I have mentioned before that cake is one of my favorite desserts. I need to get around to sharing more of my favorite cake recipes with you, because I have some great ones. Pretty much any kind of cake makes me happy. I love the cheap grocery store birthday cake, box cake, super fancy bakery cake, wedding cake, angel food… any cake! Banana cake with cream cheese frosting is a banana bread like base, topped with creamy, sweet cream cheese frosting.
You need really ripe bananas for your banana baked goods to have good strong banana flavor. I mean like turning black, these should be in the trash level ripe. I buy extra bananas and let them sit on my counter until they are full of black spots. Then I squeeze them into ziploc bags and store in my freezer. That way I always have really ripe bananas when I need them. They store very well in the freezer. They will look disgusting when you thaw them out, but they are the key.
I use a 9×13 pan for this so it gives cake squares a few inches high. You could also bake this as cupcakes or in a larger sheet pan for thinner cake pieces. I think the 9×13 pan works great though. You’d need to adjust the time for baking if you use a different pan.
This cake comes out of the oven a beautiful golden brown and it smells amazing! Your family and friends will be super happy if you make this for them.
Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 3 large eggs room temp
- 3 very ripe bananas mashed
- 2 cups AP flour
For the frosting:
- 1 8oz bar cream cheese softened
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla
Instructions
Make the cake:
- Preheat oven to 350°. In a stand mixer with paddle, cream butter vanilla, and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Add the bananas and turn up to medium until they are well blended and no big pieces remain. Add the baking soda and mix well. Scrape down the bowl and mix again.
- Add the eggs and mix well. Then add the flour on low speed just until combined.
- Scrape into a greased or parchment lined 9×13 pan.
- Bake for about 20 minutes until the top is nicely dark golden and a toothpick in the center comes out clean. It goes from golden to burning quick, so check around 15 minutes and watch closely.
- Allow to cool completely before frosting.
For the frosting:
- Add the cream cheese to the mixer with paddle attachment and beat until very smooth and no lumps remain. Add the butter and beat again until smooth.
- Add the vanilla and powdered sugar and mix well. Beat until fluffy and spread on the cooled cake.
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