Banana Cake is a well loved classic and my banana cake is moist (eek!), fluffy and packed full of banana flavour and topped with cream cheese icing, just like the classic.
Until today I have never had banana cake with anything other than chocolate icing. I know that different families and countries have their own preferences and ideas on what icing should be used on banana cake. Chocolate, cream cheese, plain vanilla…. The choices are endless and really its down to personal taste. Today I decided to try cream cheese and it was so good I decided that’s the icing we’re going with for this cake.
To create this recipe I took elements from many different recipes and just sort of threw them to create this masterpiece. Lets go into a little bit of detail on the ingredients:
Butter: I opted for butter as the fat in this cake over oil. Beating the butter and sugar creates a light and fluffy cake and I like the ‘butteriness’ that butter gives the banana cake rather than oil.
Brown Sugar: Adds extra moistness and a lovely deep, rich flavour that enhances the banana.
Bananas: The key ingredient here! Just a little note on the bananas. You want the over-ripe, very mottled bananas. These give off the best flavour and sweetness in baking.
For the cream cheese icing, I used this simple, classic recipe. It has never let me down and everyone loves it!
Every banana cake I have had has always been baked in a square pan. Not sure if that’s common practice (anyone know?) but I decided to keep that going with mine.
Take a look at the video tutorial below and remember to subscribe to my YouTube channel for more delicious treats.
Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Icing
Ingredients
- 1/2 Cup Butter, Softened (120g)
- 1/2 Cup Sugar (100g)
- 1/3 Cup Brown Sugar (75g)
- 2 Large Eggs
- 1 and 1/4 Cups Mashed Banana (around 3 bananas)
- 3/4 Cup Milk
- 2 Cups All Purpose Flour (250g)
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 3/4 tsp Cinnamon
Cream Cheese Icing;
- 1 Cup Cream Cheese (250g)
- 1/2 Cup Butter, Softened (110g)
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 2 and 1/2- 3 Cups Icing Sugar (310-360g)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and grease or line a 22cm square baking pan with baking paper and set aside.
- Beat the butter, sugar and brown sugar together until light and fluffy.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time beating well after each addition.
- Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon together.
- Add half the flour mixture to the butter mixture and fold in. Add in half the milk and fold in.
- Repeat the process.
- Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
- Allow to cool completely before icing.
- To make the cream cheese icing, beat the butter until smooth.
- Add in the cream cheese and beat together until smooth.
- Add in the vanilla extract and slowly add the icing sugar until all combined.
- Smooth over the top and sides of the banana cake and serve!
Video
Nutrition
The Sunday Mode
This looks so so good, I was actually just telling someone the other day that I haven’t had a good banana bread in such a long time. I love the cream cheese icing as well, I only discovered cream cheese in baked goods about a year ago (we don’t seem to do it in Australia!) but it’s so tasty!
Julia // The Sunday Mode
Emma
Really? That’s interesting as cream cheese icing seems quite popular in New Zealand! It’s probably my favourite icing.