Ditch making banana bread this time with your quickly browning bananas and, instead, make this Banana Cake with Chocolate Frosting to indulge in a sweet treat!
Imagine banana bread but in cake form with a super fluffy chocolate cream cheese frosting. That is this cake.
My husband loves him some banana bread and so does my son. Brown bananas mean Connor will either get banana bread or, when the mood strikes to celebrate, this banana bread cake. Sometimes you just need to have other options, ya know?
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Ingredients You'll Need to Make Banana Cake with Chocolate Frosting
- bananas (about 4-5) mashed
- lemon juice (this keeps the bananas from getting too brown)
- all purpose flour
- baking soda
- salt
- unsalted butter
- granulated sugar
- eggs
- pure vanilla extract
- buttermilk (see below for making your own buttermilk at home)
- cream cheese
- cocoa powder
- powdered sugar
I'm guessing you have most of these ingredients already!
Making Homemade Buttermilk
No worries if you’re like me and rarely have buttermilk. To make your own, place 1 Tablespoon of either lemon juice or white vinegar in a measuring cup and then pour enough milk in the measuring cup until you hit exactly 1 cup. Give it a gentle stir and then let it sit for about 5 minutes until the milk curdles. Voila! Homemade buttermilk.
Low and Slow Keeps The Cake Moist
Okay, look. I know this is a very different recipe from my favorite slow roasted salmon, but I've used the same method for baking this cake: low and slow. Cooking the cake at a much lower temperature for longer helps keep this banana cake super moist and avoids the (delicious) crust you enjoy on a traditional banana bread. We want the layers to be consistently soft without biting into any "crust" on this cake.
I promise. Bake the cake at 275˚ for a solid hour and it'll come out delicious!
Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
This frosting is one of my all-time favorites. It only requires a few ingredients: cream cheese, unsalted butter, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and vanilla. It also only takes a few minutes of your time to put together.
The secret is to make sure your cream cheese is at room temperature before whipping. It makes the frosting much more spreadable and allows your mixer to beat some air into the frosting to make it light and fluffy.
I mean look at that frosting... <<lovey eyes>>
More Banana Desserts You'll Love
xox,
kathryn
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Banana Cake with Chocolate Frosting
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 ½ cups over-ripe bananas (about 4-5) mashed, ripe
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup unsalted butter (1 ½ sticks) softened to room temperature
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups buttermilk
For the chocolate frosting:
- 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 cups sifted powdered sugar
- ¼ tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat oven to 275°. Grease two 9" round cake pans and line with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, mix mashed banana with the lemon juice and combine with fork; set aside. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Scrape sides of bowl to make sure everything is incorporated. Beat in eggs and vanilla extract.
- Beat in the flour mixture and alternative with buttermilk, starting and ending with flour mixture.
- Fold in bananas with a spatula until just incorporated.
- Pour batter evenly into prepared pans and bake for 60 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean when stuck in the middle of the cake. Let sit in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove from the pans and place on a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
For the frosting and assembly:
- In a stand mixer with whisk attachment, whip cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add in cocoa powder and vanilla until combined and there are no lumps. Gently add powdered sugar and mix until incorporated.
- Place one cake layer on cake stand. Spread about ¾ cup of frosting onto the center of the first layer and spread into an even layer using an offset spatula. Cover bottom layer with your second layer and place remaining frosting onto top and sides of the cake*.
Ghulam Mohyudin says
It was perfect the first time. I learn so much from you as well! Keep it up great post.
Kathryn says
Thanks! Glad you liked it!
Lori says
Hi Kathryn, first off... this cake is amazing! Thank you for posting this. I'm wondering the difference in baking time/temp if using a 9x13 pan.🤔
Kathryn says
I'm so glad you like it. It's a favorite here for sure! You know...I've never cooked this cake in a 9x13 pan, but since it'll be a little thicker, I might start with 1 hour 10 minutes and just check eery 5-10 minutes as not to over bake. Let me know how it turns out!
Caitlin says
Delicious! Love the light and fluffy texture.
Kathryn says
The perfect substitute when you're sick of banana bread! Thanks so much for leaving your feedback, Caitlin!