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, Â I had a friend and her mom made this incredible homemade banana cake. It was the BESTÂ 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.
Best Banana Cake Ever
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- ½ cup white sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup butter
- ½ cup milk
- 1 egg
- 1 ½ cups ripe bananas (mashed)
- Pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoons baking soda
For the Glaze:
- 1 banana (pureed)
- 2 cups icing sugar
For the Chocolate Drizzle:
- ¼ cup chocolate chips (melted)
Instructions
For the Cake:
- Preheat Oven to 325°F
- Prepare a springform pan (or your baking pan of choice) and set aside. This recipe works well in a 9 x 13 pan as well.
- **Mash bananas and add baking soda to banana mixture.** (Important step)
- Cream butter and sugars.
- Add egg, vanilla and milk.
- Add flour, baking powder and salt.
- Add banana mixture to batter.
- Scrape batter into greased baking dish.
- Bake for approximately 25 - 30 minutes (until done). Check with a cake tester.
- Cool and glaze.
For the Glaze:
- Puree banana (I used a mini food processor).
- Add icing sugar a bit at a time, to reach your desired consistency of glaze.
- Place cake on a wire rack (that is on top of a baking sheet to collect the drips).
- Pour glaze over the cake, be sure to use an offset spatula and push the glaze over the edge.
- Let the glaze set.
For the Chocolate Drizzle:
- Melt the chocolate chips (I used the microwave).
- Place melted chocolate into a small piping bag with a narrow decorating tip inserted. You can also just place in a plastic bag and cut a SMALL hole in the corner.
- Drizzle chocolate over cake.
- Allow chocolate to set slightly before moving the cake to a serving platter.
- ENJOY!!
Nutrition Information
Notes
Claudia Krusch
Banana Cake, oh, my! My son will love that! I can’t wait to try it!
Chef G
Enjoy!!
Jessica Harlow
Simple ingredients are always a must for me with new recipes and this fits the bill. I love the chocolate drizzle you added too!
Chef G
Chocolate always makes things better!!
Laura Funk
Ohh! My kids and husband would go crazy for this! I might need to try it.
Chef G
I know mine do!!
Mama to 5 BLessings
This cake looks nice and moist! I bet it would not last long in my home – yum!
Chef G
I know it doesn’t in our house.
Karissa @WithOurBest
I honestly can’t say that I’ve ever had banana… cake! I have lived on banana bread now and again when we have a ton of bananas! This looks great!
Chef G
Well there is something new to try….you will love it!!
Tiaras & Tantrums
I don’t ‘think I have ever had a banana cake before. I will have to try this recipe out, my kids really like bananas a lot.
Chef G
They will love it!!
Rebecca Bryant
OH my how delicious is that cake. I so want to try it my mouth is watering.
Chef G
Hope you enjoy it!!
Ashley @Irishred02
That is an interesting banana cake! It looks tasty!
Chef G
Thanks
Athena
I am definitely pinning this for later. I purposely buy a bunch of bananas each week so we have some left over to brown. We use them for bread, dog treats, banana ice cream and more. But this would be something new to try.
Chef G
Hope you enjoy it!!
WendysHat
Yum! I love banana bread and cake so I know I will love this! Thanks!
Chef G
Hope you enjoy it!!
Amanda Love
I love banana bread but have never made banana cake. We always have right bananas in our house so I might have to give this a try.
Laura
Looks great Gloria! Love Banana bread and cake and I am looking forward to trying your Mom’s recipe!
Chef G
Hope you enjoy it!!
Dreammerin
Delicious!!
Perfect!
I need try to do this! 😉
Chef G
Hope you do!! Thanks!!
Patricia @ Grab a Plate
Oh, I love good food memories! This looks and sounds really great, and I’m due for a few over-ripe bananas on my counter soon! Now I have another good use for them – yum!
Chef G
Yes sometimes childhood memories hold a special place in your heart.
Megan @ A Dash of Megnut
Mmmmm I’m currently obsessed with all things bananas so I’m sure I would love this cake too!
Chef G
Please enjoy!!