This easy banana cake comes out light and moist. It is only four ingredients and doesn’t contain any eggs, butter, oil or milk. The batter can easily be mixed by hand, so you don’t even need a mixer. This cake works great as a snack cake or dessert. It’s paired with a light cream cheese frosting.
a slice of banana cake on a plate.

I love banana cake but banana cake usually contains a long list of ingredients. This simplified banana cake is just four ingredients and so easy to make. Because it doesn’t contain any butter or oil, it is also low in fat.

Ingredients

  • Mashed Bananas
  • Self-Rising Flour
  • Sugar
  • Water

Mashed Bananas: I recommend using very ripe or overripe bananas because they are easier to mash by hand. You want to use a fork, whisk or potato masher and mash until only very small lumps remain.

Self-Rising Flour: Self-rising flour already contains baking powder and salt which is why you don’t need to add them to the recipe. If you don’t have self-rising flour on hand, you can make your own by mixing together all purpose flour, salt and baking powder. The exact ratios are discussed in the notes section of the recipe card.

Sugar: This cake is sweetened with granulated white sugar.
slices of cake lined up.

Cake Texture

This cake is very light, soft and moist. Because it doesn’t contain any fat, it does have a slight chew to it, which is typical for low fat or fat free cakes. I don’t mind the little extra chew to it (I grew up on fat-free muffin mixes and loved them.) However, if that slight chewiness bothers you and you want a more classic cake crumb, you can easily achieve that by substituting some of the water for some oil. Just add 1/3 cup of oil (canola or vegetable) and reduce the water to 2/3 cup.

Cream Cheese Whipped Cream Frosting

You can pair this cake with whatever frosting you’d like. Banana cake is often paired with cream cheese frosting. My family finds traditional cream cheese frosting to be too heavy and sweet so I made a lightened up version. This cream cheese frosting is mixed with whipped cream so it has a lighter texture and a less intense cream cheese flavor. It’s also not as sweet as typical cream cheese frosting.
overhead shot of slices of cake.

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4.93 from 13 votes

4 Ingredient Banana Cake

This easy banana cake is just four ingredients and doesn't require eggs, butter, oil or milk. It comes out light and moist and is perfect as a snack cake or dessert.
Servings: 12 slices
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
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Ingredients

  • 1 ¾ cups (230 g) self-rising flour
  • 2/3 cup (132 g) granulated white sugar
  • 1/2 cup (120 g) mashed bananas
  • 1 cup (8 oz/227 g) water

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line an 8 x 8 inch square cake pan with parchment paper.
  • Add flour and sugar to a large mixing bowl. Whisk together until evenly combined. Then sift the mixture. To do this, run your whisk rapidly back and forth until your flour mixture becomes light and powdery. This step is needed because it is difficult to break up any flour lumps after you add the liquid because of the lack of fat.
  • Add in the mashed bananas and water. Whisk until batter is smooth.
  • Pour batter into prepared baking pan. Bake for about 30-35 minutes. When cake is done it should be lightly browned on top and a toothpick inserted should come out clean. The cake will be paler than your typical banana cake because of the lack of fat. Let cake cool completely before removing and serving. If frosting your cake, also wait until it is fully cooled before frosting.

Notes

  • This recipe works best with ripe or overripe bananas as they are easier to mash. Use a fork, whisk or potato masher to mash your bananas until only very small lumps remain. You will need a little under 2 large bananas to yield 1/2 cup of mashed banana.
  • To make your own self-rising flour, whisk together 2 cups all purpose flour, 3 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt to a bowl. Measure out 1 3/4 cups for the recipe. (This recipe for self-rising flour makes more than the 1 3/4 cups of self-rising flour needed for the recipe, which is why you can't add the full amount.)
  • I discuss more about the texture of this cake in the post. Because the cake has no fat, it is light, soft and moist but has a slightly chewy finish to it. Some people don't like this texture. I don't mind it at all. But if you want a regular cake finish, all you need to do is substitute some of the water for fat. Use only 2/3 cup of water and add 1/3 cup of vegetable or canola oil.
  • Cream cheese whipped cream frosting: You can pair this with your favorite cream cheese frosting. I made a lightened-up cream cheese frosting because most of my family does not like regular cream cheese frosting.
  • For this cream cheese frosting you will need 3 oz of cream cheese (softened to room temperature), 4-5 oz of heavy cream (chilled/straight from fridge), and 5-7 tbsp of granulated white sugar (or more to taste). I recommend using a hand mixer. 
  • Beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth and fluffy. Gradually add in cold heavy cream and beat at highest speed until stiff peaks form.  Taste and adjust as needed. You can add more sugar if you do not find your frosting sweet enough. You can add more heavy cream if you want a lighter frosting.
  • Estimated nutrition is for the cake only and does not include frosting. One cake slice contains less than 1 g of fat but the nutrition calculator is unable to display less than 1.
Serving: 1slice, Calories: 107kcal, Carbohydrates: 26g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 1g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 205mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 12g, NET CARBS: 25
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. This is not a comprehensive list of all the nutrients in the recipe (i.e., does not include vitamins, cholesterol, etc). I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
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