Moist Banana Cake with Icing

A square slice of the banana cake garnished with fresh banana slices.

This Moist Banana Cake with icing is easy and created in a 9x13 sheet pan. It's banana bread in cake form that's paired with a vanilla buttercream frosting.

Course Cake, Dessert

Keyword banana, banana cake, moist cake, sheet cake

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 35

Total Time 1 5

Servings squares

Calories 232kcal

Author Samantha Pickthall

Ingredients

Banana Cake

3 cups (450g) plain all purpose flour, scoop & leveled
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp fine sea salt, or Kosher salt
100 g (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, soft at room temperature
3/4 cup golden/raw granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
3 large eggs, at room temperature , (each weighing approx. 55g in shell)
3 medium-large ripe bananas, mashed, altogether with skin on weighs 400g
2/3 cup whole milk, at room temperature
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt, at room temperature
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp vanilla extract

Icing

2 1/4 cups (340g) icing/powdered sugar
60 g unsalted butter, melted
3 Tbsp whole milk
2 tsp vanilla extract

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Banana Cake

Preheat the oven to 180ºC (350ºF). Grease and line with parchment paper a large rectangular sheet cake pan measuring 35cm length x 25cm width (13 inch length x 9 inch width), set aside.
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, add flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Whisk until well combined. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, using electric hand beaters, or using the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attached, add softened butter to the bowl.
Beat butter for a few seconds until creamy and broken up.
Add both sugars and beat on medium-high speed for 2 minutes, scraping down the sides as needed.
Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition for 15 seconds. Scraping down the sides as needed.
Add mashed banana, milk, yogurt, olive oil, and vanilla. Beat until well combined for 15 seconds.
Add half the flour and beat until just combined.
Add the remaining flour and beat until incorporated, ensuring not to over-mix, just until the pockets and streaks of flour have mixed through.
Pour the batter into the lined sheet pan. Smoothing out the top.
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean and the cake is lightly golden all over.
Remove from the oven and allow it to cool in the pan for 15 minutes.
Carefully remove it from the pan by placing a wire rack or chopping board on top of the cake. Then flip it over so the cake releases from the pan and onto the rack/board.
Allow cake to cool completely on a wire rack.

Icing

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, add icing sugar, melted butter, milk, and vanilla. Whisk until well combined and thick. Continue to whisk until smooth and no lumps of sugar remain.
Spread icing over the cooled cake.
Allow icing to set for 15-30 minutes before slicing.
Cut into squares and enjoy!
Store in an airtight container, at room temperature for 3-4 days. Then move to refrigerator for a further 2-3 days to keep it fresh.

Notes

Use very ripe bananas, the riper the banana, the better the banana cake.

Make sure your cold ingredients are at room temperature before starting the banana cake. This helps them to emulsify in the batter properly.

Use parchment paper to line your large baking pan. I like to first grease the pan with the butter then cut to size the parchment paper and stick it to the bottom and sides. This creates smooth and uncreased sides for your cake.

If you have a non-stick baking pan, I like to grease and flour the pan to achieve smooth sides of the cake after baking.

Store in an airtight container, at room temperature for 3-4 days. Then move it to the refrigerator for a further 2-3 days to keep it fresh.

Freeze this banana sheet cake by allowing it to completely cool after baking. Do not add the icing. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and then wrap it again in tin foil. Freeze it for up to 3 months.

Thaw the cake by removing it from the freezer and transferring it to your refrigerator, still wrapped, for a full 24 hours to slowly thaw. Then sit at room temperature and make the icing.

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