Banana Cake

This moist and soft banana cake is a great way to use up overripe bananas. It’s like banana bread, but with a lighter crumb and it’s baked in a bundt pan.

I love banana bread and I’ve made quite a few different versions of it.  However, I recently realized I’ve never made a banana cake.  So, this weekend, I decided to make my first one.

There are so many banana cake recipes out there and I ended up going with one by Dorie Greenspan, which I found on the Food Librarian.

The cake came out smelling so wonderful.  It took all my willpower not to devour the cake.  Instead, I waited until the next day when I had a chance to photograph it first. I kept telling myself it would taste better the next day, as it allows the banana flavor to really develop.

What Makes this Cake So Moist

Overripe bananas don’t just add flavor but they also add moisture to the cake. You will need four overripe bananas for the cake and make sure they’re pretty ripe.

The best bananas for baking are ones that have lots of dark spots or even completely browned skin. Isn’t it odd that it’s the really, really brown bananas that make the best bread or cake?

The cake is also made with sour cream, which also adds moisture. If you don’t have sour cream, you can also use plain yogurt.

Ingredients

• All-purpose flour
• Baking soda
• Salt
• Softened unsalted butter
• Sugar
• Pure vanilla extract
• Eggs
• Mashed very ripe bananas
• Sour cream

How to Make the Cake

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously grease a 12-cup Bundt pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together.

In a large bowl, beat the butter until it’s creamy. Add the sugar and beat at medium speed until the mixture is pale and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla and then add the eggs one at a time, beating for about 1 minute after each addition.

Mix in the mashed bananas and then mix in half the dry ingredients. At this point, the batter may look curdled which is fine. Add all of the sour cream and then the rest of the flour mixture. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Rap the bottom of the pan on the counter to settle the batter and pop any air bubbles.

Bake the cake for 65 to 75 minutes. Transfer the cake to a cooling rack and cool for 10 minutes. Turn the cake out onto the rack to cool to room temperature.

Tips for Making the Cake

• The cake gets its tender crumb from softened butter that is creamed with the sugar, so be sure to leave your butter out at room temperature before you make it.
• It’s also a good idea to use room temperature eggs. It’s easier to thoroughly mix them into the batter but if you forget to leave them out it won’t make a huge difference.
• Once you’ve combined all of the wet ingredients, you’ll want to add the dry ingredients in a couple of batches. At this point, the batter may look like it’s curdled, but don’t worry – that’s the way it’s supposed to look.

• I used a 12-cup bundt pan for this cake. Once you’ve poured the batter into the pan it’s a good idea to rap the pan on the counter a few times to get rid of any air bubbles in the batter. I like to smooth the top of the batter with a spatula before it goes into the oven, too.

I actually think this cake tastes better the day after it’s made. The banana flavor is a lot stronger once it has had time to fully develop.

I sprinkled some powder sugar on top and it added a nice little bit of sweetness. The banana cake was yummy.  Very similar to banana bread.  Yum! And each slice was so pretty with its nice flowery design.

More Banana Recipes

• No-Bake Banana Cake
• Banana Nut Bread
• Flourless Banana Brownies
• 3-Ingredient Banana Pancakes

Banana Cake

Servings: 1 10-inch bundt cake

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour 5 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

This banana cake is delicious and will fill your kitchen with a warm and cozy aroma as it bakes.

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Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 sticks (8-oz) unsalted butter at room temperature
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 tbsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs preferably at room temperature
• about 4 very ripe bananas mashed
• 1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt I used sour cream

Instructions

• Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 350°F. Generously butter a 9 to 10-inch (12-cup) Bundt pan.
• Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together. Using a mixer, beat the butter until creamy. Add the sugar and beat at medium speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla, then add the eggs one at a time, beating for about 1 minute after each egg goes in. Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in the bananas. Finally, mix in half the dry ingredients (the batter may look curdled), all the sour cream and then the rest of the flour mixture. Scrape the batter into the pan, rap the pan on the counter to debubble the batter and smooth the top.
• Bake for 65 to 75 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted deep into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the cake to a rack and cool for 10 minutes before unmolding onto the rack to cool to room temperature.

Notes

Recipe adapted from The Food Librarian who got it from Dorie Greenspan's book

The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.

Did you make this recipe?I'd love to see it! Mention @KirbieCravings and tag #kirbiecravings!