Small Banana Cake

Meet our 6-inch Small Banana Cake topped with crunchy, pecan, brown sugar crumbs. You only need one banana to make this soft and tender cake, and it’ll serve just 4-6. It’s the latest scaled-down recipe to join our Small Batch collection.

Banana Cake never looked so good!

Or so small. But that’s exactly what we were going for with this tiny 6-inch Banana Cake. You only need one ripe banana and a handful of pantry staples to make this recipe.

With a crunchy, pecan, brown sugar crumb and a soft, buttery texture, this Small Banana Cake is sure to be a family fave. It serves just 2, 4 or 6.

why you will love this recipe

• You only need ONE banana to make it
• It’s topped with a crunchy, buttery crumb
• Makes just one small 6-inch cake
• Serves 4-6 people

recipe testing

If you’re anything like me, you’ll often find a lonely, blackened banana sitting at the bottom of your fruit bowl at the end of the week. But with most banana bakes calling for two or three bananas, having just one was never useful – until now.

My Small Banana Cake takes one banana and transforms it into a beautiful, buttery 6-inch cake. It’s simple and sweet and perfect for a leisurely morning tea, lunchbox treat or small celebration.

This recipe is a combination of some of my favourite cake recipes. I started by scaling down my favourite Banana Cake. I tried a few different versions, playing around with the raising agents, the amount of sugar and buttermilk versus yogurt.

Ultimately, I found a blend of baking powder and soda created the best rise and Greek yogurt helped develop a truly soft crumb.

Instead of covering this cake with frosting – which you totally can – I opted for a nutty crumb. It’s actually a scaled-down version of the buttery topping on my favourite Coffee Cake.

It’s a marvelous combination. Turning this cake from a tasty Banana Snack Cake to a lick-your-fingers-clean, I-must-make-this-again, kinda cake.

what you will need

Just a handful of pantry staples will give you one tiny, but flavour-packed Banana Cake. Just make sure your banana is as ripe as possible! Here’s what you will need:

• Plain flour: Or all-purpose flour.
• Cinnamon
• Baking powder
• Baking soda
• Butter
• Brown sugar: For an extra flavour kick.
• Egg
• Banana: A very ripe, black, spotty, smelly banana is best.
• Greek yogurt: Buttermilk or sour cream will work as well, but I definitely loved this cake most when using Greek yogurt or natural yogurt. It makes it light and springy.
• Pecans: Or walnuts. Or any nut really! Of course, if you’d rather skip the crumb, you can just make the banana cake by itself or smother it with frosting. Your choice!
• Icing sugar: Or powdered sugar. Just a touch for a sweet sugar glaze. Entirely optional though!

the cake

This Small Banana Cake is quick and easy to make. You will need an electric mixer as you start by creaming together the butter and sugar. This helps to create a light and tender cake.

After you add the egg, you will simply add all the dry ingredients, along with the mashed banana, and the yogurt. The cake batter will be thick and gloopy – this is perfect!

tips for perfect banana cake

1. Choose a VERY ripe banana: The riper, spottier and smellier your banana, the more banana flavour and sweetness it will add to your cake. If you’ve ever made a bland banana cake or banana bread, chances are the banana wasn’t ripe enough. Save this recipe for when the banana in your fruit bowl seems well past its use-by date.
2. Weigh your dry ingredients: Adding just the right amount of flour will give you a perfectly soft but structured Banana Cake. It is very easy to overmeasure flour using cups, which will result in a dry cake.
3. Mash your banana VERY well: If your banana is not mashed well, but still has large chunks in it, those banana pieces will create gooey, smoosh-y pockets in your cake. Mash your banana really well with a fork, or even mix the banana briefly with your electric mixer for best results.
4. Don’t over-mix your cake batter: Once your cake batter is combined, you can stop mixing. This cake batter will be lumpy and bumpy and that is totally fine. Over-mixing can result in a dry or tough cake.

the crumb

If you want to take your Banana Cake to the next level – with just 30 seconds of effort – make these crumbs. All you need to do is pour melted butter over flour, sugar and pecans and stir to combine. Then scatter the crumbs over the top of the cake when you are ready to bake.

These brown sugar crumbs will bake right into the cake and give a lovely, crunchy topping. They’re buttery and sweet and honestly don’t know if I can ever go back!

the glaze

The finishing touch to this cake is a sweet sugar glaze, made with just two ingredients. It’s entirely optional, but to me, it makes this Small Banana Cake complete.

The cake itself is not overly sweet, so it adds a pop of sweetness, while also acting as a gorgeous drizzle.

frequently asked questions

more banana-rama recipes

• Chocolate Banana Muffins
• Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
• Classic Banana Cake
• Banana Caramel Pie

Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Hungry for more? Join me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter for more amazing recipe ideas.

Let’s Bake

Small Banana Cake

Yield Serves 4-6 1x

1x2x3x

★★★★★

5 from 5 reviews

Prep: 30 minutesCook: 30 minutesTotal: 1 hour

Soft and tender 6-inch Banana Cake with cream cheese frosting.

Print Pin Rate

Ingredients

Pecan crumb

• 25 grams plain flour or all purpose flour
• 15 grams (1 tablespoon) brown sugar
• 25 grams (1/4 cup) pecans or walnuts, roughly chopped
• 20 grams butter, melted

Small banana cake

• 105 grams (3/4 cup) plain flour or all purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 60 grams (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 60 grams (1/3 cup) brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 80 grams (1/3 cup) banana, mashed well (approximately 1 large banana)
• 60 ml (1/4 cup) Greek yogurt or natural yogurt 

Sugar glaze

• 20 grams (2 tablespoons) icing sugar or powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 tablespoon milk

Instructions

1. Grease and line a 6-inch round cake pan with baking or parchment paper. Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F) standard / 160 C (320 F) fan-forced.
2. Pecan crumb
   In a small bowl, add flour, brown sugar and pecans. Pour over melted butter and mix until nuts are completely coated. Set aside.
3. Banana cake
   In a medium bowl, add plain flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
4. In a medium mixing bowl, add butter and sugar and beat with an electric mixer on medium speed for 1-2 minutes until creamy. Add egg and beat until combined.
5. Add dry ingredients to the butter mixture, along with the yogurt and mashed banana. Gently mix until just combined. Cake batter may be a little lumpy – this is fine. 
6. Transfer cake batter to prepared pan and then sprinkle pecan crumbs all over the top.
7. Bake cake for approximately 25-30 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Leave to cool completely.
8. Sugar glaze
   Mix together sugar and milk. Stir until smooth. Drizzle glaze all over the cake. Cut into slices to serve. 

Notes

Banana: The riper, spottier and smellier your banana, the more banana flavour and sweetness it will add to your cake. If you’ve ever made a bland banana cake or banana bread, chances are the banana wasn’t ripe enough. Save this recipe for when your banana is well past its use-by date.

Greek yogurt: Buttermilk or sour cream will work as well, but I definitely loved this cake most when using Greek yogurt or natural yogurt. It makes it light and springy.

Nut-free: To make this cake nut-free, simply omit the pecan crumb topping. 

Storage: This cake will keep well in an airtight container at room temperature. Alternatively, you can freeze any leftovers – though I’d be surprised if you had any! 

Nutrition Information

Serving Size: 1 slice Calories: 301 Sugar: 17.9 g Sodium: 124.4 mg Fat: 15.5 g Carbohydrates: 36.9 g Protein: 5.1 g Cholesterol: 61.3 mg

Nutrition information is a guide only.

Author: Jessica HolmesCategory: CakeCuisine: Dessert

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