Banana Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting
on May 15, 2025
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Soft, moist, and full of real banana flavor—this Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting is perfect for any occasion. The classic flavor and moist texture of the cake, topped with a luscious cream cheese frosting, is sure to please everyone!
🍰 Whether you’re bringing dessert to a potluck, need a quick weeknight treat, or want to impress guests, this banana cake with cream cheese frosting fits the bill. The generous 9×13 size feeds a crowd, making it ideal for gatherings!
My 2 Best Tips For Making Banana Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting
Let the Milk Sit: Giving the milk 5-10 minutes to react to the lemon juice is one of the keys to this cake being so moist! You can use fresh or bottled lemon juice, or even plain white vinegar. This is basically the homemade sub for buttermilk!
Cool the Melted Butter: We need melted butter for this recipe, but since it’s mixed with the eggs, you’ll want to let the butter cool just enough that it won’t cook the eggs. Since the pan needs oiled or buttered, I just stick the butter in the pan and put it in the oven while the oven is preheating. Pour it out of the pan and into a bowl so it can cool a bit. Now your pan is oiled, too!
🩷 Melissa
This incredibly moist, easy-to-make cake transforms overripe bananas into a decadent dessert perfect for any occasion!
Instead of throwing away those brown bananas, use them in this cake. Their natural sweetness and moisture create the perfect texture.
The combination of buttermilk (created by curdling milk with lemon juice), melted butter, and mashed bananas ensures this cake stays moist for days. Each bite is perfectly tender with just the right amount of sweetness.
This versatile recipe works beautifully with or without frosting. Add chopped nuts for extra texture, make it dairy-free by substituting oil for butter, or dust with powdered sugar for a lighter finish!
Banana Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 1/3 cups mashed ripe bananas, about 3 medium bananas
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 to 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the milk and lemon juice. Let sit for 5–10 minutes to curdle.
- In another bowl, mash the bananas until smooth. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the melted butter and sugar. Stir until well combined. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and stir gently. Add 1/3 of the milk mixture and stir again. Repeat this process two more times, alternating between flour and milk until everything is just combined.
- Gently fold in the mashed bananas until evenly distributed.
- Pour the batter into a well-buttered 9×13-inch baking pan. Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 55–65 minutes, or until the center is set and springs back lightly when touched. Let the cake cool completely before frosting.
- To make the frosting, in a large bowl, beat the softened cream cheese and butter together until smooth and fluffy.
- Add the vanilla extract and gradually beat in the powdered sugar until the frosting is smooth and spreadable (start with 3 cups and add more as needed).
- Spread the frosting over the cooled cake. Slice and enjoy!
Notes
- Skip the Frosting: You do not have to frost this cake; it is plenty sweet without the cream cheese frosting. You can just add a dusting of powdered sugar or nothing at all if you prefer, it’s still delicious. Or for a lighter option, try whipped cream or simple buttercream frosting.
- Add Nuts: You can stir in 1 cup of chopped pecans or walnuts to the batter when you add the bananas if you’d like. Nuts in this cake a delightful. And if you really like nuts you can sprinkle more chopped nuts on top of the frosting if you’d like.
- Make it Gluten-Free: If you need to make this cake dairy free you can use oil instead of the butter in this recipe, no problem. I haven’t tried it but I have a feeling this cake would lend itself well to being gluten free by using a 1:1 gluten free baking flour. The banana, butter, and eggs would all help the cake to stay moist even when switching flours. I’m going to try it!
- The cake stays fresh for up to 5 days when stored covered at room temperature (without frosting) or in the refrigerator (with frosting). The high moisture content from the bananas helps it maintain freshness longer than typical cakes.
- Wrap unfrosted cake tightly in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before frosting. You can also freeze individual slices for quick treats later.
Nutrition
Recipe FAQs
For best results, use very ripe bananas with brown spots. They’re sweeter and mash more easily, contributing to the cake’s moisture and flavor. Unripe bananas won’t provide the same sweetness or texture.
Yes! Wrap unfrosted cake tightly in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before frosting. You can also freeze individual slices for quick treats later.
The lemon juice curdles the milk, creating homemade buttermilk. This acidic mixture activates the baking soda, helping the cake rise properly and adding a subtle tang that balances the sweetness perfectly.
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