BEST Banana Cake Ever

Name: Best Banana Cake Ever
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 2 cups all purpose flour; 1/2 cup white sugar; 1/2 cup brown sugar; 1/2 cup butter; 1/2 cup milk; 1 egg; 1 1/2 cups ripe bananas ((mashed)); Pinch of salt; 1 tsp vanilla; 2 tsp baking powder; 1 tsp baking soda; 1 banana ((pureed)); 2 cups icing sugar; 1/4 cup chocolate chips ((melted))

April 16, 2019 *Updated* February 19, 2021 / By: Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy 217 Comments

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Sometimes childhood memories are so strong, and this recipe for the BEST Banana Cake Ever is one of those food memories that keep us coming back for more.

Moist cake with lots of banana flavour, topped with a banana glaze, then drizzled with chocolate. Dig in! This recipe for the best coffee cake is right up there too. Two of our favourites.

Way back when I was in Grade 7, I had a friend and her mom made this incredible homemade banana cake. It was the BEST banana cake I had ever eaten.

I asked her for the recipe, and she very gladly gave it to me. To this day it is the ONLY banana cake recipe I use. Every time I make it my family says, “oh yeah I remember that cake“!

RECIPE and INSTRUCTIONS for this gourmet banana cake are at the bottom of the post.

Ripe bananas are ALWAYS on hand. Turn them into something delicious instead of throwing them out. There are endless banana recipes to choose from.

Banana muffins are always a hit at breakfast. How about banana bread? Simple Banana Bread and Rocky Road Banana Bread are a couple of great places to use bananas.

Ingredients For Homemade Banana Cake

This easy recipe for banana cake uses simple everyday ingredients:

ripe bananas
flour
white sugar
brown sugar
butter
milk
egg
vanilla
salt
baking powder
baking soda

Banana cake vs banana bread, YES there is a difference. This moist banana cake recipe from scratch DOES NOT use buttermilk (most recipes do).

My childhood memory is of this caked baked in a 9 x 13 glass baking dish. Do you remember those? I decided to make this a little more “fancy” and use a *(affiliate) springform pan instead.

The aroma of this cake baking fills the house with a sweet banana scent. I wonder if Bath & Body Works can make that into a soap scent?

How To Make Banana Cake At Home

Baking a cake from scratch is easier than you think. This is a very simple, one layer cake.

Preheat the oven to 325ºF
Prepare your baking pan (round, square, whatever you like).
Mash the bananas and add the baking soda and mix (*do not skip this step)
Cream butter, sugar, add egg, vanilla milk.
Add the flour and baking powder, then then mashed bananas.
Scrape into pan and bake.

This is almost a one-bowl cake. Quick and easy. The perfect dessert to whip up any night of the week.

Best Cake Topping

I used a simple banana glaze made with bananas and icing sugar. It has such an INTENSE banana flavour.

If you prefer more of a classic icing, some of these would be delicious for sure:

vanilla icing
pecan frosting
chocolate icing
cinnamon frosting
cream cheese frosting

I like to place my cake on a wire rack OVER a baking sheet when I put on the glaze. Makes for easier clean up of the drips! You want the glaze to drip off the edge of the cake.

Of course, I need to incorporate chocolate into this delicious banana dessert. There is nothing easier than melting some chocolate chips to make a drizzle.

For this, I used the microwave. Then put the melted chocolate in a *(affiliate) small piping bag with a *(affiliate)round decorating tip attached. *HINT* you can also use a small plastic freezer/sandwich bag and cut a VERY SMALL hole in the corner.

Drizzle away. Make it look HOWEVER you like. I like to make lots of wavy lines. This is my playtime.

I happened to have some dried banana chips in the house, so they made their way onto this cake.

The hardest part of all is WAITING for the glaze and chocolate to set before digging in. Most times it is not fully set before we finally give in and cut into this totally delicious cake.

This cake is ALWAYS a hit. Whether I make it just for the family, or as a dessert to a dinner or potluck. It is devoured down to the very last crumb.

Sometimes the simple foods in life are BEST! Even though Mrs. N. is long gone, memories of her are always with me. I hope you give this easy banana cake a try. You will see why it is our favourite.

What are some your YOUR favourite banana desserts?

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Looking for a few more banana recipes?

Here are a few:

Do you enjoy dessert for breakfast? With this Healthy Banana Split, you certainly can. No guilt!
For a pudding that is chocolaty and delicious, give Banana Chocolate Roundup a try. Avocados make it so creamy.
Skip the store-bought frozen treats, and make these Healthy Banana Popsicles instead. A sure hit on a hot summer day.