The Banana Cake

Banana cakes are one of my all time favourite cakes ever 😁 I can even go as far as saying that if I had to pick between a variety of cakes like vanilla, chocolate, red velvet etc I would most likely reach for a luscious, silky smooth, moist and fluffy banana cake! Especially if it’s slathered with cream cheese frosting! 😋

I love this banana cake so much! It’s super easy and the results are fantastic. I actually posted a version of this cake before, banana cake with brown sugar frosting, but I wanted to make sure that this classic layered version had a spot on the blog.

Both cakes stem from the same base recipe except that the previous one is made using the reverse creaming method which makes the cake have a slightly tighter crumb but very soft and tender.

Todays version uses the standard creaming method for ultra fluffy-ness. I love dense banana breads and cakes especially when they’re moist and soft but I also wanted to have a cakey and fluffy version which is a bit tricky since we are working with banana but I’m soo happy with the results of this cake 😃

The crumb is super soft, stick-to-your-fork-moist, wonderfully fluffy and bursting with banana flavour! 😊

You guys, just imagine what it feels like tasting that first bite and the cake just melting in your mouth 😉 this cake will do that and soo much more!

To get this dreamy taste and texture in this cake, there are a few things that need to be mentioned:

• First and most importantly the bananas must be over ripe to the point where they’re so soft and spotted. This is where the true delicious banana flavour comes from and somehow the texture is smoother.
• Soft brown sugar. I love love LOVE brown sugar and I try and incorporate that into pretty much everything I make. The flavour it brings is just undeniable and I can’t imagine having any fruit or spice cake without it.
• Buttermilk and sour cream. Yes I use a mix of both because I love the extra texture and moisture that they give and the added boost of flavour they add, especially the buttermilk. If you don’t have or don’t want to use buttermilk then regular milk is fine but don’t leave out the sour cream, it’s suuppper important for this crumb 👇

Everything else is pretty much straightforward, cream the butter and sugars well, oil for extra softness and moisture, bananas, dry mix and the dairy. I love adding extra vanilla in my banana cakes because I like that flavour but cinnamon is great too 😉

To top it all off is a nice and silky cream cheese frosting that really is the best companion to banana cake right 😂

Fill and frost with that luscious cream, top with chopped walnuts and call it a day in heaven 💜

I hope you guys enjoy this cake and remember to tag me @dutchbakerblog on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter 😊

Classic banana cake

Makes a 2 or 3 layered 8 or 9 inch cake or about 24 cupcakes.

Ingredients

• 3 cups (375gms) all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• Optional: 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup (200gms) white sugar
• 1/2 cup (100gms) soft brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (100gms) softened butter
• 1/4 cup (60mls) oil
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup (250mls) buttermilk*
• 1/2 cup (120mls) sour cream**
• 1 1/2 cups (3 – 4 bananas) over ripe, spotted bananas, mashed well
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Cream cheese frosting

• 1 cup (200gms) softened butter (I use salted)
• 12 oz (1 1/2 cups) brick style cream cheese
• 4 cups (500gms) icing sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Whipping cream if needed

Method

1. Preheat oven to 160C/325F. Grease and flour cake pans.
2. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and soda, salt and optional cinnamon.
3. In a separate bowl, add the butter, the sugars and 2 tablespoons of the oil and cream until very paled and fluffy.Add in the remaining oil and whisk smooth.
4. Add in the eggs 1 at a time whisking between each addition and the vanilla. Add in the bananas and whisk until combined.
5. Alternate in the dry mix with the buttermilk and sour cream starting and ending with the dry mix. Take care not to over mix. Batter will be slightly thick. Divide cakes in cake pans and cook until baked through, 25 – 30 minutes, and a toothpick comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs attached. Cool cakes in pans for 10 – 15 minutes then place on a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting

1. Whip the cream cheese until smooth. Add in the butter and whip until combined, smooth and creamy, about 3 to 4 minutes.
2. Add in the icing sugar in two batches whipping until smooth in between each addition.
3. Add in vanilla to taste and cream if needed to thin out the frosting slightly.

For an even lighter cake, use 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour and 1/4 cup cornstarch/cornflour.

*If you can’t find buttermilk, add an extra 1/4 cup sour cream and whisk with 3/4 cups/190mls milk. So you would use 3/4 cups sour cream and 3/4 cups milk for the recipe.

**If you can’t find sour cream then thick Greek yogurt or plain yoghurt can be used instead.