Best Banana Cake Recipe

Best Banana Cake

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
Yield: serves 10
Category: Dessert
Method: Baking
Cuisine: American

Description

Soft, sweet, and loaded with ripe bananas, this is really the Best Banana Cake ever! You’ll love the light and moist crumb and decadent cream cheese frosting!

Ingredients

For the Cake:

1 1/2 cups milk
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3/4 cup butter, room temp
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3 cups flour
3 ripe medium bananas mashed, around 1 1/2 cups

For the Frosting:

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup butter, room temperature
6 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1–2 tablespoons milk
optional – 3/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut

Instructions

Make the Cake:

Preheat oven to 325°F
Coat 3 8-inch round cake pans or 2 9-inch round cake pans with nonstick spray. Cut parchment paper into rounds to fit into the bottoms of the pans. Place the parchment into each pan and coat again with nonstick spray. Set aside.
In a medium bowl combine the milk and lemon juice. Stir and set aside.
In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat the butter and both sugars on medium speed for 2 minutes.
Add in the eggs, vanilla, salt and baking soda and blend until smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.
Turn the mixer to low and add in the flour and milk in alternating additions, beginning and ending with flour, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.
Finally mix in the bananas until just incorporated.
Divide the batter evenly amongst the pans and bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, rotating the pans in the oven half-way through baking.
Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for 15-20 minutes and then remove from the pans and place on a wire rack to cool entirely.

Make the Frosting:

In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment mix the butter and cream cheese together for 2 minutes until creamy. Turn mixer to low and add in the powdered sugar.
Finally add in the vanilla and 1 tablespoon of milk.
Turn the mixer up to medium and blend until creamy, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.
If desired add in the remaining tablespoon of milk and blend until combined.
Frost cake.
If desired place the coconut in a nonstick skillet. Heat over medium-low, stirring repeatedly. The coconut will begin to turn golden brown. Watch closely, as the coconut will burn quickly.
Remove the pan from the heat and permit the coconut to cool entirely.
Garnish cake with the toasted coconut (if using).