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Meet your new favourite Banana Cake recipe! Whether you’re a baking beginner or just need to use up your ripe bananas, THIS is the cake recipe to try.
We all need a go-to banana cake recipe and this is mine!
I have been making a version of this recipe since I owned my very first recipe book 35 years ago (!).
Then, when I had children, this was a once a week entertainment activity to bake together. Low effort AND we got to eat cake at the end. What a win.
I still love it now, and I hope you and your family do too ❤️
Why you’ll love this Banana Cake recipe
⭐️ One bowl, no fuss
⭐️ Uses up sad-looking brown bananas
⭐️ Makes an energy-packed snack
Banana Cake Ingredients NOTES
- Butter – Unsalted if you can get it. You will need this both for the cake mixture and for greasing the tin. Melt it for easy mixing (use the microwave or a small pan on the hob).
- Eggs – I recommend using medium free-range eggs.
- Bananas – These need to be very ripe for mashing – NOT firm or green at all. The banana skins should be very speckled, or (ideally) almost totally brown or black on the skins.
- What else you’ll need – Caster sugar and self-raising flour.
Variations on this easy banana loaf
(with just a few tweaks)
- Banana and Walnut Loaf (or Banana and Walnut Cake) – Follow the same recipe but add in 85g of chopped walnuts (you could also try pecans or hazelnuts).
- Peanut Butter Banana Bread – Add 100g of peanut butter and, for added peanut crunchy goodness, 50g of salted peanuts.
- Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips – Add about 100g of chocolate chips in with the batter. You can also drizzle melted chocolate over the top.
- Banana Bread with Cream Cheese Frosting – Follow my recipe for a quick and easy cream cheese topping.
How to make Easy Banana Cake
1. Grease the tin with soft butter (or line with baking paper) and preheat the oven as per the recipe below.
2. Break the eggs into a mixing bowl. Add the melted butter, sugar, flour and mashed bananas. Mix very well either by hand or using an electric mixer.
3. Spoon into the tin, smoothing out with the back of the spoon, and bake as per the recipe below.
4. When cool, slice and serve.
How to store Banana Cake
The cake will keep in an airtight container for up to a week (by which time it’ll have been devoured anyway!)
In the freezer You can also cook it and freeze it, either whole or in slices. Just make sure it’s completely cooled before doing so, wrap it in a couple of layers of greaseproof paper and defrost it thoroughly before eating.
Top Tips!
How to know the cake is cooked
First, check the cake isn’t still wobbly when you move it. If it is, put it straight back in the oven.
If not, push a skewer or sharp, thin knife into the centre of the cake. If it comes out clean, it means it’s cooked. (Some crumbs are fine, but not wet cake mixture.) If it doesn’t, it’s not quite there yet so leave it in for a few more minutes and check again.
If the top of your cake is cooked but it’s not inside yet, you can cover it with tin foil to stop it from burning.
what else to bake with ripe bananas…
FAQs
This is the size of loaf tin I like (23x13cm / 900g).
To make banana cake, your bananas need to be very ripe.
As they ripen, they get softer and sweeter. This is what gives the banana cake its texture and flavour. Please don’t try to make this with green or very firm bananas as it just won’t work in the same way.
The banana skins should be very speckled, or (ideally) almost totally brown or black on the skins. When you peel the bananas they will be very soft.
A large banana weighs approximately 130-150g, and we’re using 3 for this recipe. So if you don’t have large ones, use the equivalent weight of small, so about 390g – 450g total.
If you’ve frozen your overripe bananas before they go (further) over the the dark side and have to be binned, you can use them for this recipe.
Make sure they’re fully defrosted and any excess water is drained first. If you leave that water in there your cake will be far too mushy.
I sure do! Give these a try:
Yoghurt Pot Cake – Measure everything in the pot, no need for scales!
Lemon Drizzle Cake – Solid, failsafe and easy-to-follow recipe
Courgette Cake – Honestly so good. Give it a try.
Let me know how you got on and what you thought of these recipes. Please rate the recipe using the ⭐️ below.
Also I’d LOVE to see your cooking creations. If you’d like to share yours with me, you can tag me on Instagram (@tamingtwins).
Banana Cake {Foolproof Recipe!}
Ingredients
For the Banana Loaf:
- Butter for greasing the tin
- 75 g Butter, Melted, preferably unsalted
- 100 g Caster sugar
- 2 Eggs, Medium free-range
- 225 g Self-raising flour
- 3 Large bananas (very ripe), Peeled and mashed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C.
- Grease the tin with soft butter (or line with baking paper).
- Break the eggs into a mixing bowl. Add the melted butter, sugar, flour and mashed bananas.
- Mix very well either by hand or using an electric mixer.
- Spoon into the tin, smoothing out with the back of the spoon.
- Bake for 40 – 50 mins at 180C until it is golden on top and a knife or skewer comes out clean.
- Allow to cool in the tin for 10 – 15 minutes and then turn out carefully.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I have always loved Banana Bread, but never been very successful at making it, BUT this recipe is super quick and easy and the end result was delicious!! I will definitely be making this again…
Hurrah! So happy to hear that!
Best banana bread recipe I’ve ever made – and by far the easiest! Everyone loves it.
This has been our lockdown fave!!!! We’ve made this most weeks!! Lovely and moist with the added bonus of chocolate 😊
So tasty and so simple to make!
This is hands down the best recipe we’ve tried for banana chocolate chip cake! Thank you. I’ve save it! Some of mine have turned out like bread pudding in the past!! Lovely thank you ❤️
Loved this recipe. I had no chocolate chips and no way to get them so popped a Galaxy caramel chocolate bar in the freezer for 15 minutes whilst assembling and mixing everything else and then chopped the Galaxy bar up into small pieces and used that instead. Had to bake it for an extra 10 minutes as this made it slightly runnier whilst cooking (and I only had large eggs as well). It is really great and my son loves it.
This is the best banana cake recipe that I have made. Really.
Thanks
Graham
My daughter tried your banana loaf with
Chocolate chips and send me photo and looks
beautiful and yesterday I pop in her house and
tried the cake as well and it is delicious .
I am not a baking person but she convinced me
to make and I am going to give it a go .
I like to ask you can I try without sugar and
chocolate chip or would u recommend any
substitute for sugar and chip . Thanks.
Hi have just made your banana chocolate chip cake it was so simple and tasted heavenly.
Thank you for recipe, will be trying some of your other recipes as have just found your site.
Fantastic and really yummy recipe. It’s so easy to do I was able to do it with 2 small children and still tasted delicious