Best Banana Cake with Chocolate Icing
This is the best banana cake we’ve ever eaten! Super moist and scrumptious. And the chocolate buttercream icing is perfect with this cake.
I made this cake for a group of friends last week and it was a huge hit. After giving away a [stingy] piece to one of our guests, I froze some of the leftovers, ate the rest and then promptly took out the part I froze and ate that too. So good.
I found this highly rated recipe on two different websites – food.com and allrecipes.com. They both had instructions to freeze the cake for 45 minutes right after removing it from the oven. They claimed it made the cake super moist.
I don’t know if that’s true, but I followed the directions and the cake was indeed super moist and the best banana cake EVER. So I’m sticking with that.
The only changes I made to the recipe were to reduce the sugar a bit and replace the icing. They used cream cheese icing (typical for a banana cake) and I used my own chocolate buttercream icing which I love dearly. Chocolate and banana is a fantastic combination I think.
This cake feeds a lot of people. It’s quite substantial, making it perfect for potlucks and parties. All in all, a real winner.
Make Ahead
- This cake freezes very well, covered with plastic wrap.
Other delicious cake recipes you might enjoy
- super moist whole orange cake
- carrot and pineapple cake
- moist apple cake recipe with bourbon caramel sauce
- old fashioned easy strawberry shortcake (20 minutes)
- orange polenta cake (gluten free)
How to make the best banana cake with chocolate icing
Best Banana Cake with Chocolate Icing Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 3 large bananas)
- 2 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 1/2 cup buttermilk (or add 1 tablespoon lemon to milk to make 1 1/2 cups)
- 3 cup all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 sticks)
- 2 cup white sugar (or a bit less)
- 3 eggs
- 2 teaspoon vanilla
Chocolate Buttercream Icing
- 1/2 cup softened butter (1 stick)
- 1 3/4 cup icing (confectioners) sugar
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1-2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 275F. Grease (or spray with oil) and flour a 9 x 13 pan.
- PREPARE BANANAS: In a small bowl, mash bananas, mix with 2 teaspoons lemon juice and set aside.
- PREPARE BUTTERMILK: Measure out the buttermilk (or milk plus lemon) in a measuring cup. Set aside.
- PREPARE DRY INGREDIENTS: In another bowl, stir together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- MAKE BATTER: In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until fluffy with an electric mixer. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Alternate adding flour mixture and buttermilk a bit at a time - and beat until smooth. Stir in banana mixture. Pour batter into prepared pan.
- BAKE AND FREEZE: Bake the cake for an hour or just until a toothpick comes out clean. As ovens vary, start checking after 55 minutes. Remove cake from oven and place it directly in the freezer, uncovered, on a towel for 45 minutes. This apparently makes the cake very moist - and it does!
- MAKE ICING: Using a food processor: Add all icing ingredients into the processor and process until smooth, about 2 minutes. If too dry, add a tablespoon more milk or, if too thin, add a bit more icing sugar - until you get the consistency you want. (Alternatively, use an electric mixer, beating butter first, adding icing sugar and cocoa next, then vanilla and milk.) When the cake is fully cooled, ice the cake.
Notes
Nutrition
Best Banana Cake with Chocolate Icing was originally published on Two Kooks In The Kitchen in Feb 2017.
I have made this cake several times now as my friends and neighbours who have tried it keep asking for more, even my local corner shop owner gives me, free of charge, his ripe bananas that he can not sell to ensure he has a slice. I am making two of these cakes today to make sure there is enough for everyone, or my life won’t be worth living. I also find that mine takes longer to cook. The only question I have is, when you put it in the freezer, can you leave it in the cake tin. I remove mine (with great difficulty) as you state to put it on a towel? Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
Hi Jacqui. So fun about your neighbours and corner store! Glad it is a hit! As for the freezing part, yes, leave the cake right in the baking dish/tin while you do that. I set it on a towel on top of other food in the freezer just so I don’t defrost the other food. Not necessary if you have a free spot in your freezer. As for the cake taking longer to bake, everyone’s oven is different unfortunately. If you like to bake, you might want to get a cheap oven thermometer to place in the oven to test its accuracy. Baking tins also make a difference. You mentioned tin which bakes faster than glass. Aluminum is a good choice. Here’s a good article from Bon Appetit on baking equipment. But, no worries, you can use what you have and adjust. Hope that helps.
Hi. The first time I made it I left it in the kitchen and put it on a towel in the freezer. I wonder though, if the cold on the bottom of the warm 10 caused moisture as my cake had a slightly soggy bottom. This time I lined my cake pan with parchment. I put a towel on top of a baking sheet, then grabbed the parchment paper and lifted the cake up and put it on the towel and put the baking sheet in the freezer. Problem solved!! Turned out perfectly!
Perfect! Whatever works. It’s possible your cake was slightly underdone the first time. Or you just found a great option. Glad it turned out!
I love finding new recipe pages and this looks great – but oh the overload of ads 🙁
I know you need revenue but it’s impossible to view, such a shame
Sorry about all the ads Anne. I know they are intrusive but you’re right. That’s how we make income to be able to provide free recipes. I hope you’ll still try the banana cake. I promise it’s really good! 😊
Really cook this at 275? Thanks.it looks fabulous, not complaining..just wondering as have never baked a cake at 275.
Yes, that’s correct – bake at 275F! And you will not be disappointed. I promise 🙂
Banana Cake with Chocolate frosting was the best ever! My mom wanted this cake from Magnolia for her 69th bday but due to COVID….so I researched recipes and decided on this one as I would drive 10 hours to Maine with it for her bday. Everyone decided it was the BEST cake ever–even my brother who is total foodie and VERY particular. We ate it over the course of 4 days and it stayed incredibly moist the whole time. I was nervous it was going to be too sweet but it was subtle and perfect and not like banana bread. Only change I made was double the frosting recipe just to be safe!
It was also my 1st cake from scratch (I don’t even own a mixer so didn’t use) and will be my go to forever more!
Oh my. What a lovely story Alissa. I’m honoured that you chose our recipe for your mom’s special event. And that it was a hit! Thanks very much for taking the time to leave us a comment. And congrats for making your first cake a great one!
I made this cake and it was absolutely amazing. Thank you for the recipe. It took a lot longer to cook for me, may have been my oven. But highly recommend! I also added choc chips
So glad you liked it. It’s one of my faves. I agree about your oven temp. You may have to increase it a bit next time. Or just know it will take longer in your oven. Thanks for leaving a comment. We love to hear from readers.
This is da bomb. Making it as a birthday cake. I used less sugar as suggested (maybe closer to 1.5 cups) and it for some reason took a lot longer to bake but still fabulous and moist.
Da bomb. Perfect description! Glad you enjoyed it.