This old fashioned spiced banana cake recipe with brown butter cream cheese frosting is my favorite snacking cake! If you like banana spice bread, you'll love this easy banana spice cake to use up your overripe bananas!
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Once you've made this spiced banana cake, check out my Chocolate Beignets, my M&M Rice Krispie Treats, and my Bananas Foster Pancakes!
Spiced Banana Cake Recipe
When you have some bananas you need to use up, the advice is usually a classic banana bread -- which is a great option! My 4 Ingredient Banana Bread and my Pineapple Banana Bread are so delicious! But if you also have the fixings for this tangy, nutty brown butter cream cheese frosting, it would be a shame to miss the opportunity for a rich, moist banana cake!
And with the best banana cake recipe that's so easy, you're just a few whisks away from a delicious dessert worthy of any celebration. Or it's perfect as just a sweet treat at home! And just look at that brown butter cream cheese frosting!
Ingredients
To put together this banana cake, just preheat your oven to 350 degrees, grease and line your 8-inch round cake pan, and gather your ingredients. The full list of ingredients is in the recipe card below, but here's what you'll need:
- brown sugar: the best way to give the cake a richer, warmer sweetness than white sugar, and gives it a denser texture. I like to use light brown sugar here, but dark brown sugar works in this recipe too.
- eggs: they should be at room temperature -- just take them out of the fridge 30-60 minutes before you start.
- pure vanilla extract: this is the vanilla I use, but any good quality pure vanilla should work. Or better yet, check out my post on how to make vanilla extract at home with just 2 ingredients!
- mashed bananas: should equal about ¾ cup. Your bananas should be very over-ripe, the darker the better.
- vegetable oil: using oil instead of butter is a great way to give the cake batter richness but keep it from drying out. Any neutral-flavored vegetable oil that you prefer should work.
- buttermilk: Perfect for adding a bit more tanginess and making a tender cake. This should also be room temperature. I prefer whole milk buttermilk, but low-fat is fine also. If you don't have buttermilk, here's a handy method to make it at home!
- flour: I always measure out my flour by weight to be sure the amount is accurate, but if you don't have a kitchen scale, you'll need to fluff or sift the flour and then spoon it into your measuring cup. BUT you should definitely consider getting a kitchen scale! They're inexpensive and I use mine every day! Check out some of my other essential kitchen tools here.
- cinnamon & nutmeg - these warm spices are perfect for giving this old fashioned spiced banana cake recipe amazing flavor and a hint of spice! And if you love these spices, you'll definitely want to try my Chai Spice Bundt Cake and my Cinnamon Roll Apple Pies! And one of my newer favorites, my Cake Mix Apple Cobbler!
- baking powder - gives the cake a nice lift!
- salt - brings out all those great flavors.
And from there, this banana cake couldn't be easier to whip up! Then it's time for the best thing about this easy spiced banana cake: the brown butter cream cheese frosting. You know me -- anything made with browned butter is impossible for me to resist! This brown butter cream cheese frosting is so easy to throw together, and it's perfect to dollop on top of this banana cake!
Equipment
You won't need any special equipment for this easy banana cake, but it will help to have an electric mixer to whip up the brown butter cream cheese frosting. You'll also want to have a wire rack to let this fluffy cake cool!
You'll also want an 8-inch cake pan to bake the cake, and mixing bowls to mix up the batter.
Banana Spice Bundt Cake
One of my favorite things is making single-layer cakes like this one, or like my Orange Rosemary Olive Oil Cake or my Earl Grey Lavender Cake with Honey-Lemon Glaze. You eliminate so many issues like evening out the batter in each pan, making sure each layer bakes evenly, stacking the layers neatly with the frosting, and doubling or tripling your homemade cream cheese frosting recipe to accommodate the sides and top of the cake.
That being said, you can also make this cake in a Bundt pan like my Rum Pound Cake with Brown Butter Glaze. You'll want to decrease the oven temperature to 325 and adjust the bake time to bake it for 45 to 65 minutes. Let me know in the comments if you try this -- I think this delicious cake would be beautiful as a spiced banana bundt cake! And see my post with all my favorite Bundt cakes and pound cakes!
Banana Spice Cake with Box Mix
You can whip up this banana spice cake with a box mix too! Just replace the brown sugar and dry ingredients (flour, spices, and salt) with half of a spice cake mix (about 8 ounces of mix). Then mix the batter up as usual! That way, you can make this spiced banana cake even easier!
Overripe Bananas for Banana Cake
For any good banana cake recipe, you need overripe bananas -- that is, the ripest bananas you can find, with lots of brown spots and bruising. The more brownness on your banana, the sweeter they'll be when you add them to the recipe, and your cake will have a richer banana flavor. And pro-tip: if you have bananas that aren't quite at that point yet, there are a few shortcuts to get them to ripen in just minutes!
Once you have your bananas ready to go, you're ready to make this delicious banana cake!
Related Recipes
If you love this banana cake, you will definitely want to try my pineapple banana bread and my brown butter banana blondies! They're perfect to continue to use up those overripe bananas! You'll also like my Carrot Pound Cake and my Sour Cream Pumpkin Bread with Maple Brown Butter Glaze!
But for the ultimate brown butter snack fix, you have got to try my brown butter white chocolate Rice Krispie treats! They've got rich, nutty brown butter and white chocolate ganache mixed right in, and they come together in just minutes!
Banana lovers will adore my Banana Pudding Cheesecake Squares and my Banana Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins!
Storage
Store leftovers of this delicious banana spice cake in an airtight container in the fridge -- because of the cream cheese frosting, you won't want to let it sit out at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
If you try this recipe, I would love it if you could leave a star review rating and comment below! It’s so wonderful hearing your feedback! And don’t forget to share your creations with me by tagging @chenee_today on Instagram!
📖 Recipe
Equipment you may need
Ingredients
- 1 cup (220 g) light brown sugar - packed
- 2 large eggs - room temperature
- 2 overripe bananas - mashed
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) pure vanilla extract
- ¼ cup (59 ml) vegetable oil
- ½ cup (118 ml) full-fat buttermilk - (regular whole milk works too)
- 1¼ cups (156 g) all-purpose flour
- 1¼ teaspoon (5 g) baking powder
- ½ teaspoon (1 g) ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp (1 g) ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon (2 g) salt
For Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
- ½ cup (95 g) brown butter - (see note)
- 2 cups (240 g) powdered sugar - (240g)
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) pure vanilla extract
- 8 oz (227 g) cream cheese - lightly softened
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch round cake pan and line with parchment paper.
- In a stand mixer or with a handheld mixer, beat brown sugar, eggs, banana, and vanilla for one minute.1 cup light brown sugar, 2 large eggs, 2 overripe bananas, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Mix in vegetable oil and buttermilk until well combined.¼ cup vegetable oil, ½ cup full-fat buttermilk
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.1¼ cups all-purpose flour, 1¼ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Gently fold flour mixture into wet ingredients until just combined.
- Pour into prepared cake pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick entered into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Cool in pan for about 10 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
- Prepare brown butter as directed in my How to Brown Butter post. Cool until solid.½ cup brown butter
- Once cooled, cream butter and room temperature cream cheese in a stand mixer or with a handheld mixer for about a minute, being sure to scrape the bowl as needed.8 oz cream cheese
- Add vanilla and powdered sugar and beat for 3-4 minutes.2 cups powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Spread frosting over cooled cake.
Notes
Nutrition
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Last Updated on October 15, 2024 by Chenée Lewis
Ned says
This is amazing! Reminds me of my Mother's banana bread from when I was young. Fond memories! Thank you so much!
Chenée Lewis says
I'm so glad! Thank you so much.
Charah says
Very delicious and easy to prepare, my family loves it. thanks for this
Elisa says
Love this spiced banana cake recipe, easy and delicious. It looks fluffy and neat. I will make it soon, love banana cake. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Justine says
OMG this was amazing. That frosting is to die for!
Chenée Lewis says
I could eat it with a spoon!
Kim says
This cake was so moist and delicious and perfect for Sunday dessert. I can't wait to make it again!
Chenée Lewis says
I'm so glad to hear that! Thank you!
Vicky says
This cake is moist and delicious, and the buttercream adds the perfect touch without overwhelming it. Can I just say this was the perfect ratio of frosting to cake!
Chenée Lewis says
I'm so glad you liked it! Thank you!
Paula says
This banana cake was nothing short of fantastic! Loved these cream cheese frosting as well. Soooo tasty!
Chenée Lewis says
You're welcome! That brown butter cream cheese frosting makes my day 🙂
Kathleen says
What a marvelous looking and sounding cake. I am looking forward to making this.
Alison P says
I made this today and it turned out delicious. I actually can’t speak to the texture of the cake because I messed up the order of adding ingredients badly (forgot about the eggs til the very end!) but the flavor is still great. And the frosting is out of this world, the brown butter and cream cheese combination is genius and I’ll think about using it for other cakes in the future too.
Chenée Lewis says
So glad you liked the cake! And that brown butter cream cheese frosting is definitely my all-time favorite! I could eat it with a spoon. 🙂
Gareth says
Great recipe. I need to give this a go!!
Chenée Today says
Thank you 🙂 I hope you enjoy it!!
Lorna Liza says
That looks delicious! Great to have a recipe for over ripe bananas. Thank you!
Chenée Today says
I agree! It's always great to have something to do with those old bananas!