This Frosted Banana Cake is made from scratch in no time! With lovely banana flavor combined with a rich, buttery frosting and topped with chopped nuts. This is a deliciously moist banana cake recipe!
Looking for a great recipe to help you use up those ripe bananas on the counter? Or are you simply looking for a cake worthy of sharing with guests? Either way, this browned butter frosted banana cake is going to be perfect!
About frosted banana cake
This cake is a combination of two recipes, my Browned Butter Frosting, and my Banana Cake Recipe. Both have been bringing people together for years, but bringing the recipes together is just an incredible combination.
This cake is so nice and light, fluffy, and moist. Every bite is packed with the sweet flavor of ripe bananas and the rich browned butter frosting on top is so decadent. No matter the occasion, this cake will be a perfect fit. Make it even more irresistible by serving it up with chopped nuts scattered on top.
Ingredients for Banana Cake and Frosting
For the Cake, you will need:
-Bananas: With 1 ½ cups of ripe bananas (about 3 mashed ripe bananas) you will have the banana flavor you want in every bite.
-Sugar: You will need 1 ¼ cups of granulated sugar to help sweeten the cake.
-Butter: ½ cups of softened butter (one stick) will help to make the cake richer in taste as a result of the added fats.
-Milk: With ½ cup of milk you can make the batter thin and add full of moisture.
-Eggs: You will need 3 eggs to help make this cake bind together and leaven properly.
-Vanilla: Using 2 teaspoons of vanilla will help to enhance the flavor in this dish. Use stronger vanilla for better results or use what you have on hand.
-Flour: The base of the cake is 2 ½ cups of all-purpose flour.
-Leavening agents: To make our cake rise when baking we will need 1 ½ teaspoons of baking soda and 1 teaspoon of baking powder.
-Salt: We need to use 1 teaspoon of salt in this recipe because it’s a natural flavor enhancer and will help to bring out the flavors in this cake.
For the Browned Butter Frosting, you will need:
-Butter: You will need 1 stick (½ cup of butter) to make the frosting nice and rich tasting.
-Powdered sugar: 3 cups of powdered sugar will thicken our frosting and make it both smooth and sweet.
-Milk: You will need about 2-3 tablespoons of milk, the actual amount will vary depending on how thick you want your frosting to be.
-Chopped Nuts: For additional garnish, you can add ½ cup of chopped pecans or walnuts over the top of your frosted cake.
How to make Frosted Banana Cake
To make the cake:
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F and grease a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together the bananas, sugar, butter, milk, eggs, and vanilla until well mixed.
In another bowl combine the dry ingredients. Whisk until incorporated.
Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ones and mix until just combined.
Pour your cake batter into the prepared baking dish and bake in the oven for 30 minutes. The cake should be brown on top when finished.
Allow the cake to cool while you prep the frosting.
To make the frosting:
In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt your butter.
Once the butter has melted and beings to bubble, it will appear frothy.
Continue to cook for an additional 3-5 minutes until the butter turns brown, stirring as needed, and check as you cook to keep a close eye on the color.
Once the butter has browned, remove the pot from the heat and add in the powdered sugar, one cup at a time until mixed smooth between each addition.
Once the frosting becomes too firm, slowly add in the milk and continue to stir until the frosting is smooth.
Spread your frosting over the cake and top with chopped nuts.
Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 3 medium ripe bananas smashed (about 1 1/2 cups)
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
Browned Butter Frosting
- 1/2 cup butter
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 2-3 TBSP milk
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts for topping
Instructions
- To make the cake: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 9×13 glass plan with nonstick spray.
- Whisk together bananas, sugar, butter, milk, eggs and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl and whisk into banana mixture. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 30 minutes. Cake will be browned when done.
- Cool while you make the frosting…
- To make the frosting: Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once butter is melted and begins to bubble a bit, it will get frothy. At this point, it will take about 3-5 minutes until butter will turn brown. You might have to stir through the froth to see the color of the butter!
- Once it has a nice brown color, remove from heat and add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, whisking until smooth each time. Once it gets too firm, add the milk and continue process until frosting is smooth.
- Frost cake while still warm. Top with chopped nuts.
How long is frosted banana cake good for?
This cake if left covered can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 or so days. For best results eat it sooner rather than later. Placing the cake in the fridge might extend the shelflife another day or so and you might even find that you enjoy this cake better when chilled, especially on a hot day.
What is the best frosting for banana cake?
Banana cakes go great with a lot of different frostings ranging from chocolate to cream cheese or somewhere in between. That said I’m pretty partial to my browned butter frosting recipe, shared above as it’s both easy and packed full of flavor with minimal effort.
Looking for more banana recipes, we’ve got you covered:
- BANANA CREAM FLUFF SALAD
- CHEESECAKE BANANA BARS
- STRAWBERRY BANANA ICE CREAM FLOAT
- CHEESECAKE BANANA BARS
- BANANA SPLIT PIE
- BUTTERMILK BANANA CAKE
- BAKED BANANA DONUTS
- BANANA BREAD MUFFINS
- PEANUT BUTTER BANANA BREAD
- MOIST BANANA BREAD RECIPE
- CREAMY BANANA PECAN PIE
- GINGERSNAP BANANA BREAD
- CHOCOLATE CHIP BANANA CAKE
- MANGO BANANA BREAD
- STRAWBERRY BANANA BREAD
This browned butter frosted banana cake is the best dessert option when you want something sweet and easy. Made with little effort, this dessert is one you’ll enjoy making over and over again.
faye weiner says
I’m not certain…what is a cube of butter?
Jessica says
It’s 1/2 cup! 🙂
peggy says
A stick, maybe? A stick of butter equals 1/2 cup.