If you’re looking for a banana cake recipe that’s ridiculously moist and delicious every single time, this is your cake! Actually, this is your cake for ANY occasion. I can pretty much guarantee that once you’ve made it and tasted it, this crazy banana cake will be one of your go-to-dessert recipes until the end of time.
I know what you’re thinking. How crazy can a banana cake with cream cheese icing be? Well first of all, this cake is crazy-good, but that’s not the reason for the name of the recipe. The reason I call this the crazy banana cake is because of the unusual baking and cooling methods that the recipe calls for. Don’t worry. They’re not difficult. They’re just kind of … well… crazy!
I honestly forget where I got the recipe for this cake. I’ve been making it for years. It’s a strange little recipe, so I’ll clarify a couple of things right off the top. First of all: the low oven temperature: 275ºF. That’s not a typo. You read it correctly: TWO HUNDRED and seventy-five degrees fahreinheit. It’s bizarre, I know, but it works!
The second thing thing about this recipe is the cooling method. This banana cake comes right out of the oven and straight into the freezer. This is, apparently, the secret to the cake’s moistness. For this reason, you’re going to want to bake this cake in a pan that can withstand the quick change in temperature. I use my 9 x 13 Pyrex baking dish. I don’t cover the cake when I put it in the freezer; I just place it in the freezer with a towel folded underneath it (to prevent the heat from transferring into other items in my freezer.
If you want to bump up the nutrition factor a bit more, you can swap out half of the all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour.
There is a printable version of this recipe at the bottom of the post
How to make my crazy banana cake with cream cheese icing:
- 1.5 cups very ripe bananas (3 fresh bananas or 4 thawed, previously frozen bananas)
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1.5 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup soft butter
- 2 cups sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1.5 cups buttermilk (OR milk soured with one tbsp vinegar or lemon juice)
To prepare: Pre-heat oven to 275º F, and grease and flour (or spray), a 9×13 cake pan.
Mash banana and mix with lemon juice and set aside.
In a med bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
If you’re making your own buttermilk, combine milk and vinegar (or lemon juice) in a small bowl, and set aside.
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar.
Beat in eggs, one at a time. Stir in vanilla.
Beat in flour mixture alternately with buttermilk.
Stir in bananas.
Pour into greased/floured (or sprayed) cake pan and bake at 275º F for 1 hour and 10 mins (or until knife comes out clean).
**EDITED: Some folks have reported that they needed to leave their cake in the oven longer than the 1 hr and 10 minutes suggested. They say the cake still turns out to be amazing. If your cake isn’t cooked through at the 70 minute mark, just leave it in the oven longer, checking every 10 minutes, until it’s fully cooked. 
Now, for the crazy part:
Immediately place in freezer for 45 minutes. (if not completely cool upon removal from freezer, let cool further before icing).
No need to cover the cake, but you’ll want to place it on a thick, folded towel to protect items underneath.
Cream Cheese Icing:
- 1/2 cup softened butter
- 8 oz cream cheese, room temp.
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 3.5 cups icing sugar (also known as powdered sugar or confectioner’s sugar)
- Cream butter and cream cheese.
- Beat in vanilla and icing sugar on low until combined, then high until smooth.
This makes a ton of icing. You could probably halve the recipe, but I love cream cheese icing, so the thick layer that this produces makes me a very happy hooligan indeed.
Slather that icing all over your crazy banana cake, and enjoy!
- Cake:
- 1.5 cups very ripe bananas (3 fresh bananas or 4 thawed, previously frozen bananas)
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1.5 tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¾ cup soft butter
- 2 cups sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1.5 cups buttermilk (OR milk soured with one tbsp vinegar or lemon juice)
- Icing:
- ½ cup softened butter
- 8 oz cream cheese, room temp.
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 3.5 cups icing sugar (also known as powdered sugar or confectioner's sugar)
- Pre-heat oven to 275 F, and grease and flour (or spray), a 9x13 cake pan.
- Mash banana and mix with lemon juice and set aside.
- In a med bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- If you're making your own buttermilk, combine milk and vinegar (or lemon juice) in a small bowl, and set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar.
- Beat in eggs, one at a time. Stir in vanilla.
- Beat in flour mixture alternately with buttermilk.
- Stir in bananas.
- Pour into cake pan and bake 1 hour and 10 mins (or until knife comes out clean). *if need be, cook longer, checking every 10 minutes until cake is fully cooked.
- Immediately place in freezer for 45 minutes. (if not completely cool upon removal from freezer, let cool further before icing).
- Cream butter and cream cheese.
- Beat in vanilla and icing sugar on low until combined, then high until smooth.
- Frost cake and enjoy!
Check out more of my recipes:
5-Ingredient Black Forest Trifle
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
White Chocolate Chip and Cranberry Cookies
French Vanilla Brownie Cupcakes
Giant Chocolate Chip Pizza Cookie
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