Banana Cake

This soft and fluffy Banana Cake is loaded with bananas and topped with a creamy vanilla frosting. A cozy, comforting and delicious treat!
Slice of banana cake on a white plate.

This Banana Cake is a reminder that sometimes simple, old fashioned recipes really are the best. This cake is low maintenance, perfect for snacking, and 100% as cozy and comforting as you’d expect it to be. Prefer a chocolate version? Try our Chocolate Banana Cake.

This sour cream-based cake batter is flavored with vanilla and mashed banana, and it bakes up moist and soft. The cake gets topped with a fluffy vanilla bean buttercream frosting. There are optional garnishes (see below), but, this cake is delicious enough to stand on its own, too.

Slice of banana cake topped with caramel, nuts and sliced banana.

MORE BANANA RECIPES: EASY BANANA BREAD – BANANA NUT MUFFINS – BANANA BUNDT CAKE – HOMEMADE BANANA PUDDING – BANANA CRUMB CAKE – BLUEBERRY BANANA MUFFINS

How to make it:

This is a simple 9×13 sheet cake. Preheat your oven, grease your cake pan and whip up the cake batter:

Beat butter, egg, vanilla, and mashed banana.
In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients: flour, baking soda and salt.
Alternate adding the dry ingredients with sour cream until fully combined.
Pour into the pan and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Recipe tips:

Use overripe bananas. Brown speckled overripe bananas are extra sweet and mash really easily, making them ideal for this cake.
I chose to let the flavors of banana and vanilla be the stars of this recipe. If you prefer a spiced banana cake, you can add ½ to ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon right into the cake batter (add it into the dry ingredients).
Oven times vary, begin checking the cake for doneness around 25 minutes, then every 2-4 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Toppings and garnishes:

I adapted my favorite Vanilla Buttercream Frosting to make the perfect topping for this cake. To make the frosting:

Beat butter, powdered sugar and salt.
Add vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste and cream.
Whip on high speed until fluffy and combined.

TIP: Adjust the consistency of the frosting by adding more powdered sugar (to thicken), or more milk (to thin). Using cream (instead of milk or half & half) will result in a fluffier frosting.

Garnishes (optional): Feel free to add chopped nuts, salted caramel sauce, sliced banana, or any garnish of your your choice onto the cake before serving. Note: sliced banana will turn brown, so wait to add it until right before serving.

NEVER MISS A RECIPE! SUBSCRIBE to our free EMAIL LIST – LIKE us on FACEBOOK – Follow on INSTAGRAM

Recipe

This soft and fluffy Banana Cake is loaded with bananas and topped with a creamy vanilla frosting. A cozy, comforting and delicious treat!

5 from 3 votes

Print Pin Save Saved!

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Dessert

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Servings: 15

Calories: 442kcal

Author: Allison - Celebrating Sweets

Ingredients

Instructions

Cake:

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Using a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add eggs, vanilla and mashed banana, beating until combined, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. The mixture might look curdled, that's OK.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt.
Add half of the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, beating until just combined. Add the sour cream, beating until combined. Then mix in the remaining dry ingredients, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
Pour the batter into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, around 25-30 minutes. Place the pan on a wire rack to cool completely.