Banana Cake is the perfect combination of sweet, moist, and flavorful, making it an irresistible treat for any occasion. Made with ripe bananas, it’s wonderfully soft and packed with natural sweetness. Topped with a rich cream cheese frosting for a quick snack or serving guests.
Tips and Tricks for the Perfect Banana Cake
- Use ripe bananas: The riper the bananas, the better. Overripe bananas with brown spots are the sweetest and work best in banana cake.
- Don’t overmix: When combining the wet and dry ingredients, mix until just combined. Overmixing can lead to a dense cake.
- For extra flavor, add spices: If you want to give your banana cake an extra layer of flavor, try adding a pinch of ground nutmeg or a teaspoon of cinnamon.
- Room temperature ingredients: Make sure your butter, eggs, and cream cheese are at room temperature. This will help everything mix more evenly and prevent lumps.
- Check your oven: Oven temperatures can vary, so start checking the cake around the 20-minute mark to avoid overbaking.
Variations of Banana Cake
While the classic banana cake with cream cheese frosting is delicious on its own, there are plenty of fun variations you can try:
- Banana Nut Cake: Add a handful of chopped walnuts or pecans to the batter for a crunchy texture and nutty flavor.
- Chocolate Chip Banana Cake: Stir in a cup of chocolate chips to the batter for a rich, chocolaty twist.
- Banana Cake with Caramel: Drizzle warm caramel sauce over the cake for an indulgent treat.
- Vegan Banana Cake: Replace the butter with vegan margarine and the eggs with a flax egg or chia seed egg to make this cake plant-based.
- Banana Cake with Coconut: Add shredded coconut to the batter for a tropical flair.
How to Serve Banana Cake
Banana cake is incredibly versatile and can be served in various ways:
- As a dessert: Serve a slice of banana cake as a sweet treat after dinner, topped with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
- At a party: Banana cake is perfect for gatherings. Serve it as a light afternoon snack or dessert at your next tea party, brunch, or family get-together.
- With coffee or tea: Enjoy a slice of banana cake with your morning coffee or afternoon tea.
How to Store Banana Cake
- Room temperature: If you’re planning to eat the cake within a day or two, you can store it at room temperature in an airtight container. It will stay fresh for 2-3 days.
- Refrigeration: If you want to keep the cake longer, store it in the refrigerator. The cream cheese frosting needs to be kept cold, so wrap the cake tightly in plastic wrap or foil and refrigerate it for up to a week.
- Freezing: You can freeze the banana cake either before or after frosting. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and aluminum foil, and store it in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight before serving.
Recipe FAQs
1. Can I use frozen bananas for banana cake? Yes, you can use frozen bananas, but make sure to thaw them completely and drain any excess liquid before using them in the recipe.
2. Can I make banana cake without buttermilk? If you don’t have buttermilk, you can substitute it with regular milk. Just add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar to 1/2 cup of milk and let it sit for a few minutes to sour.
3. Can I make banana cake ahead of time? Yes, banana cake can be made ahead of time. Store it in the refrigerator or freezer until you’re ready to serve.
4. How can I make the banana cake more moist? Using overripe bananas helps add moisture to the cake. Also, ensuring that you don’t overbake it will help keep the cake moist.
5. Can I add frosting to the cake before serving? Absolutely! Frost the cake just before serving or store it in the fridge and frost it right before serving for a fresh, creamy topping
Banana Cake
Banana Cake is the perfect combination of sweet, moist, and flavorful, making it an irresistible treat for any occasion. Made with ripe bananas, it’s wonderfully soft and packed with natural sweetness.
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 1 ½ cups milk
- 2 ½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice (divided)
- 1 ⅓ cups mashed bananas (about 3 medium bananas)
- ⅔ cup unsalted butter (softened)
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
For the Frosting:
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- ⅓ cup butter (softened)
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice or vanilla extract
- 1 ½ teaspoons lemon zest (optional)
- 3-3 ½ cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat & Prepare Pan: Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9x13-inch baking pan.
- Lemon Milk: Combine 1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice with 1 ½ cups milk and set aside.
- Banana Mix: Mash the bananas and stir in 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Set aside.
- Cream Butter & Sugar: Beat together softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until creamy. Add eggs one at a time, followed by vanilla. Mix on high until fluffy and light.
- Add Dry Ingredients: In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add this mixture and the milk alternately to the butter-sugar mixture, mixing gently until just combined. Fold in the mashed bananas.
- Bake: Pour the batter into the prepared pan and reduce the oven temperature to 300°F. Bake for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Avoid overbaking.
- Cool the Cake: Let the cake cool in the pan, then place it in the freezer for 45 minutes to keep it extra moist.
- Allow it to cool completely before frosting.
- Make the Frosting: Beat together softened cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Add lemon juice (or vanilla) and zest if using. Gradually add powdered sugar until you reach your desired consistency.
- Frost & Serve: Spread the frosting over the cooled cake. Slice and enjoy!
Nutrition Information
Yield
15Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 673Total Fat 19gSaturated Fat 11gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 6gCholesterol 87mgSodium 272mgCarbohydrates 122gFiber 1gSugar 99gProtein 6g
TastyFitnessRecipes.com, occasionally offers nutritional information for recipes contained on this site. This information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although tastyfitnessrecipes.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
With this banana cake recipe, you have everything you need to create a moist, flavorful, and irresistible dessert. Whether you’re making it for yourself, your family, or guests, this banana cake will undoubtedly become a go-to favorite in your baking repertoire.
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