Banana Layer Cake
All you need is love and CAKE! And you will love this cake! This banana cake will have fall in love with this cake in mere minutes. It’ll only take one bite of this super delicious cake, the fresh bananas give it a wonderful flavor.
Just one more reason to buy bananas!
This cake may look fancy, but would you guess it is baked in a 13×9 pan, then cut, filled, and frosted!
I just love simple with a wow factor.
More banana recipes:
- Banana Maple Oatmeal Cookies
- Banana Bread
- Banana Crumb Muffins
- Banana Split Cake
- Banana Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce
- Banana Bread Cake
- Glazed Peanut Butter Banana Bread
- Maple Banana Walnut Cake
I’ve made this cake in a 9×13 pan, sliced it in half, and then stacked the two halves to make a 2 layer rectangle cake. If you don’t plan on filling the cake, it can be served with adding frosting on top, keeping it simple.
I love pastry cream and filled cakes, so I often like the added step to have a filled cake when I’m finished.
If you’re looking for a nice round layer cake I made this 3 layer round cake using 8″ round cake pans.
Why use baking strips?
Because, it ensures the cake will bake evenly, nice and flat. With no need to trim cakes, no dome, cakes won’t overbake since the edges won’t overbake quickly and the center won’t rise above them, so the cakes are nice and flat and will look great, taste great and easier to frost when stacking cakes. Baking strips can be found here.
I decorated each cake easily with frosting and banana chips or fresh flowers, camomile style daisy flowers always look nice.
I like easy and simple when it comes to decorating cakes, but feel free to go all out if that is more you.
Check out these other easily decorated cakes
- Tropical pineapple and coconut cake
- Chocolate frosted vanilla cake with berries
- and this Chocolate cake with berries
I often leave the sides of cakes naked… but this one I slathered it on. I smoothed it out and then added simple toppings.
Fun and simple cake decorating ideas:
- Dollops and swirls and you’re all set with this pretty cake
- fresh flowers cake
- Semi-naked cake 🙂
- fruit on cake
- add sprinkles
- Add sliced fresh bananas if serving the cake immediately after adding
I filled the rectangle cake with pastry cream, which is so creamy and delicious. But if you don’t want that extra step you can place frosting in between the layers of cake like I did in the round cake below.
Do you ahve a favorite cake shape, round or square… I typically like round cakes for layer cakes, but have make a few 13×9 cakes and turned them into layer cakes and even an ice cream cake and it might just e a favorite after all.
It sure makes slicing even pieces easier!
But it is easy to take a round cake and slice it across and then slice it into pieces, then they are all similar.
It’s best to hold a small cutting board up to the cake and slice it, so the large slice will hold together until you place the cutting board down and then slice it into pieces.
*Ripe bananas work best in this cake recipe. Do not try the tip about putting them in an oven in the banana peel, allowing them to turn brown… they will not offer the same delicious flavor, I’ve tried it. The aroma of the bananas was nice, but once baked they did not offer a banana flavor.
Swiss meringue buttercream frosting
I used this Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting.
Another option is to give the frosting banana flavor by adding 1 teaspoon Banana Extract but if you don’t like the flavor of banana candy… don’t add it. You could add 1/2 teaspoon almond extract.
Below you’ll find the RECIPE CARD for the cake recipe and the pastry cream filling recipe…
A quick alternative for a shortcut banana pastry cream (1- 3.4 oz box instant banana pudding mix, 16 oz heavy cream, and a tablespoon or two of milk add additional milk if you’d like it thinner).
Banana Layer Cake
Ingredients
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 2/3 cups all purpose flour
- 6 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk (or 1 1/2 cups whole milk with 3 tablespoons vinegar)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups ripe, mashed banana, 3 medium bananas- equal to 1 cup
Banana Pastry Cream
- 4 large egg yolks
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- pinch salt
- 4 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon banana extract
- 2 cups whole milk
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Prepare 1-13×9 rectangle pan or 3-8" round cake pans. I use a pan release (or grease and flour).
- In the bowl of a mixer, beat butter until smooth.
- Add in the sugar and mix on medium speed until light and fluffy.
- Add one egg at a time, continue mixing on low to medium until each egg is combined.
- Place the buttermilk, vanilla and mash the bananas with a fork until soft, microwave 10 seconds if needed to soften them so they blend smoothly.
- In a medium bowl whisk the flour, baking pwoder, baking soda and salt until blended.
- You'll now alternate the flour and buttermilk mixtures. Start with flour, add buttermilk, flour, and buttermilk, finish with the flour mixture. Mixing on a low speed.
- Pour the batter into the cake pan(s).
- Bake the round pans for 25-30 minues and the 13×9 pan to 45 minutes test with a toothpick, once if comes out clean remoce from the oven.
- Allow the cakes to cool for 10 minutes then turn out to a cooling rack to completely cool. Wrap in plastic wrap and freeze/refrigerate until firm.
- Prepare the pastry cream filling:
- In a medium saucepan mix the sugar cornstarch, and salt. Add in milk and mix well. heat over medium heat, stirring as it heats to dissolve the sugar, and continue stirring. Bringing it to a simmer (small bubbles.
- Remove the pan from the stove, then slowly spoon some milk mixture into a bowl with whisked egg yolks, until blended while stirring well. Then add the egg mixture to the milk mixture whisking until it simmers and thickens, continue cooking for 3 minutes. Add the butter, vanilla, and banana extract and mix well.
- Pour into dish and cover with plastic wrap touching the pastry cream so it stays smooth (and does not form a thick film/skin) refrigerate until it's completely COLD. The thinner the dish for the pastry cream the faster it'll cool.
- Prepare the frosting recipe. Swiss meringue buttercream frosting linked in post.
- Cold cake, layers well. Be sure the pastry cream is cold. You don't want it to be warm, the filling will slide.
- Assemble the cake:
- Place 1 cake layer, pipe frosting around the edge then fill with pastry cream in the middle. If making a 3 -layer round, repeat.
- Use an offset spatula and spread frosting on the sides, then top of the cake. Smooth and even our frosting. Create dollops of frosting to decorate the top of the cake, and add dried banana chips or flowers as desired.
- Refrigerate the cake so everything sets well and firm.
- Remove from the fridge at least 1 hour before serving.
I just love banana and made this cake as soon as I saw it. I just loved the cake, so delicious, the filling was perfect and I used the swiss meringue buttercream and wow it’s so silky smooth and totally make the cake!