Banana Layer Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
This recipe for Banana Layer Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting makes one of the moistest banana cakes around – definitely not to be confused with banana bread. The chocolate cream cheese frosting makes it even more decadent!
This is my 200th Bakerita post!!!!
I literally didn’t realize it until just now when I noticed “199” under published. It’s so crazy to think that I’ve been doing this so long, and that I’ve baked, written, photographed, and posted 200 different things on here! It sort of seems like a ton and not even that many all at the same time, but I know I’m going to keep on posting for a while :)
So to celebrate 200, I just so happen to be sharing a cake! My uncle’s birthday cake, actually, which is a delicious, chocolatey, amazing banana cake. I know…I sort of just shared a healthy banana cake that’s gluten free and Paleo, but this one is full of gluten (though you could totally use an AP GF flour) and I wouldn’t exactly call it healthy. But I would call it delicious. This flavor combination was requested by the birthday boy, and it was a darn delicious one!
My family is always trusted to tell me whether something is good or not, but they so aren’t trusted to tell me what the best thing I ever made is, because according to them…it always is. Dad and Grammy, it’s nice when you tell me that’s this REALLY is the best thing I’ve ever made, but it really can’t always be the best. But guys, this cake did get many “Rachel this is the best yet!” exclamations, so take that as you will.
The cake itself is fluffy and moist, and it pairs perfectly with the rich, chocolatey, and slightly tangy chocolate cream cheese frosting. For fun and flavor I also added a layer of sliced bananas in between the layers of cake, but that’s totally optional. This cake is perfect for the banana lover in your life or just as a fun alternative to always making banana bread (although it’s pretty hard to get sick of banana bread)! It uses a bit of a unique baking method (low temperature for a long time, then straight into the freezer to retain the moisture) but it helps the cake’s flavor stay super flavorful and the texture is on point.
It hits all the right tastebuds, doesn’t need a fancy frosting job (who has time for that?), and is sure to satisfy a sweet tooth! Enjoy :) xoxo
Banana Layer Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
For the cake
- 1½ cups (12 oz.) ripe bananas, mashed
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 3 cups (12¾ oz.) all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup (6 oz.) butter, softened
- 1½ cups (10½ oz.) granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1½ cups (12 oz.) buttermilk
For the frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- ½ cup (40g) cocoa powder
- 2 cups sifted powdered sugar, you can increase this amount if you would like it to be thicker for piping
For the cake assembly
- One banana, sliced
Instructions
For the cake
- Preheat oven to 275°. Grease and flour two 9″ round pans.
- In a small bowl, mix mashed banana with the lemon juice; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Beat in eggs, one at a time, then stir in the vanilla extract.
- Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.
- Fold in banana mixture until just incorporated. Be careful not to overmix.
- Pour batter evenly into prepared pans and bake in preheated oven for one hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and place directly into the freezer for 45 minutes*. This will make the cake very moist.
For the frosting
- In an electric mixer, mix cream cheese and butter until smooth and creamy. Add in cocoa powder and mix until there are no lumps and the color is completely combined.
- One cup at a time, mix in the powdered sugar until completely smooth. Use immediately, or keep in the refrigerator tightly wrapped for up to 24 hours.
For the cake assembly
- Remove cake layers from the freezer. Place one cake layer on a cake or serving plate. Spread about 1/2 cup of frosting onto the cake in an even layer with an offset spatula. If using, lay out the banana slices so that they cover the surface of the cake. Place second cake layer on top.
- Frost the entire cake with a thin layer of icing (a crumb coat) using an offset spatula. Put into the refrigerator for 1/2 hour, and then frost as desired with the remaining frosting.
Notes
*Only put the cakes in the freezer for 45 minutes if using immediately, you don’t want frozen cakes, just for them to cool quickly. If saving for another day, you can keep them in the freezer for up to 30 days unfrosted, but transfer them to plastic wrap first.
Cake recipe adapted from Food.com
You’re crazy for bananas! I love it. This sounds so delicious with its cream cheese based frosting. Do you think you could you use previously frozen bananas? I have so many in my freezer.
Hi Melissa, I’ve never tried using frozen bananas in place of mashed bananas, but if I did, I would thaw them and then mash. Let us know how it turns out if you try it!
Congrats on the 200th post! That’s amazing. The cake looks amazing too, chocolate + banana is a winning combination! :)
Oh I love banana cake – this looks fab! I just love the beautiful swirls of chocolate cream cheese icing – delicious!
What a gorgeous cake!! Love that cream cheese frosting. :) Happy 200th post!
Thanks Marie! :)
Congrats on the 20th post!! This cake looks absolutely stunning! And I’m sure that the flavor has to be out of this world awesome too ;)
What an amazing combination! I’ll take a large slice please!
P.s. what do you use to show features/favorites in your sidebar? :)
Thanks Krystle!
I’m pretty sure it’s embedded in however my web designer Shay Bocks set it up! Haha, wish I could be more helpful!
Yay 200 posts! I love that you did a healthier banana cake, and then did a full-fat version. So now there’s one for everybody. :) Love the swirly chocolate frosting on this cake too. The whole thing sounds delicious!
I LOVE anything banana! This cake looks so moist and amazing! Pinned!
Thanks, Lindsay!
This cake is soooo perty!!! The fact that it’s somewhat healthy is just icing on the cake (haaaa!) :P DELISH!
and happy 200th post!
Happy 200th post! There’s no better way to celebrate than with a cake, preferably chocolate! This looks awesome – love those chocolate swirls on that cream cheese frosting.
Congrats on your 200th post, feels good, doesn’t it? My blog is almost two years old and I’m gonna use that as an excuse to have a little food party at the end of the month, I cannot wait!
This cake looks delicious! I don’t know why, but for some reason layer cakes scare me a little, prooobably cause I have never actually tried my hands on making one myself *hangs head in shame* I think it’s about time! Great recipe ^ ^
X
Oh wow! This sounds fabulous! Pinning!
Mmmm…this sounds so tasty. Love this flavor combo. Pinned!
Have a marvelous week!
This looks awesome, i love banana, so anything with them in gets my attention, thanks for sharing this…
Simon
The recipe call for 1 1/2 cups of sugar but directions state mix in 2 1/8 cups of sugar??
Hi Terri – you’re right. Sorry about that. The correct amount is the 1 1/2 cups called for in the ingredients.
Could you make this in a square dish? Like a sheet cake if you baked the cakes on a baking sheet? I have a fundraiser needing desserts and thought this would be great since I have so many bananas. A speedy reply would be appreciated. Loving this recipe!!
Hi Rebecca, if you want a sheet cake I would recommend baking in a 9×13″ pan. You may need to adjust the baking time as well. Enjoy!
This may be a dumb question, but would you need to refrigerate this cake until all eaten?
Hi Rebecca. Normally you can keep a cake at room temperature but because this cake uses cream cheese in the frosting, I would recommend keeping it in the refrigerator. Enjoy!
I think the temperature might be too low? My first layer didn’t rise, but the second did when I increased it to about 175 celsius.
How odd, Tjasa! I made the recipe as written, but sometimes ovens can be off which can cause the discrepancy. Hope the cake was still tasty!
Should you take the cakes out of the pans before putting in freezer? Just made the cake and put them Richthofen from oven to freezer in the cake pans. Hoping i did this right. They look and smell so good!
Hi Julie, it’s fine to leave them in the pan to cool! Enjoy!
Hi, can I bake the cake in one pan and then separate the layers later? Does that affect the baking time? I am worried the top might brown faster than the inside can cook if I did it this way
Hi Shen, I wouldn’t recommend it. It will likely overflow out of the pan, as it was intended to be made in two pans and there would be too much batter for just one. You’d also need to adjust baking time and temperature.
Is 275 degrees correct for the oven setting. I’ve never baked a cake at that setting before, it’s usually 350 degrees for baking cakes.
Hi Rose, yes the baking temperature here is correct! A low, slow bake helps prevent the cake from overcooking on the sides but still being too moist in the center.