Banana Cake, a tender crumb
This Tender Banana Cake is one of the easiest, most flavorful cake recipes you'll ever make! It combines two 8-inch layers of tender banana cake with a malted chocolate mascarpone whipped cream that is out of this world good!
Reasons You may like This method
- Bananas and chocolate go so well together!
- It's a ridiculously tender banana cake.
- You can use a whisk, hand mixer, or stand mixer. A hand mixer or stand mixer is best for the malted chocolate whipped cream part.
- It's made of 2 8-inch layer banana cakes—a strong match for a larger group or party!
- It's paired evenly with this smooth, creamy, malted chocolate mascarpone whipped cream.
- Top this cake with some malted chocolate balls (like Whoppers) for a fun garnish!
If you'd like a smaller snack version of this with chocolate chips and a richer chocolate frosting, you'll enjoy my Banana Chocolate Chip Snack Cake! For more layered cake recipes, check out my Chocolate Chip Cake, Chocolate Brownie Cheesecake, and Chocolate Cake with Oreo Buttercream Frosting recipes!
What goes in
Grab a pen and paper (or your favorite shopping list app)! These are the items needed to make this two-layer banana cake recipe.
- All-Purpose Flour. Use what you have on hand. A house favorite, though, is King Arthur Flour. Sift your all-purpose flour for the best results.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda. The usual leavening agents help give cakes their volume, structure, and volume. Make sure they're still fresh and haven't expired.
- Salt. Added to ensure things don't get too out of hand on the level of sweetness.
- Vegetable Oil. You can also use coconut oil, vegetable shortening, or unsalted butter. Note that using the shortening or butter may alter the structure and texture of the banana cake a little.
- Granulated Sugar. Added to give the cake a little sweetness.
- Eggs. You'll need large-size room-temperature eggs for this method.
- Sour Milk. This is whole milk plus lemon juice mixed together.
- Vanilla Extract. Rounds out all the flavors in this tender banana cake recipe.
- Bananas. You will need medium-sized bananas, which give this cake its very tender texture. Please ensure they are well-ripened and mashed before adding them to your mixture.
To make the malted chocolate mascarpone whipped cream, you'll need the following:
- Malted Milk Powder. I used Nestle's brand, but King Arthur also makes a good malted milk powder.
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- Powdered Sugar
- Heavy Whipping Cream
- Vanilla Extract
- Mascarpone Cheese. For a much lighter topping, you can omit the mascarpone cheese.
For quantities and instructions, please see the method card below.
How Do I Make Sour Milk?
Sour milk can sometimes be used as a substitute for buttermilk (see my Single Layer Red Velvet Cake recipe as an example) and is truly straightforward to mix. You'll need it to make this tender banana cake recipe.
You can find this in the method instructions below, but to make sour milk, whisk in 1 tablespoon of lemon juice with 1 cup of whole milk. If you don't have lemon juice, white distilled vinegar can be used as a substitute. Let it sit for about 5 minutes before you add it to the cake batter.
How it comes together
Below is a brief overview of how to make this flavorful, super-tender banana cake! For the full printable recipe, scroll down to the method card below. You can choose to make this banana cake using US customary or metric measurements.
Quick Tip: Before starting, make the sour milk and mash your bananas. These two steps are always good to help keep the method process moving. Also, prep your cake tins and preheat your oven.
Step 1. Sift together the dry ingredients. This includes all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Alternatively, you can sift just the all-purpose flour and then whisk in the remaining dry ingredients.
Step 2. Whisk the wet ingredients. Start with just the vegetable oil and granulated sugar. Add in the eggs.
Step 3. Alternate adding the sour milk with the dry ingredients. Add in the vanilla and mashed bananas. Mix until everything is just combined.
Step 4. Divide the banana cake batter into the cake tins, then bake. 28-30 minutes at 350ºF. Let the banana cake layers cool completely. Cake layers can be made and kept frozen for up to a month in the freezer.
Step 5. Frost the cake. Once the cake layers are cooled, frost them with the malted chocolate mascarpone whipped cream.
The Best Baking Tools
To make this easy banana cake recipe, check out the recommended baking tools I used below! You can use a whisk, hand mixer, or stand mixer for this method.
Questions on this bake
Do you sift your all-purpose flour before weighing it?Yes. If you're going by the metric weight of the all-purpose flour (recommended), sift the all-purpose flour directly into the mixing bowl that is on top of your food scale. If you are measuring your ingredients using a measuring cup, Try sifting
When all-purpose flour is noted as 'sifted all-purpose flour,' does that mean it is weighed before or after it's sifted?This means it is weighed before it's sifted. Or the all-purpose flour is sifted into a mixing bowl that is sitting on the food scale. If the all-purpose is noted as 'all-purpose flour, sifted,' this means you should weigh your all-purpose flour after it's weighed.
How do I prevent my cake layers from doming?You can try these three ways to prevent your cake layers from getting a domed-shape top:
1. Use a heating core in the center of your cake pan. I've never tried this, but some say it works well. 2. Use cake baking strips. I've used my Wilton baking strips many times, and they work well. 3. Tap the cake tins. By gently tapping the filled cake tins on the counter before baking, you'll release any air bubbles.
Yes! Cake layers can be made and kept frozen for up to a month in the freezer. Double-wrap them in plastic wrap, place them in a labeled freezer bag, then into the freezer on a level surface. Cakes can be frosted from frozen. They do not need to be defrosted first.
- Yield 12 servings
- Prep 20 minutes
- Cook 30 minutes
- Total 50 minutes
- Calories 607
Ingredients
Banana Cake
- 2 cups All-Purpose Flour, sifted
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/2 cup Vegetable Oil
- 1 cup Granulated Sugar
- 2 large Eggs
- 1 cup Whole Milk, mix with lemon juice for sour milk
- 1 tbsp Lemon Juice, only to be mixed with the milk
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 3 medium Bananas, well-ripened, mashed
Malted Chocolate Mascarpone Whipped Cream
- 3 cups Heavy Whipping Cream
- 1 cup Sifted Powdered Sugar
- 1/2 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 2 tbsp Malted Milk Powder
- 3 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 16 oz Mascarpone Cheese
Cake Topping
- 2 cups Malted Milk Chocolate Balls, whole or chopped
Method
- Adjust your oven rack to the second level position (just above center) and preheat your oven to 350ºF. Spray two 8-inch cake tins with a flour-based baking spray and line each with a parchment paper circle. Optional: Add a cake baking strip around each cake tin to help prevent cake doming.
- Sift the all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Alternatively, you can sift the all-purpose flour into the bowl, then whisk in the remaining dry ingredients. Set to the side.
- To make the sour milk, whisk the lemon juice into the milk. Let it sit for 5 minutes while you move on to the next steps. You can also use one tablespoon of white vinegar if lemon juice is not on hand.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the vegetable oil and granulated sugar until airy in texture. It should look kind of like slushy snow.
- Add in the eggs and beat the mixture together thoroughly.
- Alternate adding the sifted dry ingredients and sour milk to the mixture. Then dd in the vanilla extract and mashed bananas, mixing once more until just combined.
- Evenly divide the banana cake batter into the prepared cake tins and bake for 28-30 minutes at 350ºF. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the cake tins for 10 minutes before inverting them onto wire cooling racks.
- Once the cake layers are completely cool, frost the cake with the chocolate mascarpone whipped cream. Keep the frosted cake covered in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Malted Chocolate Mascarpone Whipped Cream
- Add the heavy whipping cream, sifted powdered sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder, malted milk powder, and vanilla extract to a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisking on low speed at first until the dry ingredients have almost fully been incorporated into the heavy whipping cream. Increase the mixing speed to high, beating the mixture until stiff peaks have formed.
- Add the mascarpone cheese to the mixture and whisk on low speed until fully combined.
- Frost the 2-layer banana cake once the layers are cooled, then top with whole or chopped malted chocolate balls (like Whoppers).
Baker notes
For the best results, I highly recommend sifting your all-purpose flour. It will give you a much nicer crumb with your banana cake layers.
For an even lighter whipped cream, omit the mascarpone from the method.
