Banana Cake

I had some very ripe bananas sitting on my shelf this past weekend, but banana bread didn't seem to fit the bill for a Sunday dinner Super Bowl treat. So I found this recipe for a classic Banana Cake instead. I had just enough of the ingredients listed to make one little layer. There would be a few other desserts at Mike's parents' house that night, so I knew a small cake would be plenty. I halved this recipe:

Banana Cake
2 eggs
1 cup mashed bananas (about 3)
2 1/2 cups cake flour (If you don't have cake flour, replace 2 tbl flour per cup with 2 tbl cornstarch.)
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup buttermilk

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and prepare two 9-inch pans (grease and flour). Mash the bananas in a small bowl. I like mine nice and smooth, but you can leave chunks, if you'd prefer. Whisk the dry ingredients together in a second bowl. In a third bowl, cream the butter and sugar together for about 3 minutes until light and fluffy. Mix in the eggs and vanilla. Add the buttermilk to the mashed bananas, and then mix it into the wet ingredients. Add the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Bake for 20-30 minutes. Once it's cooled completely, frost it with this:

Banana Cream Cheese Frosting
1/2 cup mashed bananas (about 1)
3 3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Mash the banana. In another bowl, cream the butter and cream cheese together. Add the vanilla and the lemon juice. Then mix in the mashed banana. Slowly add the powdered sugar, a little bit at a time.


The frosting really packs a banana punch and makes this cake extra special. The cake was light and moist, and the frosting was creamy and rich. We all loved it. I might not go back to banana bread ever again.