Banana Butter Cake (Easy & Moist)

This banana butter cake recipe makes a wonderfully moist and delicious banana cake. Baked in a loaf pan and topped with thin slices of banana, this cake is easy to make and turns out perfect every single time.

This banana butter cake does not require any icing or frosting and is best served plain, but if you like, you can pair it with cream cheese frosting or even buttercream.

This is a small batch recipe, and makes a loaf cake measuring 8 by 4 inches. If you wish to make a bigger butter cake, double the recipe and bake it in an 8 inches round pan or square cake pan (baking pan).

Jump to:

• ❤️Why you will love this recipe
• 📋Ingredients
• 🧾Substitution and variations
• 👩🏻‍🍳How to make
• 🍽️Serving & storage
• 💡Expert tips
• 💭FAQs
• ❤️More recipes you will love ❤️
• 📖Recipe

❤️Why you will love this recipe

• It's an easy recipe with simple ingredients and makes a great snack cake.
• It's a great way to use up extra bananas at home.
• The recipe makes a moist cake with rich banana flavor.

📋Ingredients

These are the ingredients for this simple and super moist banana butter cake:

• Self-raising flour + baking soda + baking powder + salt - mix these and sift them together before adding into the cake batter.
• Soft brown sugar - can be light or dark, both will yield same results.
• Butter - I use salted butter. If using unsalted butter, add an extra pinch of salt.
• Egg - use large eggs.
• Bananas (mashed) - for best results, use over ripe bananas.
• Buttermilk - contributes to the moist texture of this butter cake.
• Vanilla extract - add a lovely flavor to the cake.

*Refer to the recipe card below for full list of ingredients and exact quantities. For best results, use a digital kitchen scale where applicable*

🧾Substitution and variations

• Self raising flour can be substituted with all purpose flour and baking powder. For every 225g of all purpose flour, add one and half teaspoons of baking powder. Mix well and sift 3 times before using. For 180g of flour (as per the recipe card below), add one teaspoon plus another one fifth teaspoon of baking powder to 180g of all purpose flour.
• Buttermilk can be substituted with milk and lemon juice. Simply add half teaspoon of lemon juice into 75 ml milk and let it rest for a few minutes. Use as indicated in the recipe. Remember to double or triple this measurement if you decide to double or triple this moist banana butter cake recipe.
• Unsalted butter can be used to make this cake, however, you will need to add an extra pinch of salt in the recipe.

This recipe has not been tested with other substitutions or variations. If you do try, please let me know in the comments section below!

👩🏻‍🍳How to make

Preparing the bananas

1. Use overripe bananas for best results.
2. Peel the bananas and measure them.
3. Place them in a separate bowl and use a fork to mash them up.
4. Make sure to mash them well and there are not chunks of banana left. Set aside.

Mixing the cake batter

1. In a large bowl (mixing bowl), cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy with a hand mixer (electric mixer) on medium speed. This should take a good 2 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl half way through with a rubber spatula.
2. Next, add in the egg. Beat until all the traces of the egg are no longer visible.
3. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Sift them or use a hand whisk to mix the ingredients well. You can also sift them as you add them to the cake batter. Fold these into the creamed mixture with a spatula (by hand) alternately with the buttermilk, start and ending with the dry ingredients. For this recipe, you can add the flour mixture in 2 batches and all the buttermilk in between those 2 batches. If you are doubling or tripling the recipe, add the dry and wet ingredients in smaller batches.
4. Next, add the vanilla extract.
5. And finally fold in the mashed bananas.
6. Pour the banana butter cake batter in a well greased and floured loaf cake pan or a parchment paper lined cake pan measuring 8 by 4 inches. Level the top. Slice about half a banana into thin pieces and place them in row on the levelled cake batter.  

Baking the cake

• Bake the cake in a preheated oven  (at a baking temperature of 175 degrees Celsius) for 40 to 45 minutes. Check to see if the cake is baked at about 35 minutes by poking a cake tester or skewer into the center of the cake. If the skewer or tester comes out without any wet batter sticking to it, the cake is baked and can be removed from the oven.
• Remove the banana butter cake from the oven, let rest in the cake tin for a few minutes and then turn out onto a wire rack. Let the cake cool until it is only slightly warm to the touch. Wrap the cake in cling wrap (plastic wrap) and refrigerate to let it cool down completely.
• To serve, bring the cake back to room temperature. The cake is best served when it is at room temperature and not cold.

🍽️Serving & storage

• Given the moist texture of this cake, it can last at room temperature for about 3 to 4 days. Keep it covered in an airtight container.
• If you wish to keep it longer, keep it refrigerated in an airtight container to prevent it from drying out. Bring the cake back to room temperature before serving.

💡Expert tips

• Tips for a moist cake
  • Avoid over baking the banana cake. Bake in indicated cake tin sizes and check for doneness at least 5 to 10 minutes before the baking time is up by inserting a skewer in the center of the cake. If the skewer comes out without any wet batter sticking to it, the cake is done and should be removed from the oven. Ideally, there should be soft crumbs sticking to the skewer. Also, if the cake is done, the top should spring back when pressed lightly. 
  • Wrap and refrigerate the cake after baking. Once the cake cools down to a warm temperature, wrap it with cling wrap (plastic wrap) and refrigerate until it cools down completely. This helps retain the moisture in the cake and contributes towards moist crumbs.
• Use overripe bananas
  • For best results, choose fully ripe bananas. Not only are they easier to be mashed, but they taste so much better too.
• Bananas can vary in size, and for best results, it is best to measure them with a kitchen scale rather than by numbers.
  • That way, the amount of bananas that get added to the butter cake can be kept to a perfect consistency every single time.
  • Nevertheless, I used medium sized bananas for making this banana cake and to make up the 200g of banana indicated in the recipe, I used four and half bananas. The remaining half banana was sliced thin and placed on top of the cake batter (in a row) before baking.
• Use brown sugar
  • This banana butter cake recipe calls for the use with brown sugar instead of white sugar. Brown sugar gives this banana butter cake a tinge of molasses-like taste.
  • This adds more depth to the cake flavor and is definitely a better choice compared to plain white granulated sugar. 
  • Use soft and fine brown sugar instead of the coarse one.

💭FAQs

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