Banana Cake with Brown Sugar Frosting

Forget boring banana bread; put those overripe bananas to good use by making this moist and perfectly-sweet Banana Cake with Brown Sugar Frosting.

Forget boring banana bread; put those overripe bananas to good use by making this moist and perfectly-sweet Banana Cake with Brown Sugar Frosting.

My family eats a lot of bananas, so I don’t often find myself with any to use for baking. Sometimes it happens, though, and sometimes I find myself longing to make something other than the oft-made (for good reason) banana bread or banana muffins. That’s when I turn to this Banana Cake with Brown Sugar Frosting.

The cake is just about as easy to make as banana bread, and it’s definitely easier than the tedious process of portioning out muffins. As the name suggests, it’s a little sweeter than it’s healthier counterparts, and it’s a little lighter and less dense than banana bread. While the banana flavor is certainly present, it isn’t overpowering.

As good as this banana cake is (it’s really freaking good), the star of the show just might be the brown sugar frosting. It’s fluffy, light, and not cloyingly sweet, making it the perfect complement to the cake. To be honest, the cake is still amazing sans frosting (and, of course, the frosting is phenomenal even without cake). You could leave the frosting off entirely and have a gorgeous moist cake to serve with coffee or tea. Or, you can go all out, add the frosting, and live happily ever after.

Forget boring banana bread; put those overripe bananas to good use by making this moist and perfectly-sweet Banana Cake with Brown Sugar Frosting.

Banana Cake with Brown Sugar Frosting

Ingredients

For the Cake

3 medium bananas
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbs + 2 tsp lemon juice, divided
1 1/2 cups milk
3 eggs
1 tbs vanilla extract
3 cups flour

For the Frosting

1/2 cup flour
1 1/4 cups milk
2 tbs vanilla extract
2 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 cups butter, room temperature
1/8 tsp salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. In the bowl of a stand mixer combine bananas, butter, both sugars, baking soda, salt, and two teaspoons of lemon juice. Mix on low for two minutes. Meanwhile, add remaining lemon juice and milk to a measuring cup and set aside. Add eggs, one at a time, to banana mixture and mix well after each. Add vanilla and beat until well incorporated. Lastly, add a half cup of milk and one cup of flour and mix just until incorporated. Repeat twice more until all milk and flour are in the batter.

Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish or two 9-inch round pans and pour in batter. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow cake to cool completely. Meanwhile, prepare the frosting. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the flour and the milk and cook, whisking frequently, until the mixture thickens to slightly runnier than cake batter. Remove flour mixture from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.

When flour mixture has cooled, stir in vanilla extract. Combine butter and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on medium speed for five minutes, until fluffy. Pour in flour mixture and continue to beat on medium for five minutes more, until all ingredients are well incorporated and frosting is fluffy.

Frost cooled cake and serve immediately, or store in the fridge for up to three days.

Notes

You might end up with a little too much batter. You can toss it, of course, or you can use it to make a few cupcakes.

Alternatively, frost cake with cream cheese frosting, chocolate cream cheese frosting, or chocolate buttercream.

Tools I Used

Looking for more banana recipes? Try No-Bake Banana Bread Protein Bites and Better-For-You Triple Chocolate Banana Bread!

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Forget boring banana bread; put those overripe bananas to good use by making this moist and perfectly-sweet Banana Cake with Brown Sugar Frosting.

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