If you’re searching for the best banana cake recipe, your search is over. Not banana bread masquerading as cake—this is a soft, buttery, ultra-moist sheet cake loaded with real banana flavor and topped with silky cream cheese frosting.
I originally published this recipe in 2016 and have since added new photos and a few more success tips.
My Go-To, Never-Fail Banana Cake
This is my go-to banana cake when I have a bunch of overripe bananas sitting on the counter—and once you try it, you’ll understand why. It’s unbelievably soft and moist with a rich buttery crumb and plenty of bold banana flavor in every bite. We’re not making banana bread here—this is a true cake, tender and fluffy, topped with a thick layer of tangy cream cheese frosting that takes it over the top.
It’s simple enough for a casual bake, yet special enough for birthdays, gatherings, and holidays. One bite and you’ll understand why this is a reader favorite!
One reader, Paul, commented: “I have been baking for 15 years. I use nothing but the finest ingredients. This banana cake IS by far the best banana cake I have ever made or tasted!!! ★★★★★“
Another reader, Lorena, commented: “Words don’t do justice to what happens to your taste buds as they experience the first bite. The texture is perfectly moist, the flavor is exquisite. Hands down the best banana cake ever. It’s one of those recipes that you want to pass down as family heirlooms. ★★★★★“
Another reader, Jacqui, commented: “The title of this recipe definitely holds true… this is a keeper for sure! ★★★★★“
Another reader, Barb, commented: “My husband tried it and said that this was the best banana cake he’d ever had. I told him that was the name of the recipe! … We’d give it 10 stars if we could. Great recipe, Sally, thank you! ★★★★★“
Remember that time I told you about the best banana cake I’ve ever had? I enjoyed obsessed over it at a family reunion. My husband’s cousin made it and I stalked her down like a dessert creep and proceeded to talk her ear off about cream cheese frosting and spotty bananas for 35 minutes straight.
What? You don’t do that at parties?
It was the moistest cake I’ve ever eaten. Stick-to-the-back of your fork moist. The perfect cream cheese frosting, both sweet and tangy, sinking into the top of the cake made it even moister. Sweet, but not overpowering. Mega banana flavor, certainly more banana flavor than any banana bread I’ve ever eaten. Very buttery and cakey from creaming the butter and sugars. Just a ridiculously rich, decadent dessert.
The banana cake was dense, but not heavy. If that makes any sense? (Coming from the lady who talks about rotting bananas at social gatherings, but stick with me here.) The crumb was very soft, but they were tight crumbs. The cake didn’t fall apart when you took a forkful.
It was, hands down, the best banana cake I’ve ever had. And I haven’t stopped thinking about it since.
Start With Spotty Bananas
The recipe starts with 1 and 1/2 cups (345g) mashed bananas, or about 4 medium or 3 large ripe bananas. Now, make sure those bananas are nice and spotty. More brown spots = sweeter, more banana flavor. It’s what you want for banana bread, chocolate banana bread, and banana muffins, too. Your cake (and everyone who eats it) will thank you.
I simply mash the bananas in my mixer—the same mixer I use to make the rest of the batter. Beat the bananas on high speed for a minute, then transfer to another bowl. No need to wash the mixing bowl before you cream the butter and sugars.
Can I Use Frozen Bananas?
Yes and I do this often. Thaw the frozen bananas at room temperature. Drain off any excess liquid, mash, then use as instructed in the recipe below. See How to Freeze & Thaw Bananas for Baking.
Other Ingredients You Need:
- Flour: All-purpose flour creates the structure of this banana cake.
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda: For lift. Be sure they are fresh—expired leaveners will leave you with a dense, stodgy cake.
- Cinnamon & Salt: For flavor.
- Butter: Be sure to start with proper room-temperature butter.
- Sugar: You need both white granulated and brown sugar to sweeten this cake.
- Eggs: To bind everything together and add tenderness and lift.
- Vanilla: Essential for flavor in all banana desserts!
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk is the moist-maker in this cake. The cake wouldn’t be what it is without it! You also need the acid in buttermilk to help the baking soda do its job. If you don’t keep buttermilk on hand or can’t find it at the store, you can make this buttermilk substitute: measure 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar. Pour into a liquid measuring cup. Then add enough whole milk until it reaches 1 and 1/2 cups. Stir, let it sit for 5 minutes, and then it’s ready to be added to your batter.
Here’s the batter. There will be some lumps, and that’s fine!
You can use either a metal or glass 9×13-inch pan. I usually bake this cake in a glass pan, which works really well and bakes it evenly. If using glass, the bake time may be on the slightly longer end.
The Best Frosting for Banana Cake
This is the silkiest and smoothest cream cheese frosting I’ve ever tasted! It’s similar to the cream cheese frosting that we use for carrot cake, but the ratio of cream cheese to butter is different. For this banana cake, we’re using a 2:1 ratio of cream cheese to butter, instead of the carrot cake’s 4:1 ratio. So this makes the frosting a little firmer, silkier, and definitely more buttery!
There’s also a lot of cream cheese frosting. When you begin slathering it onto the cake, you’ll probably go “Sally, this is way too much frosting!” But it’s not. You want a nice thick layer. It’s essential.
If you love the flavor of brown butter, the brown butter cream cheese frosting from my zucchini cake would be fantastic here.
Not a fan of cream cheese frosting or just want to try something different?
More frosting flavors for banana cake:
This banana cake recipe is simple, reliable, and perfect for everything from casual baking days to celebrations, and I have a feeling it’ll earn a permanent spot in your recipe rotation. Just scroll through the many, many reviews below by home bakers who swear by this recipe for the best banana cake!
Other Banana Cake Sizes
- Layer Cake (Pictured Above): You can make this as either a 2-layer or 3-layer cake. For a 2-layer cake, divide the batter between two greased and lined 9-inch round pans and bake at 350°F (177°C) for 26–30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. For a 3-layer cake, divide the batter between three pans and bake for 22–26 minutes.
- Cupcakes: I’ve gotten a few questions about turning this cake into cupcakes. For about 2 dozen cupcakes, fill the cupcake liners halfway and bake for about 20–22 minutes. Same oven temperature. Or use this very similar banana cupcakes recipe.
- Bundt Cake: I recommend using my similar recipe for chocolate marble banana Bundt cake instead. (There’s a little extra baking powder for lift, which is helpful when baking in a large Bundt pan.) You can leave out the chocolate swirl in that recipe if you wish, and top with the cream cheese icing from this recipe for hummingbird Bundt cake.
The Best Banana Cake I’ve Ever Had
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 5 hours (includes cooling)
- Yield: serves 12
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Soft, buttery, and ultra-moist, this is truly the best banana cake. Made with ripe bananas and topped with tangy cream cheese frosting, it’s a longtime reader favorite.
Ingredients
Banana Cake
- 1 and 1/2 cups (345g) mashed bananas (about 4 medium or 3 large bananas)
- 3 cups (375g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 and 1/2 cups (360ml) buttermilk, at room temperature*
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 ounces (226g) full-fat brick cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3 cups (360g) confectioners’ sugar, plus an extra 1/4 cup if needed
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and grease a metal or glass 9×13-inch pan.
- Make the cake: Mash the bananas. I usually just use my mixer for this! Set mashed bananas aside.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
- Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and both sugars on medium-high speed until creamed together, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula as needed. Add the eggs and the vanilla. Beat on medium-high speed until combined, then beat in the mashed bananas. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. With the mixer running on low speed, add the dry ingredients in 3 additions, alternating with the buttermilk and mixing each addition just until incorporated. Do not overmix. The batter will be slightly thick and a few lumps are OK.
- Spread batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 45–50 minutes. Baking times vary, so keep an eye on yours. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If you find the top of the cake is browning too quickly in the oven, loosely cover it with aluminum foil.
- Remove the cake from the oven and set on a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely. After about 45 minutes, I usually transfer it to the refrigerator to speed things up.
- Make the frosting: In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter together on high speed until smooth and creamy. Add 3 cups confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, and salt. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to high speed and beat for 2 minutes. If you want the frosting a little thicker, add the extra 1/4 cup of confectioners sugar (I usually do). Spread the frosting on the cooled cake.
- Refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving. This helps sets the frosting and makes cutting easier.
- Cover leftover cake tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Bring to room temperature before serving, if desired.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Prepare cake through step 6. Cover the cake tightly and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Bring to room temperature, make the frosting, frost, and serve. Frosted or unfrosted cake freezes well, up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, bring to room temperature, and then frost if needed and serve.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9×13-inch Pan (Metal Pan or Glass Pan) | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Cooling Rack | Icing Spatula
- Frozen Bananas: You can use frozen bananas here. Thaw the frozen bananas. Drain off any excess liquid, mash, then use as instructed in the recipe. See How to Freeze & Thaw Bananas for Baking.
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk is required for this recipe. You can make your own DIY buttermilk substitute if needed. Add 1 Tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to a liquid measuring cup. Then add enough room-temperature whole milk to the same measuring cup until it reaches 1 and 1/2 cups (360g/ml). (In a pinch, lower-fat or nondairy milks work for this soured milk, but the cake won’t taste as moist or rich.) Stir it and let sit for 5 minutes. The homemade “buttermilk” will be somewhat curdled and ready to use in the recipe.
- Cupcakes: For about 2 dozen cupcakes, fill the cupcake liners halfway and bake for about 20–22 minutes. Same oven temperature. Or use this very similar banana cupcakes recipe.
- Can I Turn This Into a Banana Bundt Cake? I recommend using my very similar recipe for chocolate marble banana Bundt cake instead. (There’s a little extra baking powder for lift, which is helpful when baking in a large Bundt pan.) You can leave out the chocolate swirl in that recipe if you wish, and top with the cream cheese icing from this recipe for hummingbird Bundt cake.
- Layer Cake: You can make this as either a 2-layer or 3-layer cake. For a 2-layer cake, divide the batter between two greased and lined 9-inch round pans and bake at 350°F (177°C) for 26–30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. For a 3-layer cake, divide the batter between three pans and bake for 22–26 minutes. I often like to pair the layer cake with this brown butter cream cheese frosting.
Reader Comments and Reviews
My family and I love love love this cake.
Best cake ever! It’s a keeper.
This cake is amazing, Sally! I am a new-ish reader of your blog and I follow you on FB and Instagram as well. I have made several recipes and have loved them all. This banana cake is a family favorite. I have made it three times in the past couple of months. The last time I made it, I had to giggle when my husband said, “Wow, this is the best banana cake I’ve ever had.” Ha! We both agree with you. 🙂 Thanks for sharing your wonderful recipes and baking expertise with the rest of us.
I loved making this cake. WHY is mine way too dense? My beaters don’t have a really slow speed to mix the flour in. Is that it? I want to give it another try. Otherwise tasty. Tks
Hi Joan, If you think you are over-mixing your batter that can certainly lead to a dense cake. When a cake is mixed to quickly/for too long it over-develops the gluten. Try mixing the wet and dry ingredients together by hand if you don’t have slow speed on your mixer.
What an incredible cake! This is going into my recipe book as my permanent go-to for banana cake. Yum! Moist and flavoursome!
Absolutely fantastic cake recipe. Result as promised. Yum!
OMG this was such a lovely cake. Mine was fluffy and moist. I knew it would be perfect the moment I saw the ingredient list. Spot on.
Hi Sally. It’s amazing. Recipie is so easy. I made it today .and it’s best in taste .I serve it without icing wid tea. All love .
Thanks a lot for best recipe.
Loved the recipe. But my cake was very dense, not fluffy at all. Followed instructions and recipe, only thing I can think is that my buttermilk and eggs were not entirely at room temp (but not cold). Would that make it dense? My cake was more like a banana bread texture. Coincidentally my neighbor made the cake the same weekend and hers was dense too. Is this cake really supposed to come out fluffy or are people just not saying it’s dense? I’m going to try making it again today and make sure the temp of ingredients are exact. The frosting is fabulous!
Hi Debbie, This cake isn’t quite as light and fluffy as some of my other recipes. It should be dense, but not heavy. The crumb is very soft, but with tight crumbs. If yours was too heavy it could be that your ingredients were not room temperature which often leads to over-mixing to get everything to come tother. I’m glad you loved it though!
Holy moly. I would have to agree. That is the best banana cake I have ever had either. Love the tang of the buttermilk and cream cheese icing. Thank you for this delicious recipe!
Can I add shredded carrots to this recipe? Thanks!
Hi Christy, you can yes, but I recommend reducing the mashed banana if adding shredded carrots. For example, remove 1/2 cup of mashed banana and add 1/2 cup shredded carrots.
I have never made banana cake before. I’m not really sure if I’ve ever really tried it either! But when we came back from vacation, I found myself with a lot of black bananas. I decided to try this banana cake (I also made your banana bread for a friend). Let me tell you, This was the first but definitely not the last time I’m making this, it’s so delicious! Moist, fluffy with perfect banana flavor! Wow! I had some leftover caramel and added a few tablespoons to your basic buttercream recipe, then drizzled it with chocolate ganache. My boyfriend said it looked like an Entennman’s cake, lol, but tasted so much better! Can’t wait to try this with different frostings, I think brown butter frosting is next!
made this in a bunt cake pan even though it said it normally turns our dry. I added an extra half of a banana and lowered the temp to 340F in order to prevent it from drying out and it worked! it was a hit and it was gone in no time. everyone went back for seconds! such a great recipe we served it with dulce de leche! yum!
Thank you for sharing your recipe as always! I’ve been looking and tried recipes, and the outcome was sometimes it’s very dense and burnt. We have lots of bananas at home, and we love to eat I will try this one (banana muffin/bread) Thanks again.
This sounds great. Do you think I could sub out GF flour for the APF?
Hi Ginny, I haven’t personally tested this with GF flour but I have heard from other readers who have tried it successfully. Let me know if you try it!
Hi Sally, I just wanted to let you know that I made this cake using GF flour (Cup 4 Cup Brand) and made no other modifications, except I baked it in a half sheet pan. (There was a lot of batter! I was a little concerned it may overflow during baking, but it turned out fine in that regard.) Since GF flour doesn’t get tough during mixing like APF, I felt safe mixing it for a longer period too. ) My results were good, but still need some tweaking. The flavor of the cake was very good. My bananas were previously frozen and when they thawed, there was a lot of liquid, so I put them on the stove to reduce that down. In general, I believe this to be a good tweak on any banana flavored pastry. It concentrates the flavor while removing excess liquid. I measured exactly 1 1/2 cups of the reduced banana puree for the recipe. As I said, the flavor was great, but the texture was a little rubbery, very likely due to the GF flour. I’m not quite sure how to remedy that, but any suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks for the recipe!
My husband helped me make this last night. It is excellent. One change we made was to the frosting recipe. I wanted the frosting to have a banana flavor too – like the Sara Lee version had so we added 1/8 tsp of banana extract. OMG, it was fabulous. And it makes SO much frosting. Loved it. I think next time I will play with the spice/flavoring a little on the cake. Loved the consistency of the cake. Very moist and not at all crumbly or crummy. The house spelled fabulous even hours after it was done. Thanks so much for the recipe
I do not use any animal’s milk – will coconut or almond, etc., work instead?
Yes, as long as you add the acid (lemon juice or vinegar) as directed in the recipe notes.
I may have already reviewed this, but just in case, I will do it again. I don’t do well baking cakes from scratch. However, this cake is amazing. I baked 2 smaller cakes and gave one away because I couldn’t stop eating it. I did add a handful of chopped walnuts because who doesn’t love walnuts! Thanks Sally
I never comment on this things, but this time I will because I made this for me and my boyfriend (yes, the FULL recipe) and he said it’s definitely the BEST BANANA CAKE EVER. The best part?? I totally forgot about the milk, but only noticed when it was already in the oven. The bestest part? It was still soooo moisty and delicious! Specially I believe the frosting gives it a nice touch. I’m 100% saving and recommending this recipe!
Delicious!! Everyone loved it. Cream cheese frosting is perfect!
Delicious! Everyone loved it! Cream cheese frosting was perfect!
This cake was sooooo good! My whole family enjoyed it and I was pleased to find a from-scratch recipe! Thank you!
OH MY Goodness ! Loved loved loved this cake. I never made a banana cake before. I always made banana bread. I will forever keep this and your name attached to my memory.
Thanks,
Sandie
Hi Sally: I have a “tried and true” 50 year old banana cake recipe that I have been making for years. Your raves about the best banana cake ever made me want to try your recipe. It was fabulous and my entire family, even some who don’t eat banana cake by choice, loved it. I made it exactly as written and can’t wait to make it again. It is definitely an everyday cake and also a company coming cake. Thanks so much Sally.
Love reading this, Maureen! I’m thrilled you gave this recipe a try and that it was a hit with your family 🙂 Thank you for the positive feedback!
I’m in Colorado, so I added an extra egg and used 3 1/2 bananas. I didn’t have buttermilk, so I substituted 1 cup milk and a 1/2 cup Greek yogurt. It turned out amazing! It was delicious and moist.
How would I scale down to either one or two, 6 inch pans? Now that my children are gone, I would love to be able to make more desserts for two. Also, would you recommend 6 x3 or 6 x 2 inch pans? Thank you so much for sharing all of your recipes! I have made several of them and have received many compliments.
Hi Jan! The best way to do this is to make the banana cupcakes batter (just like this cake batter, but halved) and divide between 3 6 inch cake pans. You can freeze the extra layer(s) if needed. Bake time is about 20 minutes, but use a toothpick to test for doneness. I recommend 6×2 inch pans.
Such a delicious recipe! I made mine in an 8×12″ pan and used 4 ripe bananas – no issues with either change. I also took a note from your strawberry buttercream recipe and added freeze dried strawberries (pulsed to powder in a food processor) to the cream cheese frosting and it was simply divine. Thank you for another incredible recipe, Sally!
I just made this recipe into muffins. They turned out fantastic. Light and fluffy. I only realised that half way through that I needed brown sugar (which is on my shopping list) anyway they are less sweet and I love them. Thanks for the recipe.
Made this as instructed and got a lot of compliments. It may taste even better the next day.
I made this cake today and its absolutely delicious!!!!!!! Great recipe I will make many times again!!! Thank you