Banana Bread Semi Naked Cake

This Banana Bread Semi Naked 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 organic cake for any celebration!

If you're looking for more beautiful naked cakes, check out some of my other favorites like Simple Naked Birthday Cake, Orange Ginger Carrot Cake, Chocolate Cherry Whipped Cream Cake, Cookie Dough Layer Cake, or Honey Apple Carrot Cake.

A Quick Look At The Recipe

• Recipe Name: Banana Bread Semi Naked Cake
• Ready In: 1 hour 52 minutes
• Makes: 3 layer 6-inch cake
• Main Ingredients: salted butter, bananas, powdered sugar, cake flour
• Flavor Profile: cozy, comforting banana cake with a hint of cinnamon
• Dietary Info: no seed oils, gluten free swap available
• Difficulty: Medium
• Why You’ll Love It: cozy, comforting and stunning cake for a party

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 Semi Naked Cake is it! I love using bananas in homemade cake recipes because they are a secret ingredient that make cakes super moist, fluffy, and sweet!
• Simple Flavors: This Banana Bread Semi Naked 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 to bake! Adding fresh flowers on top really takes it over the top!
• Organic Cake: I love making banana cake at home because I can use organic ingredients. This makes it so much better than anything store bought.

Ingredients

• Dark Brown Sugar: I use Homemade Dark Brown Sugar as it has a more rich flavor.
• Bananas: Be sure to use overly ripe bananas for this banana cake, this will give it the most true banana flavor.
• Cake Flour: Using cake flour gives this organic cake a very tender and light crumb. Try out my Homemade Organic Cake Flour, but store bought also works.
• Baking Powder: Use baking powder, not soda because this is a cake. Be sure to check out my post the Difference Between Baking Soda and Baking Powder for more info on leavening agents.
• Cinnamon: I use organic Korintje cinnamon, which is my favorite variety. Check out my post the Best Cinnamon to Bake With for additional info on different types of cinnamon.
• Cloves: I use organic cloves for additional spice. Cloves provide a comforting spice that no other spice can match, using just a small amount will make desserts evoke a warm and cozy vibe, just like this banana cake!

*For a full list of ingredients and measurements, visit the recipe card below.

Baker's Tips for Banana Bread Semi Naked Cake

• Always weigh ingredients for the best results.
• Use overly ripe bananas. 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 do but with this style of cake it really helps. 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 whole milk or buttermilk if you don't have cream.
• If you want cream cheese frosting on this, use Easy Homemade Cream Cheese Frosting.
• 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. And check out How to Crumb Coat a Cake if you'd like to frost the whole cake.
• I like adding fresh banana slices, Brown Butter Butterscotch Sauce, and walnuts on top as a garnish, but this is totally optional.
• This cake would also be delicious if you add Homemade Caramel True Sauce and Homemade Candied Pecans Without Eggs on top. If I'm making this during the fall, this adds such great flavor and makes the top really pretty.
• If you make this cake ahead of time, be sure to store it in a cake dome as the cake is exposed with a naked cake design, so it can dry out if it sits out.
• Gluten Free — Replace the cake flour with 170 grams (1 cup plus 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon) gluten free flour blend.
• High Altitude — Bake at 350°F for 17 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

How to Make Banana Bread Semi Naked Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line three 6-inch cake pans with parchment paper. In a large mixing bowl, add the butter, cane sugar, and dark brown sugar.

2. Mix on low until combined and there are no chunks of butter.

3. Add the eggs and bananas.

4. Mix on low until combined.

5. Add the heavy cream, cake flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and cloves.

6. Mix on low until combined and no dry bits of flour remain.

7. Transfer the cake batter to the prepared baking pans. They should weigh about 250 grams each. 

8. 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).

9. 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 (start with less, add more as needed).

10. Mix on low until combined, then speed the mixer up to high and whip until it's light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl part way through mixing to ensure a smooth, creamy frosting.

11. Remove the cakes from the cake pans. Place a dollop of frosting onto your cake turntable, cake plate, or cake board and place the first cake layer bottom side down (this ensures it's flush with what you're serving it on). Using a cake spatula, add about a third of the frosting and spread it out evenly. Top with the second cake layer, bottom side up (this helps the cake look straight). Add another third of frosting, spread evenly. Top with the last cake layer (bottom side up).

12. Add a small amount of frosting on top to crumb coat the top of the cake.

13. Transfer the remaining frosting to a piping bag and cut a small hole.

14. Using the piping bag, pipe frosting and fill in the gaps in the frosting layers so the frosting is bulging out of the frosting layers.

15. Add remaining frosting on top.

16. Using a cake spatula (tip: run it under hot water to help smooth the frosting), smooth the top of the cake.

17. Using a bench scraper, or your cake spatula again, smooth the sides of the cake. The trick here is to only go around the cake once or twice to remove excess frosting from the frosting layers. You don't want to completely coat the cake in frosting, as then it will just look crumb coated.

18. Top with fresh banana slices, chopped walnuts and butterscotch sauce. This part is totally optional, but I love this topping!

Recipe FAQ's

More Ways to Use Overly Ripe Bananas

Reduce food waste and use up those overly ripe bananas! Try them in Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Cake, Snickerdoodle Banana Baked Donuts, Eggless Mini Chocolate Chip Banana Bread, Eggless Banana Waffles, or Eggless Banana Raspberry Muffins for more banana recipes to love!

More Banana Recipes

Chocolate Banana Caramel Ice Cream Pie

Coconut Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Eggless Banana Waffles

Banana Scones with Peanut Butter Glaze