Banana Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Old fashioned banana cake piece with cream cheese frosting served on a small white plate.

Banana Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Course: Cakes, Desserts

Cuisine: American, Canadian, European, North American

Prep Time: 1 15

Cook Time: 1

Cooling time (minimum): 2

Total Time: 4 15

Servings: servings

Calories: 288kcal

Author: Dini Kodippili

Incredibly moist, soft, deeply banana flavored sheet cake with a fluffy, open crumb, topped with a not too sweet, not too buttery, tangy, spreadable cream cheese frosting!

EASY - Very easy recipe. Batter comes together very quickly. The frosting recipe makes a spreadable, tangy cream cheese frosting that isn't too runny either.

US based cup, teaspoon, tablespoon measurements. Common Measurement Conversions. Weight measurements are recommended for accurate results.

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Ingredients

Banana cake layers

375 g all purpose flour 3 cups, measured by spoon and level method
1 tsp baking soda
400 g mashed overripe bananas 3-4 bananas
150 g vegetable oil about ¾ cup, see recipe notes below if you want to add some butter for more flavor
½ tsp sea salt
150 g brown sugar ¾ cup
100 g granulated sugar ½ cup
3 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp white vinegar
180 mL buttermilk or sour cream ¾ cup, OR 1 tbsp white wine vinegar + 180 mL milk (or plant-based milk)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground cloves optional
¼ tsp nutmeg optional

Cream cheese frosting

170 g unsalted butter about 1½ sticks, at room temperature
250 g cream cheese block about 1 package Philadelphia brick cream cheese, at room temperature
¼ tsp sea salt I like to add ½ tsp for a little salty flavor
2 tsp vanilla extract
1½ tbsp dry milk powder Or use 2 tbsp instant vanilla pudding powder
1 tsp Instant clear jel (leave this out if you're using instant vanilla pudding powder above)
300 g sifted confectioner's sugar about 2½ - 2⅔ cups, measured by spoon and level method

Instructions

Banana cake layers

Preheat the oven to 300°F / 150°C (conventional oven). Butter and line a 9 x 13 inch cake pan with parchment paper. Make sure any exposed sides are lightly brushed with butter to prevent the cake from sticking to it. Set aside.
Place the flour, spices, and baking soda in a bowl and whisk to combine with no lumps. Sift the dry ingredients if any lumps need to be broken up.
375 g all purpose flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, ¼ tsp ground cloves, ¼ tsp nutmeg
Place the bananas in a bowl and mash them up. Some lumps are OK here. You can use a fork or a mixer to do this. Set aside.
400 g mashed overripe bananas
In a large bowl, add the oil, salt, white sugar, and brown sugar, and mix until well incorporated. Break any sugar lumps if present. Scrape down the sides if needed. You can also substitute 50 g / ¼ cup of oil with 56 g / ¼ cup melted butter as well for more flavor, if you prefer.
150 g vegetable oil, ½ tsp sea salt, 150 g brown sugar, 100 g granulated sugar
Add the eggs, vanilla, and vinegar, and whisk well to combine.
3 large eggs, 2 tsp vanilla extract, 1 tbsp white vinegar
Place the buttermilk or sour cream in the mixture and whisk to combine well. This mixture should be smooth with no lumps.
180 mL buttermilk or sour cream
Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and carefully fold it in. If needed, add the flour mixture in two additions.
375 g all purpose flour, 1 tsp baking soda
While there are still unmixed flour in the batter, add the banana and fold it in gently. Be careful not to overmix the batter after adding the flour to prevent the cake from becoming rubbery.
Pour the cake batter into the prepared cake pan and evenly spread the batter. Lightly shake or knock the cake pan on the counter to remove large air bubbles and to evenly distribute the cake batter.
Bake in the preheated oven for about 50 - 60 minutes, rotating the pan once half way through baking time if needed. The bake time is based on baking the cake in a metal cake pan. Glass pan bake times will vary.
The cake is done when a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out with just a few cake crumbs stuck to it.
Remove the cake pan from the oven and let the cake cool slightly.
Turn the cake out onto a wire rack and let it cool completely with a tea towel over the cake to prevent it from drying out.
When the cake has cooled down, you can trim the edges for neater sides - but this is optional. You can also transfer the cake back into the cake pan, if you'd like to serve the cake IN the cake pan.

Cream cheese frosting

Place the room temperature butter and salt in a mixer bowl with a whisk attachment.
170 g unsalted butter, ¼ tsp sea salt
Whisk the butter until the butter is pale, light, and fluffy. This can take up to 10 - 15 minutes, depending on how firm the butter was at the start. Remember to scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure the butter is whipped evenly.
While the butter is being whipped, place the milk powder and instant clear jel in a bowl, and mix well to disperse the clear jel in the milk powder. You can also use instant vanilla pudding instead here as well.
1½ tbsp dry milk powder, 1 tsp Instant clear jel
Once the butter is whipped, add the milk powder mixture, and whisk on high speed to disperse the milk powder well. Scrape down the bowl at least once during this process.
Add the confectioners sugar and whisk it into the butter mixture on low speed until all the sugar has been added.
300 g sifted confectioner's sugar
Once all the sugar is added and mixed in, add the vanilla. Increase the speed to medium high to mix the confectioner's sugar with the butter to make a thick frosting. Scrape down the bowl 1 - 2 times in between to ensure everything is mixing uniformly.
2 tsp vanilla extract
When the butter and sugar have whipped well and you have a fluffy, thick buttercream, scrape the buttercream into a separate bowl and set it aside.
Into the same mixing bowl that you used above, add the cream cheese.
250 g cream cheese block
With a paddle attachment, cream the cream cheese. Only use medium speed to make sure the cream cheese is light, creamy, and without any lumps. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure all the cream cheese is being mixed. The unmixed cream cheese will create lumps in the frosting. Avoid over-creaming the cream cheese, as this can make the frosting more liquidy. Cooler cream cheese will retain its thickness better than warm cream cheese.
When the cream cheese mixture is smooth, creamy, thick, and lump free - add the buttercream mixture back into the mixing bowl.
With the paddle attachment still attached, whip the frosting on medium speed (or medium high speed for shorter bursts), to mix the cream cheese and buttercream together. Scrape down the sides to ensure both mixtures are mixing together well.
When the buttercream and cream cheese parts have mixed well together and uniformly, the frosting is ready to be used.

Cake assembly

If you want clean, straight edges, you can trim off the edges of the cake. If the cake is domed on top, use a bread knife to slice off the dome to make the top flat.
Alternatively, you can leave the cake as is and serve it on a cake tray, or in the cake pan as well.
Spread the cream cheese frosting evenly on top.
Keep the frosting layer smooth, OR create swirls or other patterns on top. I like to keep the frosting layer plain, but you can also add chopped nuts, crushed cookies, sliced bananas, or even a drizzle of chocolate fudge sauce or salted caramel sauce.
The cake can be refrigerated for about 2 days, but for best results, serve the cake at room temperature. Enjoy!

Notes

Adding butter

If you want to add butter for a little extra flavor, you can reduce the oil to 100 g (1/2 cup), and add 56 g / 1/4 cup melted butter.

Nutrition