This lovely banana cake with cream cheese frosting is my go-to recipe for this classic treat. It’s made with sour cream, so it’s always moist and topped with a generous layer of cream cheese frosting.

erfect Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Everyone needs a go-to banana cake recipe and this is mine. There’s nothing fancy about this banana cake, but it’s everything you expect a banana cake to be. Lots of banana flavour in a moist, but not too dense cake. And of course, on top is a generous layer of cream cheese icing, because it’s just … well, the icing on the cake!

Ingredients and Substitutions

A few notes about some of the key ingredients …

Bananas – for best results, start with bananas that are quite spotted, but not black. Once the bananas go black, they can introduce a bitter note to the cake.

Sour Cream – I highly recommend full-fat sour cream, for the most moist cake.

Recipe Tips

  • Be sure to have your ingredients at room temperature, as noted in the recipe. This is particularly true for the frosting. Take your cream cheese out of the fridge well ahead, to be sure it has time to come to room temperature. It won’t whip up well if it’s cold (it will be lumpy).
  • No, it’s not a typo. It really does bake at 300 degrees F. As for baking time, use it a rough guide. Simply bake it until it tests clean with a cake tester, as long as that takes :) Some bakers have had to bake up to 1 hour and 50 minutes. So be patient and test the center regularly after about 80 minutes.
  • Observant readers may note that I scored the top of my frosting in to “slices”. I kind of like the look. If you’d like to do that, simply score the top of the frosting into triangle-shaped “slices” by running your knife from 12 o’clock to 6 o’clock, then from 9 o’clock to 3 o’clock, then finally score each of the quarters into 3 slices, for a total of 12 “slices”. Again, I’m just scoring the very top of the frosting, not actually cutting in to the cake. I then scatter the walnuts in to the “slices”. It’s a little thing, but it looks pretty, I think.

Simply Perfect Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Making Ahead Storing and Freezing

This cake keeps well at room temperature for a couple of days. This banana cake will also freeze well up to 2 months.

banana cake with cream cheese frosting sliced

Get the Recipe: Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

A classic banana cake with cream cheese frosting, that is full of banana flavour and lovely and moist. Topped with a generous layer of cream cheese frosting. Freezes well!
4.89 stars from 9 ratings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Yield: 14 servings

Ingredients

Cake:

  • 3/4 cup butter , at room temperature
  • 2 cups white granulated sugar
  • ½ cup sour cream , full fat recommended
  • 1 1/2 cups over-ripe bananas, mashed, about 2 large bananas
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste, or vanilla extract
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and levelled
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt, if using salted butter or 1/2 teaspoon for unsalted butter
  • 1 cup milk , at least 2% b.f.

For Cream Cheese Icing (for 10-inch round cake. See recipe below re 9x13 amounts):

  • 6 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 3 Tablespoons butter, at room temperature
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste, or vanilla extract
  • 2 1/4 cups icing/confectioners' sugar

Garnish (Optional):

  • 1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts, or pecans, optional

Instructions
 

  • For the cake: Preheat oven to 300 F. (regular bake setting/not fan assisted)
  • Grease an 10-inch round springform pan and line the bottom with a round of parchment paper. (Alternately, you can bake this as a 9x13 cake. It will be a little shorter and will bake in the 60-65 minute range. You may want to up the frosting amounts to 8 oz. cream cheese/4 Tbsp butter/ 2 tsp vanilla and 3 cups icing sugar, if you want a nice thick layer of frosting).
  • In a large bowl with an electric mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the sour cream and mashed bananas and mix until combined. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the side of the bowl, as needed. Stir in vanilla.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt until thoroughly mixed.
  • Add the flour mixture to the batter in three additions, alternating with the milk in between flour additions, until all is added and just combined. Pour batter into prepared pan.
  • Bake cake in preheated oven for anywhere from 1 hour and 20 minutes - 1 hour and 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean (test and be sure!). Remove from oven and allow to stand for 10 minutes, then cover the top with aluminum foil and place in to the refrigerator for at least 1 hour, or until completely cool.
  • For the frosting: In a medium bowl with an electric mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat together the cream cheese and butter. Add the vanilla and icing sugar and beat until smooth and glossy.
  • Remove cake from refrigerator and remove the foil from the top. Spoon the prepared frosting on top of the cake and spread completely over the top in an even layer. Sprinkle top with finely chopped walnuts, if using. Gently run a knife around the edge of the pan, then loosen the outer ring of the springform pan. Carefully run a knife around under the cake, between the ring bottom and the parchment paper. When loosened, slide the cake, still with the parchment on the bottom, onto a serving platter.
  • Can be stored at room temperature or the fridge.

Notes

Be sure to read the notes above this Recipe Card, for more tips on making this recipe!
Cuisine: American
Course: Dessert
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 508kcal, Carbohydrates: 77g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 20g, Saturated Fat: 11g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 5g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 88mg, Sodium: 286mg, Potassium: 218mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 53g, Vitamin A: 676IU, Vitamin C: 2mg, Calcium: 68mg, Iron: 2mg
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