Make Ahead

To Die For Banana Cake with Vanilla Bean Frosting

by:
October  3, 2012
4
1 Ratings
To Die For Banana Cake with Vanilla Bean Frosting
  • Makes one 8x8 pan
Author Notes

My most popular recipe to date with over 200,000 hits on my blog, 75,000 hits on foodgawker... it's been tumbled and stumbled and pinned countless times. You'll find yourself buying extra bananas just so you have an excuse to make this amazing snack cake. —ButterYum

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • To Die For Banana Cake
  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 3/4 cup mashed super ripe bananas
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt (or table salt)
  • Vanilla Bean Frosting
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or equal amount of pure vanilla extract)
  • 1 1/4 cups confectioner's sugar
Directions
  1. To make cake (easily mixed by hand): Preheat the oven to 375F (see note below). Cream together sugar, sour cream, egg, and 2 tablespoons softened butter. Add mashed bananas and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Add flour, salt, and baking soda; mix well. Pour into greased 8x8 pan. Bake at 375F for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.
  2. To make frosting: Cream butter and confectioner's sugar together until smooth. Slowly add the heavy cream; stir until smooth. Stir in the vanilla bean paste until fully incorporated. Spread on cooled cake.
  3. Note - Bake at 350F if using a glass pan. Recipe may be doubled (bake in a 9x13 pan).
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See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • jjlesheppe
    jjlesheppe
  • ButterYum
    ButterYum
  • catydid
    catydid
  • Jean Leidinger
    Jean Leidinger

Popular on Food52

6 Reviews

catydid
catydid October 26, 2015
Made this last night - was fantastic! Easy to make and fast to bake. Resisted my usual compulsion to throw in chocolate chips, and it was still amazing! The delicious cake is now, sadly, long gone and just a fond memory. Thanks for the recipe! Will make again.
 
jjlesheppe
jjlesheppe September 16, 2014
if you wanted to modify this recipe to include less than the full amount of sugar (i'm ok with some sugar!) how might you adjust it? would you need to substitute anything else if you only included, say, 1/3 C of sugar, instead of 2/3? has anyone tried substituting stevia for sugar in cake recipes? many thanks in advance for any helpful advice.
 
Jean L.
Jean L. October 4, 2012
Might be helpful to know how much flour to use....
 
ButterYum
ButterYum October 4, 2012
Thanks - it's 1 cup of all-purpose. I keep trying to edit the recipe, but it's not showing up for some reason.
 
Jane
Jane June 4, 2017
Love, love, love this cake! I also always put a fresh piece of banana on the cake top before I serve it. Has anyone ever made cupcakes with this recipe? Also, I assume after frosting the cake, you always refrigerate because of the cream?
 
ButterYum
ButterYum June 4, 2017
honestly, we never have leftovers to refrigerate, but yes, I would suggest you chill any leftovers. be sure to wrap the pan well because the frosting will pick up any off flavors from your fridge.