Monica Swanson

the grommom

The Best Banana Cake with Vanilla Bean Frosting

by 20 Comments

My husband Dave is the quiet type.  He works hard and never ever looks for recognition or attention of any kind.  (Internet included especially.)

But today babe, you’re 45…and I’m just gonna say big and bold and loud and clear and in front of the whole big wide world…
(or whoever might stumble upon this looking for banana cake.)  

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Dave birthday

I love you.

I love you so much I made your favorite cake.

best banana cake

And, just like the birthday boy…this cake is unassuming and sweet.  Nothing flashy–no sprinkles or surprises.
Just a delicious, moist, banana cake with the most wonderful frosting of heavy cream, and vanilla bean. banana cake

Because the years may change us…and we are getting older, but one thing remains the same:
The way to a man’s heart is still through his stomach.

dave's birthday banana cake

And just for the record–this cake is NOT just for birthdays.  I made it two weeks ago, and  I’ll probably make it again in two weeks.
It’s a great mid-morning cake to have with coffee, an after school snack-cake, and the perfect cake to bring to a potluck (I did that two weeks ago. :))

(Might I suggest you PIN this one, or just print it out and make it tonight!?)

banana cake with vanilla bean frosting

It might just be your favorite too.
Here’s the printable recipe! 🙂

5 from 3 votes
Print

The Best Banana Cake {And Happy Birthday to Dave}

Makes one 8X8 inch pan. (I always double for a 9X13 pan--you'll want to do the same! ;))
Course Dessert
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Author www.monicaswanson.com

Ingredients

  • CAKE:
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tablespoons butter softened
  • 1 cup mashed ripe bananas I always go generous here
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  • FROSTING:
  • 2 tablespoons butter softened
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 tsp. vanilla bean paste or equal amount pure vanilla extract
  • 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

  1. FOR CAKE (easily mixed by hand)
  2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cream together sugar, sour cream, butter and egg. Add mashed bananas and 1 tsp. vanilla extract. Add flour, salt, and baking soda; mix well. Pour into greased pan. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes or until sides are golden and toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.
  3. FROSTING: Combine butter and heavy cream. Scrape vanilla from bean and stir in well. Add powdered sugar, and whisk until smooth consistency. Frost cake and serve!
  4. ENJOY!

dave's birthday banana cake

With Lots of Aloha,
Monica
PS  More bananas?  Try this awesome (no sugar, whole-wheat)  banana bread.  Or these much-loved-and-pinned low-fat banana oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.

PPS Photo of Dave, by Laura Aguon… Food photos, (as usual, :)) by Josiah Swanson

 

Aloha, Monica

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Comments


  2. This cake is delicious! I had some VERY ripe bananas and I didn’t know what to do with them…Well, I made this and crossed my fingers….It was amazing…its so good my kids are eating quietly! This will definitely be made more around here…

    Reply

  3. Are those blue dishes, the cake is on, from Southern Living at Home? I was a consultant and have a couple that were samples for display/shows and they look the same.
    Thanks-

    Reply

  4. Today is my son, Luke 20th Birthday! This will be the perfect cake to make for him. He is on a health conscious diet. Thanks for sharing. I will let you know how it turned out!

    Reply

    • I always say–I’ve never met a Luke I didn’t like! Something about that name…:) Happy Birthday to Luke and please do report back! So far I’ve heard 100% positive feedback! 🙂 XO

      Reply

  5. You got my mouth watering, and I don’t like bananas! I’m going to try it with gluten free all purpose flour, but don’t know what to substitute the bananas with. Any suggestions? I know I’ll be the one to eat 90% of it, so may as well make it for my liking! I love white cake, maybe I’ll just make it plain? Or, how about peanut butter? Banana consistency is hard to duplicate! Guess I’ll get creative…..will report back.

    Reply

  8. Merry birthday to Dave! 😀 (And it’s good to know that no matter how many years go by, food is still a perfect example of love when it comes to dudes. 😉 )

    This cake needs to be made in my house, like, yesterday. My mouth is watering! 🙂 Question: Do you think that the cake would turn out all right if I substitute agave syrup for the sugar? Will it throw off the caketasticness? (I am not blessed with baking brilliance!)

    Reply

    • Thank you so much! Please try the agave–I’d love to know. I haven’t played around with gluten free or no-sugar options on this one, but I really ought to. Report back, k? 😉

      Reply


      • Reporting back for cake duty! 🙂 OK, I made several alterations, since I have a sensitivity to all things dairy (*tear*) and haven’t purchased sugar in… at least half a decade (whoa). Here’s what I changed:

        1. Butter –> Earth Balance
        2. Sour cream –> Tofutti Better Than Sour Cream
        3. Sugar / powdered sugar –> Maple syrup, agave, and arrowroot powder (to give the syrups more substance)

        Fair warning: I’m not sure if it was due to the alterations or the fact that the bananas I used were only juuuuuust beginning to develop banana-y freckles, but my cake had a distinct not-quite-ripe-banana bite to it. It wasn’t unpleasant, but it wasn’t as melt-in-your-mouth as things concocted with fully-ripe bananas tend to be. (Next time, I’m going to utilize bananas that are practically brown to see whether it’s the non-dairy-ness or the banana ripeness that causes the super-fresh banana taste.)

        Homegirl, this cake was gooooood! If it’s as tasty as it was with all of the substitutions I had to make, I can only imagine that it is positively outstanding with real dairy! 🙂 You’ve got another winner here!

        Reply

  10. This looks delicious! Wonder if I could use almond flour for a gluten free option. Mmmm. Happy birthday to your sweetie. And tell Josiah he is getting really good with that camera! Impressed!

    Reply

  11. Happy Birthday Dave! And what are the crazy odds that earlier today I suggested to a friend that she make a banana cake for her grandson’s first birthday! He’s getting his cake in a monkey shaped pan!

    Reply

    • Dave says thank you Susan! 🙂 And I hope your friend tries it! A monkey shaped pan? I’d love to see that–How adorable! sending aloha and sunshine your way–

      Reply