bananas at hand as well. It turned out very much to my liking, and the frosting might have played a key role in this.Delicious! I would definitely repeat this one 🙂
Yay! It is great recipe to use up those brownish bananas. So happy you enjoyed it! 🙂
Excellent cake. Quick and easy to make. I used ½ the frosting for my 9×9 cake. Perfect treat.
This was sooo good! Very moist and light. My husband loved this. Will definitely put this in our dessert rotation.
The banana cake is super easy to make and a nice banana flavor.
I’m always looking for a good banana recipe. I haven’t found one that I’ve been thrilled about till now. My search is over! This is the best recipe by far! I double the ingredients and used a 9×13 pan. I waited patiently for it to cool so I could sample a taste. No disappointment here! The frosting is the perfect topping. Soooooo delicious. As good as it is the first day, the second day as the recipe says is even better! My go to recipe from now on.
Yay! So glad you still had some leftover the next day. It does get so much better if you are patient…hard for sure! 🙂
I love your recipes and helpful tips. Can vanilla Greek yogurt be substituted for the sour cream in the cake recipes?
Hi Mariann, Greek yogurt should work (I slightly prefer the sour cream, but yogurt will still do the job). Use a creamy, thick plain yogurt.
Can’t wait to try this recipe, looks amazing! Have you made this in a loaf pan?
Hi Jennifer, We have not. You can try a 9×5 loaf pan, any smaller and you will have too much batter. Also, keep in mind that the rise and bake time might be different.
Can I use zucchini Instead of banana? I love zucchini cake but I cannot find the recipe.
Hi Sonia, While I have not done this myself, I bet you can. I like wringing shredded zucchini out (like I do in this zucchini bread) before adding to quick breads and cake batter.
Hi! If I want to use this recipe for three 6″ pans do I need to double this recipe and also do I need to adjust baking times?
Hi Amy, The cake will be thinner if you divide the batter between 3 smaller pans. If you stack them to be one tall, three-layer cake, this might be okay. Otherwise, you may want to double the recipe and make slightly thicker layers if serving them as single layer cakes.
It’s pomegranate harvest time in my backyard. So, I made this banana cake and tossed in a big handful of pomegranate arils in the batter. Super moist delicious cake. Also added pomegranate arils when I whipped up the cream cheese frosting, which turned it a beautiful pink with ruby flecks. Highly recommended addition to this great cake.
Just a question before I make. Can I put chopped pistachio in it?
Chopped pistachios would be lovely.
Would I double the recipe if I wanted to make it in a 9 x 13 pan?
Yep!
Oh my goodness is this good! Best banana cake recipe I have ever made!
Yay! 🙂
Thank you for the banana cake recipe. I have just made it and I’m really disappointed! It has hardly risen. Had to use a 10 x 8inch tin as I didn’t have 9×9. I used the correct ingredients except as I didn’t have any sour cream I used natural Greek yoghurt! Would that make the difference? I want to try it again next time I have over ripe bananas. Any help appreciated! It will get 5 star rating if I can get it to work. Yours looks delicious.
Hi Elaine, The pan you used is roughly the same volume as what’s called for in the recipe, so I do not think that would have caused any issues. The Greek yogurt should also be fine. Is it possible that you missed the baking soda or accidentally used baking powder instead? This cake is more of a snacking cake, so it’s not super tall, but it definitely rises in the oven.
Could you suggest a topping other than the cream cheese one?
I’ve made this with a simple buttercream and loved it. You can use the frosting on these chocolate cupcakes as a guide.
I made this yesterday when I got home from work. It was very quick to put together and we all loved it! I added a pinch of salt and a splash of vanilla to the frosting. I’ll definitely make it again and I’m going to add some chopped walnuts to the cake.
Chopped walnuts sounds delicious! So happy you loved the recipe 🙂
This is so delicious! I love that it doesn’t have tons of sugar like some recipes do. Thank you!
Your Easy Banana Cake was delicious and didn’t last long. Thank you for the recipe.
So happy you enjoyed it! Thank you for coming back and letting us know!
When I printed this recipe a few days ago, in the Prepare the Batter instructions, the sugar was listed as 1/3 cup although in the recipe above it was written as 1/4 cup. And the salt was listed as 1/2 tsp where in the recipe it was 1/4 tsp. Made the cake and am waiting for it to cool to frost and will have it later with our Easter dinner. It smells great and those 2 inconsistencies probably won’t make that much of a differnece. Just wanted to point it out to you. Have made many of your dishes before and I love the simplicity. Made the stir fry sauce on Friday, very good.
Hi Liz, We are sorry for the confusion! We use 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 teaspoon of salt in this recipe. The recipe should be more clear now.