Easy Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

A fork full of cake with frosting next to a piece of cake.

Easy Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

This easy banana cake is hands down the BEST I've ever eaten - it's moist, soft and slathered with incredibly decadent cream cheese frosting.

5 from 18 votes

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: cakes

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 45

Cool Time: 15

Total Time: 1 15

Servings: serves

Calories: 636kcal

Author: Lucy - Bake Play Smile

Equipment

Beaters, stand-mixer or Thermomix
Oven

Ingredients

For the banana cake

3 large ripe bananas (approximately 1 and ½ cups or 400g)
375 g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bi-carbonate soda
¾ tsp ground cinnamon
pinch of salt (approx ½ tsp)
170 g (¾ cup) unsalted butter room temperature
200 g (1 cup) raw sugar granulated sugar
100 g (½ cup) brown sugar light or dark
3 eggs room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
375 ml (1 and ½ cups) buttermilk see notes

Cream Cheese Frosting

250 g full fat cream cheese room temperature
115 g butter room temperature
360 g (3 cups) icing sugar confectioners sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Preheat oven to 175 degrees celsius (fan-forced). Grease a round 23cm cake tin.
Mash the bananas with a fork and set aside.
Sift the plain flour, baking powder, bi-carbonate soda, cinnamon and salt together. Set aside.
Place the room temperature butter into a large bowl. Add the raw sugar and brown sugar. Use hand-held beaters or a stand mixer to beat on high speed for 4-5 minute or until pale, smooth and creamy.
Add the eggs, vanilla extract and bananas and beat on medium speed until combined.
Alternate adding the dry ingredients with the buttermilk and continue mixing on low until only just combined (it's fine for the mixture to be a little lumpy).
Pour the cake mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 45-50 minutes (see notes). The cake is ready when a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
Remove the cake from the oven and leave in the baking tin for 15 minutes. Turn onto a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the cream cheese frosting, beat the room temperature cream cheese and butter on high speed until smooth, pale and creamy (approximately 3 minutes).
Add the sifted icing sugar and vanilla and mix on low speed, slowing increasing to high speed for 3 minutes. If the frosting is too thick, add up to a tablespoon of milk and beat through.
Spread the frosting over the cooled cake. Store in an airtight container in the fridge up to 3 days.
Thermomix Instructions - Click the link in the notes section below for the Thermomix recipe.

Video

Notes

RECIPE NOTES & TIPS

Thermomix Banana Cake Recipe - Click here for my Thermomix Banana Cake recipe.

Ripe bananas - When it comes to baking with bananas, the riper they are, the better and sweeter they will be!! So don’t throw out your old spotty, brown bananas!

Room temperature ingredients - One of the biggest tricks to baking the perfect cake is to ensure that all of your cold ingredients are brought to room temperature before using.

Creaming - When creaming the butter and sugars, ensure you beat them for at least 4-5 minutes or until very pale, creamy and smooth. It’s tempting to stop after a minute or two, but those extra few minutes will make a HUGE difference to the lightness of your cake!

Butter - you can use either salted or unsalted butter in the cream cheese frosting (I prefer salted).

Curdled mixture - This is completely fine! Once you add the dry ingredients, the mixture will become smooth again.

Buttermilk - If you don't have buttermilk you can make your own by adding 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to every 1 cup of regular milk, allowing to sit for a few minutes and then using as buttermilk. Buttermilk is the key to a deliciously moist banana cake.

Cooking time - the cooking time can vary greatly depending on your oven. I recommend checking the cake after 45 minutes and then every 5-10 minutes afterwards until cooked through.

Testing the cake - You will know that the cake is ready when a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Over-browning - Don’t worry! Simply place a sheet of foil loosely over the top of the cake and continue baking until cooked through

Storing leftovers - you can keep this banana cake in an airtight container (or covered with plastic wrap) for up to 5 days (but it’s best within 3 days).

Freezing the whole (unfrosted) cake – you can make the cake ahead of time and freeze it (without frosting on) as a whole by wrapping in plastic wrap and then a layer of foil.

Freezing individual (frosted) pieces - If you’re freezing individual slices (with or without frosting) – place them into ziploc bags or an airtight container. Defrost in the fridge overnight before allowing to come to room temperature and consuming.

Nutrition