Fluffy Banana Cake with Banana Filling has a light-as-air banana cake layered with creamy, fresh banana filling all covered in whipped cream frosting.
If you are looking for THE BEST BANANA CAKE RECIPE EVER, you’ve come to the right place!
What Makes This The Best Banana Layer Cake Ever?
Light, fluffy banana cake is hard to achieve because baking with bananas gives a moist, dense crumb. For this cake I wanted an airy, light, fluffy CAKE and not something resembling the texture of banana bread.
Separating the eggs, whipping the whites separately, and folding them in helps achieve a fluffy cake. Sandwich the layers with a fresh banana cream filling and slather it with white or chocolate whipped cream frosting, and you’ve made the best banana cake recipe ever!
What Kind of Frosting Goes Best with Banana Cake?
This is a matter of preference, but I believe a whipped cream frosting doesn’t weigh down the light and fluffy banana cake.
Traditionally I make Fluffy Banana Cake recipe with the white whipped cream frosting included in the recipe card. The frosting is very stable and holds up for several days.
Then I made the “mistake” of pairing the banana cake with a Chocolate Whipped Cream Frosting. My kids have never allowed me to look back. I can’t say I blame them.
Traditionally banana cake is topped with a cream cheese frosting. I have no problem with any sort of frosting, and they are all winners in my book!
Can I Freeze Banana Cake?
Yes, and I fully take advantage to save myself from polishing off an entire cake!
Here are a few ways I have frozen banana cake…
- Make the cake, banana filling, frosting, and assemble the cake. Place toothpicks around the frosting and loosely wrap with plastic wrap. Once the cake has frozen, wrap more securely with plastic wrap. Thaw for 48 hours in the refrigerator.
- Wrap individually cut leftover slices in plastic wrap. Freeze until solid and then place slices in a ziplock freezer bag. Thaw slices on counter for 1 hour or in the refrigerator for a few hours.
- Make all the components of the cake and freeze separately. Thaw cake layers on counter. The whipped cream frosting and banana filling should be thawed in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Assemble the cake as directed.
How to Ripen Bananas Quickly for Cakes or Bread
I know you want to eat this cake right now and you don’t want to wait five days for your bananas to get really ripe.
So just throw the ones you do have on a foil-lined baking sheet in a 400ºF oven for 20 minutes, flipping halfway through, until the skins are completely black. Voila! No excuses. Now go make this cake.
HOW TO MAKE FLUFFY BANANA CAKE WITH BANANA FILLING
- First mash the bananas with lemon juice, mix together dry ingredients, and prepare the cake pans.
- Next beat the butter and sugar together until very pale, light, and fluffy. Add egg yolks and extracts.
- Mix in flour alternating with buttermilk into the butter mixture. End by mixing in bananas.
- Beat egg whites separately until stiff. Fold gently into cake batter. Bake as directed.
- Meanwhile, place all the ingredients for the banana filling in a saucepan if using an immersion blender. Otherwise blend ingredients together using a blender or food processor. Transfer to saucepan.
- Heat banana filling ingredients until very thick and the mixture cleanly leaves the sides of pan while being stirred.
- Layer the banana cake layers with fresh banana filling. Cover with whipped cream frosting (recipe below) or Chocolate Whipped Cream Frosting (click here for recipe).
Tips for Making Fluffy Banana Cake
- This banana cake recipe calls for three 9″ cake pans. If you do not have three pans, bake the layers in stages. Cover the cake batter with plastic wrap and leave on the counter until ready to use. Make sure cake pans are cool before pouring batter in.
- The recipe card includes a white whipped cream frosting. However, my family always requests Chocolate Whipped Cream Frosting, which you can find the recipe here.
- Room temperature ingredients are key when baking cakes. Separate the eggs and have them come to room temperature. Room temperature butter, eggs, and dairy ingredients bind together more uniformly, creating a smoother, lighter, and better incorporated batter. Check out Almond Joy Cake recipe for tips on bringing ingredients to room temperature quickly.
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Fluffy Banana Cake with Banana Filling is a light-as-air banana layer cake with creamy, fresh banana filling all covered in whipped cream frosting.
- 1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 3-4 bananas)
- 2 teaspoon lemon juice
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, or all purpose gluten free flour (I highly recommend Cup 4 Cup gluten free flour)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup butter, room temperature
- 2 cups sugar
- 3 large eggs, separated and room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon (optional) banana extract
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk, room temperature
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 3 tablespoons butter, room temperature
- 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. sugar
- 3 ripe bananas
- 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 1/2 cups cold heavy cream
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
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Preheat oven to 350ºF. Spray three 9 inch cake pans with cooking spray. Line each bottom with a cut-to-size parchment or wax paper circle. Spray tops of paper and set aside. Tip: If you only have 2 9" cake pans, bake 2 layers, and store remaining batter covered on counter. Bake 3rd layer in COOLED cake pan.
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In a small bowl, mix mashed bananas with lemon juice and set aside. In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
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In a large bowl cream 3/4 cup butter with sugar until light and fluffy, at least 3 minutes. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time, then mix in vanilla and (optional) banana extracts. Add about 1/3 of the flour mixture and alternate with about 1/3 buttermilk. Repeat until all the flour and buttermilk has been mixed in. Mix in banana mixture.
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In a separate clean, dry bowl beat the reserved egg whites until stiff. Fold 1/3 of the egg whites into the banana batter, then gently fold in the remaining 2/3 until no streaks remain. Divide the batter between the prepared pans.
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Bake for 30-33 minutes (about 5 minutes longer if using gluten free flour) or until toothpick inserted at center comes out clean. Turn onto wire racks and cool completely.
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Place all the banana filling ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until fully incorporated and smooth. If you have an immersion blender, put everything in medium saucepan and blend it in there.
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Pour mixture into medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir frequently until the mixture becomes very thick and starts to boil, about 10-15 minutes. If the filling starts to boil before it is thick enough, lower the heat more. When the filling starts to cleanly pull away from sides of pan while stirring it is done (see pic in post).
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Remove from heat and cool completely. I recommend chilling the filling until cold so it sticks to the cake layers and doesn't slide around. Makes 2 cups.
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Place the sugar and cornstarch in a small saucepan. Measure 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream and remove 6 tablespoons, adding it to the saucepan. Place the remaining measured cream in the refrigerator. Heat the sugar, cornstarch, and 6 tablespoons of heavy cream over medium heat, whisking constantly and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat, stir in the vanilla, and let cool completely, about 45 minutes (can refrigerate to speed up process, but stir occasionally).
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After the cornstarch mixture has cooled beat the remaining chilled cream until tracks begin to show, about 2 minutes. Add the cornstarch mixture and continue beating until stiff peaks form, about 1 to 2 minutes more.
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Place cake layer on serving platter and pour 1/2 the banana curd filling in the middle and smooth out until it reaches the edge. Gently place 2nd layer on top and repeat. Place top layer on and smooth whipped cream all over the outside of the cake.
Recipe for Chocolate Whipped Cream Frosting
Make ahead instructions:
You can make the cake layers ahead, cool completely, wrap tightly and freeze until you are ready to assemble the cake.
The Banana Filling will stay for a week in the fridge, stored in an airtight container.
The regular whipped cream frosting is very stable and can be stored covered in the fridge for a couple days in an airtight container.
Banana Filling adapted from iambaker.net
❊SHOP THE RECIPE❊
Items used to make this recipe:
9 inch Cake Pans KitchenAid Stand Mixer Offset Spatula
OTHER RECIPES TO LOVE:
Pineapple Carrot Cake with Pineapple Whipped Cream Frosting
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Samantha says
May 12, 2019 at 9:44 AMThis recipe was incredible. For the whipped frosting I added about a teaspoon and a half of banana extract and it gave it an awesome banana flavor to pair with the cake.
Melissa says
May 12, 2019 at 3:52 PMHi Samantha, I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I love the idea of adding banana extract to the whipped cream frosting. I’m definitely going to try that next time!
Best,
Melissa
maya says
May 3, 2019 at 5:16 PMhi!! love the recipe <3 if I make this the day before serving will the banana filling turn brown in the fridge? thanks for your help!
Melissa says
May 6, 2019 at 11:41 AMHi Maya, Sorry for the delay! We’ve been camping. No, the filling won’t turn brown. It says good for a few days in the fridge.
Selena says
April 25, 2019 at 10:36 AMHave you tried this with cake flour? Do you think it would make it any fluffier/lighter? I am going to try this for my husband’s birthday. I’m SO excited to have found a FLUFFY banana cake recipe. All the others I’ve made seem more like banana bread, which is NOT what we want. Very much looking forward to seeing how it turns out!
Selena says
April 25, 2019 at 11:33 AMOne more question: Should the banana filling be 1 1/4 cups of sugar instead of 1/4 c as written?? I looked at the recipe you adapted from and yours has WAY less sugar than the original.
I’d prefer it has less sugar, taste wise, but am wondering if that’s a typo? Thank you! I am excited to try this.
Melissa says
April 25, 2019 at 1:13 PMHi Selena, I’m so excited YOU”RE SO EXCITED about this cake. It’s probably the cake I bake the most at my house because it’s the most requested for birthdays 🙂 I have not tried it with cake flour, so I hate to advise you either way on that. Seems like an experiment I’ll have to try next, though…
As far as the banana filling, yes, it does have less sugar. I find it sweet enough as written and bananas themselves are pretty sweet. Since it’s a filling for a cake with icing on it, you don’t miss the extra sugar!
Enjoy and let me know what you think!
Best,
Melissa
Selena says
April 26, 2019 at 10:03 AMHi Melissa, thank you very much for these answers! Sorry to question the sugar in the filling… it was so much less, I wasn’t sure. I find too much sweet overwhelming, so having less sugar is great! Now I’m looking forward to trying this even more. 🙂 My daughter and I are giving the recipe a try today with the chocolate whipped frosting!
Melissa says
April 27, 2019 at 5:36 PMNo worries at all! I analyze every recipe to the point of obsession and I’m always cross-referencing, so completely understood.
Claire says
April 22, 2019 at 6:34 PMI am making this cake for a special occasion. I just tried to make the filling and it s has thickened, tho not to the point of pulling away from the side of the pan, and it has curdled. What have I done wrong? Can you tell me how many grams of banana should be used for the filling? Thanks!
Melissa says
April 22, 2019 at 7:54 PMHi Claire,
I’m not sure I know what you mean by curdled. The filling got lumpy? If that’s the case you can whisk in a little water or milk. If you’re worried about it not being thick enough, it will thicken up upon refrigeration. Three bananas will be about 560 grams (with peels on). Also, I just wanted to make sure you saw there is a metric conversion under the ingredients. I know that doesn’t help with the amount of bananas, but it will convert everything else. I do hope this works out for you! I know how frustrating that can be when something isn’t turning out for a special occasion.
Best,
Melissa
Lily says
February 11, 2019 at 11:06 PMHey thanks for the awesome recipe! I’ve made this a few times and it’s gorgeous!
Just checked back to this page for the recipe again and grateful for more instructional photos 🙂
Might seem a bit silly to ask but Do you still have the old photos you had on here with the chocolate frosting? I used them for inspiration 🙂
Melissa says
February 12, 2019 at 4:15 AMHey Lily, thanks so much for writing and I totally understand. No problem at all! Is this the photo you were looking for? https://www.pinterest.com/pin/241646336236582980/ If not, please let me know and I can try a couple others.
Best,
Melissa
Shandra says
September 12, 2018 at 8:11 PMI’m trying to make my daughter a first birthday cake that is not only turquoise ombré but banana…because she loves she bananas. This recipe looks like the cake color ends up a lighter shade, is that accurate? I’m scared of ending up with dark shade like banana bread 😭
Melissa says
September 13, 2018 at 6:24 AMYes, this is definitely lighter in color, not dark like banana bread. Happy birthday to your little one!
Bonnie says
July 15, 2018 at 8:20 PMHello! How long can this cake sit out on the counter? Can I assemble it before people arrive for the party and then serve it 3 hours later without needing to refrigerate it?
Melissa says
July 15, 2018 at 9:04 PMI’ve definitely let it sit out for a few hours before and it’s been fine. If you want to be safe, though, just assemble it before the party, refrigerate it, and let it sit out for at least a hour before serving. I always think room temperature cake just tastes better! Enjoy!
Christine says
May 14, 2018 at 8:38 AMI made this for my husband’s birthday yesterday, and my family LOVED it. My teenager who “doesn’t like cake” (what?!?) ate 2 pieces of it! It has been deemed the best cake ever. I made it with the chocolate whipped cream frosting which was perfect with the cake and not overly sweet. Thanks for this awesome recipe!
Melissa says
May 14, 2018 at 12:49 PMThat’s funny because I made this cake yesterday too! I’m making it ahead of time and freezing it for my birthday next week. I’m so glad your family enjoyed it!