Banana bread is so last year! We've moved onto bigger and better things like Banana Donuts, Banoffee Cupcakes, and now Banana Snack Cake! This easy banana cake is soo m-word and is topped with a tasty peanut butter honey frosting. Perfect for snacking, dessert, or maybe even a dish to add to the brunch table? If you have 2 bananas browning on your counter, you're ready for this recipe!
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What You Need to Make This Recipe
Ingredients:
- Ripe bananas
- All-purpose flour
- Cinnamon
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Granulated sugar
- Light brown sugar
- Unsalted butter
- Egg
- Sour cream
- Vanilla extract
- Powdered sugar
- Peanut butter
- Honey
Equipment:
- 8x8 inch pan
- Mixing bowls
- Whisk
- Spatula
- Measuring spoons
- Measuring cups or scale
- Hand mixer
- Parchment paper
Recipe Notes:
This recipe has the best banana flavor and is moistened with a bit of sour cream. You might know from my Banana Baked Donuts that I love pairing peanut butter and honey with bananas, so I added a PB honey flavored buttercream to this cake!
The first thing you'll want to do is take your 2 brown bananas and mash them in a bowl with a fork (picture #1 below). Whisk together the dry ingredients and set both of those bowls aside while you cream together the softened butter & sugars. Mix in the egg, vanilla extract, sour cream, followed by the mashed bananas. Finally, stir in the dry ingredients and pour the batter into a square pan. I recommend spraying the pan with oil and then lining sheets of parchment paper across it so that it's easy to pull out of the pan (picture #4 below).
Bake the cake at 350°F until the top is golden and a toothpick comes out of the center clean. While the cake is in the oven, whip together the butter, peanut butter, honey and powdered sugar. You'll want to wait for the cake to cool before frosting it, but this way it'll be ready to go! After frosting it, I sprinkled a few honey peanuts on top and cut it into 16 squares. If you want bigger slices, feel free to slice it up as 3x3!
Questions & Storage:
It's made in an 8x8 inch pan that cuts into 16 little square slices - perfect for snacking! It also has delicious frosting on top! Or you can leave the frosting off and have even more surface area of the soft, moist top (AKA my favorite part of banana bread!) It also takes less time to bake than a loaf!
Frosted cake should be stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. If it's unfrosted, it can be stored at room temperature.
It's delicious unfrosted, or I'd recommend trying a cream cheese frosting! Try cutting the recipe in half from my Cowboy Cookie Cake. If you're feeling chocolatey, try the whipped chocolate ganache from my Banoffee Cupcakes!
Did you try this recipe?
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Banana Snack Cake
Equipment
- 8x8 inch pan
- Mixing bowls
- Measuring Cups or Scale
- Measuring spoons
- Whisk
- Spatula
Ingredients
Banana Cake
- 1 cup mashed brown bananas about 2 medium bananas
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature
- ½ cup light brown sugar packed
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons sour cream room temperature
Peanut Butter Honey Frosting
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- 6 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream or milk for consistency if needed
Instructions
Banana Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray an 8x8 inch pan with oil and line parchment paper across so that it extends up the sides.
- In a small bowl, mash the bananas with a fork and measure them.
- In another small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Mix in the egg, vanilla extract and sour cream (one at a time). Then, stir in the mashed bananas. Finally, mix in the dry ingredients just until the flour streaks are gone. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Pour batter into the parchment-lined pan and bake until the top is golden and a toothpick comes out clean (22-28 minutes). Let the cake cool completely before frosting.
Peanut Butter Honey Frosting
- Mix together the butter, peanut butter, honey and powdered sugar until smooth. Add a bit of heavy whipping cream if it's too thick or dry.
- Spread frosting over the cooled cake, slice into 9 or 16 even squares and enjoy!
Stephanie Y says
I made this gluten free for my family and they all absolutely loves it. Made again with chocolate ganache- also LOVED it. Can’t go wrong with this recipe!
Kayla Burton says
Yay thank you for sharing!! I'm so happy it worked well as gluten free and your family enjoyed it! Chocolate ganache with it sounds amazing, I'll have to try it sometime 🙂
Valerie Varhaug says
My mom was a star in the kitchen and made a Banana Cake that I even requested for a birthday, but this Banana Snack Cake really kicks things up a notch! The cake caramelizes on top so it's perfect without the peanut butter frosting, but why do that? Whipped light and oh so spreadable it really is the icing on the cake! Make it once and you'll be making it over and over again!
Kayla says
Such a kind review, thank you Valerie!! I'm very happy to hear that you enjoyed it so much!