Soft and moist Banana Cake topped with cream cheese frosting.
Ingredients
Banana cake
- 115 grams (1/2 cup or 1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 150 grams (3/4 cup) caster sugar or granulated sugar
- 45 grams (1/4 cup) brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 210 grams (1 and 1/2 cups) plain flour or all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) buttermilk
- 160 grams (2/3 cup) mashed banana, (2–3 overripe bananas)
- 45 grams (1/2 cup) walnuts, roughly chopped
Cream cheese frosting
- 60 grams (1/4 cup) butter, softened
- 250 grams (1 and 1/4 cup) full fat cream cheese, softened, roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 250 grams (2 cups) icing sugar or powdered sugar, sifted
- 90 grams (1 cup) walnuts, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F) standard / 160 C (320 F) fan-forced. Grease and line an 8-inch square pan with baking or parchment paper, ensuring two sides overhang.
- In a large mixing bowl, add butter and sugars. Beat using an electric mixer on medium speed until pale and creamy. Add vanilla and eggs, and beat briefly until combined.
- Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt to the butter mixture, along with buttermilk and mashed banana. Gently stir using a spatula or wooden spoon until just combined. Stir in walnuts.
- Transfer to prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for approximately 40-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
- Carefully transfer cake to a wire rack to cool completely.
- To make the cream cheese frosting, add butter and cream cheese to a large mixing bowl.
- Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes until smooth and creamy. Add vanilla and sugar and beat on a low speed to combine.
- Turn mixer up to medium speed and continue to mix until frosting is smooth and creamy.
- Spread frosting using a small spatula on cooled cake. Sprinkle chopped walnuts on top.
Notes
Bananas: Be sure to use VERY ripe bananas for maximum flavour and sweetness. You want bananas that are very black or brown and spotty.
Buttermilk: I recommend using full fat storebought buttermilk for best results. If you don’t have access to buttermilk, you can use 1/4 cup regular milk and 1/4 cup full fat Greek yogurt or sour cream. Otherwise, you can try a DIY buttermilk substitute, by adding 2 teaspoons of white vinegar to 120ml (1/2 cup) of whole or full fat milk.
Walnuts: You can use raw or roasted walnuts for this recipe.
Cream cheese: Choose a full fat block or brick-style cream cheese rather than a light version or the spreadable kind. This cream cheese will produce the best and most stable results.
Storage: You can keep the cake itself in an airtight container at room temperature. Once frosted, store any leftover cake in the fridge.
Make ahead: You can freeze Banana Snack Cake once cooked and cooled. Bring back to room temperature before serving or warm slices up in the microwave for 10-15 seconds.
You can also make the cream cheese frosting ahead of time and keep it covered in the fridge – or even the freezer. Simply bring it back to room temperature and mix briefly until it comes back to spreadable consistency.
