Banana Cake with Vanilla Frosting

By Lorena_321

Ingredients

• Cake:
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 egg
• 2 T. butter, softened
• 3/4 cup mashed bananas
• 1 t. vanilla extract
• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 t. salt
• 1/2 t. baking soda
• Frosting:
• 2 T. butter, softened
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 t. vanilla bean paste (or extract)
• 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar

Details

Servings 1
Adapted from butteryum.blogspot.com

Preparation

Step 1

To make cake (easily mixed by hand):

Preheat the oven to 375F (see note below). Cream together sugar, sour cream, egg, and 2 tablespoons softened butter. Add mashed bananas and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Add flour, salt, and baking soda; mix well. Pour into greased 8x8 pan. Bake at 375F for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

To make frosting:

Cream butter and confectioner's sugar together until smooth. Slowly add the heavy cream; stir until smooth. Stir in the vanilla bean paste until fully incorporated. Spread on cooled cake.

And to think...i have 2 super ripe bananas in the kitchen! If I wasn't so sick I'd make it! =(

OMG...that looks awesome!!! I can't wait to make it. And it goes so well w/ my blog name ;-)

Bookmarking this one, my daughter was slobbering all over the place, :) Awesome photo too!

bookmarking too. It really does look light and fluffy.

i cannot wait to try and make this! it seems more intensive then my usual cake (mix, ha) but, that's okay! i'll man up and try to be awesome for this cake!

This reminds me of the banana cake my grandmother used to bake. I might have to make some for memories :)

I would make sure to survive this day to bake that delectable cake of yours. That was a genius combination, sure makes my mouth water.

Beautiful picture!! I do have some bananas in the freezer and why would I want to make a boring banana bread recipe. This sounds amazing!

Banana cake with creamy frosting would hands beat banana bread.

I made this yesterday, and can vouch for it being a winner! I will definitely make it again... and again..... and again........Jeannette

I have always believed that frosting really make a difference. It makes the food prettier.

This will be the third time I am going to make the banana cake recipe minus the frosting. The banana cake recipe you shared is perfect if you only have 2 ripe bananas left and a sour cream that needs to be used. Thank you for sharing!

Where does one purchase, "Vanilla Bean Paste", or what's the recipe so I can make it at home?

I love banana cake. I've had my Grandma's recipe for years. I have one suggestion for you to try. Next time you make this cake, turn it into a layer cake. In between the layers put a thin layer of your frosting and thin slices of bananas. Something happens as the bananas break down in the frosting and it is the best part of the cake! Also, we try and make this a day ahead of time it seems to taste better on day 2 doing it this way.

Hi Janene - I've never had anyone ask before... I guess I should think about adding a printable recipe page. Can you copy and paste for now? If not, send me your email.

I can copy and paste but it has the brown background included in it in lines. I do love your blog and your recipes look delicious. There are several I want to make.

Thank you for posting this recipe. I made it for our Pastor's family and it was so easy to make and delicious. I will definitely make this again.

Quite often I'll see a recipe and leap to it with zeal, only to find if takes a box of this, a pre-made that :-( But I read on your blog, "...shy away from boxed mixes and pre-packaged convenience foods."

When my boys left home, there was no call for daily baking and cooking but I still make sure I have a good diet and of course, the boys visit often. Their first greeting is to the fridge, after that they say 'Hi Mum'!

Have you ever quadrupled the recipe and used 2 9x13 pans. I have to make a dessert for 50 people and I love this recipe of yours. I think I would have to make 4 9x13 cakes and if I could quadruple the recipe twice, that would make it so much easier.

Sounds yummy. Lighter and fluffier than all that banana bread I've been making. Thanks!

Heeeelp! I have tried twice today to make this cake and have only come up with two very dense cakes. They were only about 3/4 inch tall and sank considerably while cooling... Where did I go wrong?

Hi Lacey - if your cake is falling in the center, it's underbaked. Have you checked your oven temperature with an oven thermometer? Your cake should be placed in the center of the oven during baking.

I'd also check to see if your baking soda is still active. Put some in a small bowl and pour a little boiling water over it - if it bubbles, it's active.

I had the same problem as Lacey! I used a glass pan so I reduced the heat to 350 but I baked well over 25 mins and it was still very underbaked. I took it out because I thought I was going to over-bake if I let it go any longer! I am going to try this recipe again, cause while my cake is not full cooked the flavor is still amazing.

do you think this would work for a round 2 layer cake? my niece loves banana and i would like to make it for her birthday...the cake doesn't need to be huge, just enough to feed 6 ppl

http://butteryum.blogspot.com/2009/04/how-to-make-italian-meringue.html

http://butteryum.blogspot.com/2009/10/how-to-make-fresh-whipped-cream-at-home.html

Hi there... I keep seeing messages about the cake being light and fluffy - I have just baked it and have also found it ended very dense and solid. I'm in Australia - and possibly don't have exactly the same ingredients available... can I ask a few questions? Firstly - is the flour Self-raising flour or plain?? I used plain, because it wasn't specified, but I am guessing that might be part of the problem. Also by baking soda is that what you add to make plain flour self-raising? or do you mean bicarbonate soda? I would love to have mine turn out the same as yours - it looks amazing!!!!

The key to getting this recipe right is honestly all about the bananas! The bananas need to be SUPER ripe, and not too big. I use just a bit under 3/4 cup, with smaller, super ripe ones - the cake turns out light, fluffy and moist. I am from Canada, and I use regular flour and baking soda which is the same as bicarbonate soda.

I just made this cake, and it was yummy !! I didn't make the icing, it didn't need it. My bananas were not as ripe as I would have liked, and I used 2 1/2 decent size bananas. I did make in a metal 8x8 pan and it was nice and fluffy.

I made this cake last week, 1st time ever making banana cake. This was absolutely delicious!!! Super fantastic!!! Extremely moist, very fluffy!!! I wanted to run out right then and there and buy more bananas to make again and again and again. I am making again today for my family, and I know they will love it as much as me. Thank you so much for posting and sharing. I took forward to making more of your recipes =)

I made the cake and it didn't come out so well :( I did add two extra bananas so Idk if thats what make the cake a fail. The outside over cooked and the inside kept wet and it cooked for well over an hr. HELP!! I want to succeed at this yummy recipe!! :)

Yes, if you added two extra bananas, that means you DOUBLED the amount called for in the recipe, which would definitely make the cake too wet. Make the recipe with the recommended 3/4 cup of mashed bananas and I think you'll have much better success.

Hi There! making this tomorrow, do you think I could substitute whole milk for heavy cream in the frosting? I don't want to make another trip to the store if I don't have to : ) Thanks!

Hi Elissa - You sure can! But add a tad less milk to begin with - you can always add more if you need to.

Hello, can I add walnut or coconut flakes to this recipe and not compromise the fluffiness of the cake. If so, which would you recommend (walnut or coconut flakes) and how much should I add . thanks.

Actually, it's a pretty dense cake. I don't know how adding walnuts or coconut to the cake batter would work out so I'd suggest adding them to the frosting - they would look nice sprinkled on top.

This was soooooo good and very moist. I doubled it, it came out great...I'm going to make it again and I think I'm going to add crushed pineapple. Will let you know how it turns out.

Came across your website and this recipe by accident and am really looking foward to trying itWhen I was about 8 years old when my family and I went to the States for Christmas. We tried a banana cake made by Sara Lee and your photo reminds me of this cake (no disrespect Sara Lee or yourself). I always remember the taste and consistency but have never been able to make a cake quite like it. I always find banana cake and bread a little too heavy and dense in flavour and texture. I have bought some bananas especially so that I can make it tomorrow by which time they should be super ripe. I will let you know the outcome once made. I now live in Spain where they sell bananas from the Canary Islands. These are much sweeter than the bananas you buy from overseas.

I just made this today!! OMG!! amazing! Think I'll make another tomorrow with the two leftover bananas for a baby shower :) thanks for sharing

HELP! I just made the cake today and it was flat and dense. I followed the recipe to the "T". But I did bake it in a glass pan and it took 35-40 minutes before it was done. It rose great while in the oven and fell flat when cooled. And when I cut into it, it was fluffy at the top and dense almost banana gummy at the bottom half.

So moist and delicious!!! Can't wait to make some more!! Thank you for posting!! :)

Ilan @ IronWhisk.com

Just made this the other day and it came out super yummy! I didn't make the icing since I didn't have all the ingredients but made a cream cheese frosting instead. It doesn't have the same texture of a regular cake so that's what might throw some people off. It's still moist and absolutely delicious!

I made this for my husband's birthday, and we all had second helpings! I couldn't find the vanilla paste, so added a little extra vanilla extract to the icing.

This was yum! I used it to make a monkey cake for a first birthday party and it was great! There's just a few pics in this post, but since you did all the work posting the recipe I wanted to share: http://normalactivities.blogspot.com/2012/09/welcome-to-jungle.html

Mine didn't come out fluffy... I tried it twice, what am I doing wrong?

I tried this recipe and it is the kind of recipe that EVERYONE would love. It's soft and moist and banana-y...and the frosting was really special with the vanilla beans. Kids will beg for this to be made....and adults will crave this as a new comfort food. Good job! I'm adding this to one of my new favorites!

It's in the oven now! I was looking for a reason to make peanut butter frosting :-) I made it with applesauce since my husband cant have dairy, I will let you know how it turns out. Your frosting will definitely be on the next cake cause I do have more bananas waiting to be used

Hi Jenna - here's a suggestion or two. Are you using an 8x8 pan? You might want to decrease the amount of banana. Also, try baking in the "lower middle" shelf of your oven. If you're not sure whether your oven is heating to the correct temp, get an oven thermometer - a very inexpensive and invaluable piece of kitchen equipment.

This cake really is to die for!! It is so good! My friend and I are making another one... double the size! We are so excited! We can't stop eating it! Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe! I think I'm going to make this for all of my family, friends and coworkers... It's lovely!

Made this cake....which came out incredible!! My only question is for the frosting, is the amount of butter the correct measurement?? It wouldn't cream with the sugar, it was as if there wasn't enough. I added more butter, and a lil more sugar til I got a good consistancy, it wound up being great....but was just wondering.

I did!! But where it says cream the butter with sugar until smooth, it wasn't anywhere near smooth as it appeared there wasn't enough butter. I guess I can give it another shot, maybe I just need to beat it on a higher setting for much longer!! Thanks for the reply!!

I wanted to love this recipe, but I did not. I had same trouble as other reviewers. Cake looked great when it came out of the oven, but as it cooled, it shrunk to about 1 inch thick. It was very heavy (dense and moist) not light and fluffy. It actually tasted more like banana bread than banana cake. I did not try the frosting the recipe.

The cake is only an inch thick so that turned out right. Too bad you didn't try the frosting - it totally makes the cake!

Could you make these into muffins/ cupcakes?!

I don't usually use cake recipes to make cupcakes because the leavening amounts almost never translate well and I really don't have the patience to figure out the necessary adjustments. HOWEVER, looking back through my previous replies, it seems I told someone that I did indeed use this recipe to make cupcakes and I reported the cupcakes turned out fine (frosting was used as a glaze). That was a year and a half ago, and I must say, I have absolutely no recollection of doing it. Go figure. If you decide to take a leap of faith, do report back. ;)

This cake is absolutely fabulous!!! And every time I make it , it never lasts long!

I want to make this amazing sounding cake for my Bunco ladies this next week...(oh, my, I barely have time for bananas to ripen to the right point) and am wondering this...

will this cake, doubled, work cooked in a bundt pan and use the wonderful icing as more of a glaze by thinning it out some with milk.? If not, I can make a sheet cake but thought the bundt would serve better.

Ooops, I forgot to mention that I can purchase old bananas at a discounted price in my local grocery store, and I've seen old bananas marked down in a convenient store in another state. Might be worth your time to call a few places that you don't normally shop at to see if they have any.

I m a college student so I don't get to bake as much as I would like to and it has been awhile since I made a cake. I love this recipe! Its so simple and when I finished the result was a beautiful golden-brown, fluffy cake. I didn't have enough ingredients to make icing. Keep baking! :)

I'm so glad you liked it. When you get a chance, definitely make the frosting - it makes the cake!

I just made this cake, but tried to half it to make a smaller cake. It came out a little dense, (my fault) probably because of the whole egg, but still good. I also think it would be great to add a few walnuts. This is a good way to use ripe bananas.

Hi Lesley - I'm not sure what you mean. When I pin a photo, I use the pin it button that I installed on my bookmark toolbar. Directions are available on Pinterest. Here's a link:

This looks SO yummy -- I can't wait to make it :) Thanks!

Can you make this in crockpot??

I'm going to be the thousandth person to compliment you on this recipe. My brutally honest boyfriend took one bite and told me it was awesome. Also, the frosting did indeed look questionable (i.e., thick and dry) when I was creaming the sugar and my admittedly-cold butter, but after adding half/half and vanilla -- WOW! What a lovely frosting.

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