Banana Bread Cake
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This Banana Bread Cake tastes like your favorite banana bread but it's layered between a rich and creamy buttercream frosting. This easy cake is simplicity at its best and makes a stunning cake for any celebration!
If you're looking for more beautiful naked cakes, check out some of my other favorites like my Simple Naked Birthday Cake, Orange Carrot Ginger Cake, or my Honey Apple Carrot Cake.
Table of Contents
If you have blackened bananas then try this Banana Bread Cake recipe! While blackened bananas are not great to eat, they are perfect for baking. When bananas begin to ripen, their starches turn into sugars. This makes them easy to incorporate into baked goods. These kind of bananas also bring sweetness to baked goods.
While using black bananas is a great way to use up bananas that might have been waste, you should be using them before they go bad. Yes, bananas can even be too ripe for baking! Learn more in my post Can Bananas Ever Be Too Ripe for Baking?
Why You'll Love This Recipe
Uses Black Bananas: If you have blackened bananas and you want to make something else besides banana bread, then this Banana Bread Cake is it! I love using bananas in cake because they are a secret ingredient that make cakes super moist, fluffy, and sweet!
Simple Flavors: This Banana Bread Cake has simple flavors, but they really shine! Sometimes this is my favorite type of dessert.
Semi-Naked Cake: This stunning cake looks seriously impressive. These are my favorite kinds of cakes! Adding fresh flowers on top really takes it over the top!
Ingredients
Homemade Organic Dark Brown Sugar
Organic Bananas (very ripe!)
Organic Valley Heavy Whipping Cream
Frontier Co-Op Organic Korintje Cinnamon
Florida Crystals Organic Powdered Sugar
Tools Needed
6-inch Cake Pan (use code MIMIBAKES for 10% off Kana, my favorite sustainable cake pans!)
Parchment Paper (use code MIMIBAKES for 10% off Kana, my favorite non toxic parchment paper!)
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Step by Step Instructions
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line three 6-inch cake pans with parchment paper.
Step 2
To make the batter: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, cane sugar, and dark brown sugar and mix on low until combined.
Add the bananas, eggs, and heavy whipping cream and mix on low until combined, it may look chunky because of the bananas, that's okay.
Add the cake flour, cinnamon, baking powder, fine sea salt, and cloves in that order. Mix on low until combined into a smooth batter, you may see bits of banana which is okay.
Step 3
Butter and flour the sides of the cake pans, then transfer the batter to the prepared cake pans. They should weigh about 250 grams each. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely in the cake pans. (If you're baking at high altitude, be sure to check the Notes at the bottom of the recipe for high altitude baking instructions).
Step 4
To make the frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, powdered sugar, and heavy whipping cream. Mix on low until combined, then speed mixer up to high for 1 to 2 minutes or until light and fluffy.
Step 5
To assemble the cake: On a cake stand or cake spinner, place the first cake layer (bottom side down so it lays flat), add a generous amount of frosting. Place the second cake layer (bottom side up so the two domed sides are together), this creates a large gap around the cake which you will fill with frosting to create the look of this semi-naked cake. Add a generous amount of frosting and then add the third cake layer, bottom side up, so it is flat on top. Add a small amount of frosting and scrape the top to crumb coat it. Place the cake in the freezer for just about 10 minutes.
Step 6
Transfer the remaining frosting into a piping bag with no tip. Remove the cake from the freeze and fill in the gaps in the layers with the frosting in the piping bag. Then add a little bit on top, using your cake spatula, frost the top smooth to cover the crumbs. Then go around the entire cake to remove the excess frosting from the layers, careful not to get frosting on all of the cake so you have the semi-naked cake look.
To learn more about naked cakes, read my post How to Make a Naked Cake.
Baker's Tips
- Use overly ripe bananas. Like I mentioned above, when bananas start to ripen their starches turn into sugars. This gives banana more flavor and more sweetness, which makes them perfect for baking. So allow those bananas to ripen before making this cake.
- With naked cakes it is best to butter and flour the sides of the cake pan. It's something I don't usually recommend but with this style of cake it really helps. And to be honest, I usually forget, so it's not the end of the world if you do too. But, when you use butter for the cake, just save the wrapper as you can just go around the sides of each cake pan with this wrapper! And then just sprinkle a little flour on it as well.
- I use organic heavy whipping cream in the cake and in the frosting. I like to use heavy whipping cream for a richer flavor, but you can also use milk if you don't have cream.
- I frosted this cake with my Semi-Naked Cake look. But, the recipe makes enough frosting if you want to frost it like a traditional layer cake as well! If you go this route, be sure to trim your cake layers so you have flat cake layers.
- This cake would also be delicious if you add Caramel Sauce on top!
FAQ's
Yes, feel free to use unsalted butter. If you do, just add ¼ teaspoon of salt to the recipe.
Yes, you can, the recipe will still work. It just won't taste exactly the same as brown sugar has more flavor than light brown. But, it will still be delicious.
Yes! You do not have to do the semi-naked cake style. The frosting recipe is enough to frost the entire cake if you prefer.
Because naked cakes have cake layers exposed, you do need to store them in a cake dome. If you have extra cake, you can also store pieces in a tupperware.
Craving More?
Banana Bread Cake
Equipment
- Turntable
Ingredients
Batter
- 113 grams salted butter (softened)
- 113 grams cane sugar
- 57 grams dark brown sugar (packed)
- 2 large ripe bananas
- 2 large eggs (room temperature)
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream (room temperature)
- 170 grams cake flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
Frosting
- 170 grams salted butter (softened)
- 340 grams powdered sugar (sifted)
- 3 to 4 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line three 6-inch cake pans with parchment paper.
- To make the batter: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, cane sugar, and dark brown sugar and mix on low until combined.
- Add the bananas, eggs, and heavy whipping cream and mix on low until combined, it may look chunky because of the bananas, that's okay.
- Add the cake flour, cinnamon, baking powder, fine sea salt, and cloves in that order. Mix on low until combined into a smooth batter, you may see bits of banana which is okay.
- Butter and flour the sides of the cake pans, then transfer the batter to the prepared cake pans. They should weigh about 250 grams each.
- Bake for 20 to 22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely in the cake pans.
- To make the frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, powdered sugar, and heavy whipping cream. Mix on low until combined, then speed mixer up to high for 1 to 2 minutes or until light and fluffy.
- To assemble the cake: On a cake stand or cake spinner, place the first cake layer (bottom side down so it lays flat), add a generous amount of frosting. Place the second cake layer (bottom side up so the two domed sides are together), this creates a large gap around the cake which you will fill with frosting to create the look of this semi-naked cake. Add a generous amount of frosting and then add the third cake layer, bottom side up, so it is flat on top. Add a small amount of frosting and scrape the top to crumb coat it. Place the cake in the freezer for just about 10 minutes.
- Transfer the remaining frosting into a piping bag with no tip. Remove the cake from the freeze and fill in the gaps in the layers with the frosting in the piping bag. Then add a little bit on top, using your cake spatula, frost the top smooth to cover the crumbs. Then go around the entire cake to remove the excess frosting from the layers, careful not to get frosting on all of the cake so you have the semi-naked cake look.
- Store in a cake dome or in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Notes
Nutrition
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