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My favorite Banana Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting! A pop of honey and sea salt make it extra delicious.
Over the weekend I found out my sister-in-law is having triplets! My whole family is ecstatic (!!!) and a few of us decided to throw a last minute BBQ to celebrate the good news. Mom made the most incredible potato salad, my brother made his famous burgers, and I whipped up my sister-in-laws favorite dessert: Banana Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting. Turns out she’s not the only one who loves this cake… ’cause by the end of the party there wasn’t a crumb left on the cake stand!
But really, who could resist a big, fat slice of this ↓
There are two parts to this recipe: the moist banana cake and the salted honey peanut butter frosting. Both are very simple, but as always, I recommend reading the entire recipe at least once before beginning. This way you can make sure you have all of the ingredients, enough time, and can ask me any questions you may have before you begin baking. I’m always here to help!
For the banana cake you’re going to need bananas, cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, butter, vanilla extract, granulated sugar AND brown sugar, eggs, sour cream, and milk.
Tips and Tricks for success:
- The bananas you use should be extremely ripe! Just like when you’re baking banana bread. The cake draws moisture, flavor, and sweetness from the ripe bananas, so the blacker the better!
- This recipe calls for cake flour. You can find this in most grocery stores, you can order it online, or you can make your own. To make homemade cake flour, simply combine 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour with 2 tablespoons cornstarch for every cup of cake flour called for.
- I use full-fat sour cream and milk in this recipe and I strongly suggest you do the same. These cupcakes get a lot of their moisture from the fat in these ingredients. Using fat-free or reduced fat replacements will likely result in a drier, less moist cake.
- This recipe calls for both granulated sugar and brown sugar. I do not recommend substituting all one for the other. The brown sugar adds moisture and flavor, while the granulated sugar assists with the fluffy consistency.
- Make sure your butter is the right temperature before you begin beating it. It needs to be at room temperature, meaning it should be soft enough that when lightly pressed with your finger it leaves an indentation in the stick of butter. I typically leave my butter on the counter for an hour or so to bring it to temperature, but if you’re short on time, you can cut the cold stick of butter into into small cubes, which will help speed along the thawing process. Just leave them at room temperature until they’re soft to the touch.
- Your eggs, milk, and sour cream should also be at room temperature. Cold ingredients will not incorporate evenly or bond, resulting dense cupcakes. Batters made with cold ingredients don’t come together smoothly, so be sure to take the extra step and bring them to room temperature.
- Here’s a trick for the eggs: to bring cold eggs to room temperature, simply place them in a bowl of warm water for 15 minutes. Just be sure you don’t use hot water!
Moving onto the frosting! You’re going to need butter, peanut butter, honey, flaky sea salt, confectioners’ sugar, and heavy cream. You’ll also need either an electric handheld mixer or a standmixer to whip it up nice and fluffy.
Warning: This frosting is dangerously delicious… taste test at your own risk 🙂
This cake is proof that very good things happen when you combine the magical forces of banana and peanut butter! Bet you won’t be able to stop at once slice… 😉
If you try this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment below and don’t forget to snap a pic and tag it #bakerbynature on Instagram! Seeing your kitchen creations makes my day. ♥
Banana Layer Cake with Salted Honey Peanut Butter Frosting
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups VERY RIPE bananas, mashed (about 4 large bananas)
- 3 cups cake flour (see post for homemade alternative)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 sticks butter, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup full-fat sour cream
- 3/4 cup whole milk
For the Salted Honey Peanut Butter Frosting:
- 8 ounces full-fat cream cheese, very soft
- 4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, very soft
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt
- 4 cups confectioners' sugar
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° (F). Grease and flour two 9" spring form pans OR three 9" round cake pans. The spring form pans are deep enough to hold the batter split in two, but if you don't own them, just make it into three cakes - we don't want oven overflow!
- Mash bananas well and place them in a small bowl; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; set aside.
- In a large bowl using a handheld electric mixer, or using a standmixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, vanilla, and both sugars until light and fluffy; about 5 minutes (don't skimp on time here!). Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- On low speed, beat in the flour mixture alternately with the sour cream and milk. Fold in bananas.
- Divide batter evenly among the prepared pans and bake in preheated oven for 35 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for 10 minutes before gently running a knife around the edges to loosen any stuck bits, then turning them out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
- While the cakes cool, you can make the frosting.
For the frosting:
- In a large bowl using a handheld electric mixer, or using a standmixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese, butter, and peanut butter until smooth; about 2 minutes. Add honey and sea salt. Reduce speed to low and add in confectioners' sugar, one cup at a time. Beat on low speed until combined, then add in the heavy cream. Increase speed to medium-high and beat frosting until fluffy; about 3-4 minutes. Spread on cooled cake.
Notes
This whole recipe sounds super dangerous! By now you must have three new little nieces and or nephews running around. Congrats! My younger siblings are triplets 🙂
This cake looks amazing! Now, could I substitute the sour cream for something else?? I imagine it will alter the texture thou…
Thank you!
Hi Mary. You could sub in full-fat Greek yogurt 🙂
Looks amazing! could I just let the cakes cool naturally on the counter though, instead of putting them directly into the freezer?
Hi Heidi. Yes, I think that should work just fine.