This banana cake with chocolate frosting is moist, fluffy, and a fun change of pace from traditional cakes. But I bet you'll quickly consider it a staple for your dessert table. A rich chocolate cream cheese frosting pairs so well with the taste of bananas baked into these layers. Whether you're in the mood for something indulgent or wholesome, this banana-based recipe is sure to satisfy your sweet tooth.
If you're a fan of this frosting, then you've got the try the creamy ganache on top of these chocolate fudge cupcakes - it uses the same rich and creamy topping and is so so good!
🎂 For other classic cakes, try my old fashioned carrot cake recipe with pineapple, chocolate cake with strawberry filling, 4-inch mini birthday cake, and raspberry chocolate Bundt cake.
Jump to:
- Ingredients for this Moist and Easy Cake
- Ingredients for Homemade Chocolate Fudge Frosting
- Steps for Baking the Best Banana Cake
- Steps for Making this Chocolate Ganache
- Pro Tip for Decorating - Freeze your Cake Layers!
- Assembling this Banana Cake with Chocolate Frosting
- FAQ for this Banana Cake with Chocolate Frosting
- Tips for Decorating this Cake
- More Dessert Ideas
- Banana Cake with Chocolate Frosting
Ingredients for this Moist and Easy Cake
The full list of ingredients is in the recipe card below. Here are some highlights and noteworthy items that make this cake delicious and different from banana bread:
- Very ripe bananas – Bananas work wonders in baked goods. They're naturally sweet, which means they can help sweeten a cake like this one without as much additional sugar. Bananas always have a high water content, which lends moisture to baked goods. And I won't lie and call this a healthy cake by any stretch, BUT bananas do have added nutritional value thanks to the potassium, vitamin C, and dietary fiber found within them.
- Nutmeg and Cinnamon - These two spices feel like they should always accompany baked bananas. They bring out nice warm notes and scents that take this take to the next level in terms of flavor.
- Brown sugar – I love baking with brown sugar when I need more moisture and sweetness in a cake. It helps play both of those roles here.
Ingredients for Homemade Chocolate Fudge Frosting
To make the frosting, you’ll need the following items:
- Heavy cream, room temperature
- Powdered sugar
- Cream cheese, room temperature or slightly softened
- Vanilla extract
I love using cream cheese in the icing for my mini carrot cake recipe. But the combo of melted chocolate alongside cream cheese may be a new favorite style of cream cheese frosting.
Because of the addition of melted chocolate, this is more like a fudge frosting. It's thick yet easily spreadable.
This frosting also holds its shape nicely if you want to pipe it onto the cake. I opted to spread it with a spoon and offset spatula because it was so easy.
Steps for Baking the Best Banana Cake
First, preheat oven to 350°F.
I use these bake even strips on most of my cakes. They help cake rise evenly during baking. If you want to do the same, start soaking three strips in water before proceeding with the recipe.
Line three 6” round cake pans with parchment paper. Alternatively, you can generously butter and flour the pans or use non-stick baking spray. Whatever you decide, it’s important to use proper baking release spray or butter and flour so that your layers don't stick.
To a large mixing bowl, add and whisk together the following dry cake ingredients: all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, kosher salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.
Using the paddle attachment in the bowl of a stand mixer, cream your butter and sugars together on medium-high for 2-3 minutes.
Stop mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the egg and very ripe mashed bananas, and mix on medium-high again for 2-3 minutes. Cover your stand mixer with a towel to avoid splatter!
Add your buttermilk, oil, and vanilla extract to one small bowl and drizzle it down the side of the mixing bowl to slowly incorporate it. Start the mixer on a low speed before increasing to medium-high and beating for 4 minutes, until mixture is completely homogeneous with no streaks in the batter.
Incorporate dry ingredients into wet for about 30 seconds with your mixer. Continue incorporating by hand with a spatula until well-combined. Scrape the bowl’s sides to ensure no dry ingredients are hiding in pockets.
Pour and evenly spread the batter into your prepared cake pans. Bake for 30 - 35 minutes or until layers appear dense but bounce back at the touch of your finger.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Steps for Making this Chocolate Ganache
As your cake layers cool, create a double boiler on your stovetop, using a medium-sized heatproof bowl on top of a similarly sized pot full of gently boiling water.
Pour your heavy cream and chocolate pieces into the heatproof bowl. Whisk continuously until smooth.
Then pour that into your mixing bowl, along with room temperature cream cheese and vanilla extract. Mix everything together for about 1 minute. It will look initially lumpy.
Lastly, beat in powdered sugar. The end result for this chocolate frosting will resemble a thick pudding - and smell amazing!
After you've made the chocolate fudge frosting, spend a minute or two popping out the air bubbles in it. Do this by taking a rubber spatula in your mixing bowl and pushing your frosting against the sides of the bowl.
As you work your bowl, you'll notice the frosting will become smoother and haver fewer tears and and rough sections on it. This step will help you spread really smooth frosting onto your cake, making it look more clean and even.
Pro Tip for Decorating - Freeze your Cake Layers!
Want to avoid crumbs getting everywhere in your frosting as you decorate your cake? Work with a cold cake and freeze your layers!
After baking most of my cakes, I freeze them so that I can apply the frosting or buttercream more easily without crumbs getting in my way.
If the cake is cold when you decorate it, the crumbs are held in place.
Once your cake is no longer warm from the oven, you can wrap it in plastic wrap. Set it on a flat surface like a cooling rack and gently wrap your cake layers.
You can pop the cake layers into the freezer for half an hour or overnight. They'll still be fresh and ready for frosting.
Assembling this Banana Cake with Chocolate Frosting
First, pipe or spread a dollop of your frosting onto a cake circle to act as glue to hold the layer in place. Set first cake layer on top of that. I like to freeze my layers in advance so crumbs are held in place as I decorate the cake.
With a spoon or offset spatula, evenly spread roughly 20% of your chocolate frosting on top of the bottom layer. Place second cake layer on top of the first, repeating the same steps, and then add your third layer.
Then, starting from the base of the cake, begin to place dollops of frosting onto your cake and drag it around with a spoon or offset spatula. Do the same to cover the top of the cake. The design is more rustic so doesn't need to be perfect, though be careful to avoid pulling lots of crumbs through your frosting.
Continue coating cake with remaining chocolate cream cheese frosting. Once the cake is covered, you can making swooping designs in the frosting with a spoon or offset spatula.
If desired, add sprinkles on top of your cake for a more dressed up appearance.
FAQ for this Banana Cake with Chocolate Frosting
Banana and chocolate frosting are a nice pairing - there's a reason we eat desserts like banana splits and hot fudge sundaes!
That said, if chocolate isn't your thing, maybe opt for a plain cream cheese frosting, sans the chocolate. Or a vanilla frosting could work well.
Do I need to refrigerate cake? What if it has frosting
The bananas in this recipe help it stay quite moist for days after making it. Due to the dairy in the cream cheese, I'd store it in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Bring it out about 30 minutes before serving.
I also recommend eating this cake within 5 days. That's when it'll be both the tastiest and freshest.
Cake also freezes well. Wrap it with plastic wrap and store in an airtight container for maximum freshness. This cake can keep it in the freezer for about three months.
Check the leavening agents. Are your baking powder and baking soda fresh? If they're expired, they could be causing your cake to rise improperly.
Also, use a scale when weighing and baking. If you're using cups to measure your ingredients, you may be unintentionally adding more liquid to a recipe than you should. Measuring by weight is key for baking with precision.
For baking even cakes, I use these strips on most of my cakes. They almost look like a belt that you wrap and secure around your pan! They prevent the edges from heating too quickly. When starting a cake recipe, soak your strips in a glass of water so they're wet before your cakes go in the oven.
Tips for Decorating this Cake
- Having trouble spreading your chocolate ganche? Add a few drops of heavy cream to the bowl and mix. This will loosen up the frosting. Also, spreading the frosting onto the cake with a warm spoon or spatula that's been dipped in hot water (but wiped dry) helps.
- I added a few sprinkles to the top of the cake to dress it up. But you could also experiment with adding your favorite crushed nuts. Pecans and walnuts would pair well with the banana and chocolate flavors.
- Want a rustic-looking design like the one you see here? Take a small cake spatula or spoon and drag it around the cake for a rougher but simplistic appearance.
More Dessert Ideas
If you're looking for something smaller than this banana cake with chocolate ganache, check out my Lotus Biscoff cake. It's full of Biscoff spread and cookie flavor and makes a 6-inch, 2-layer cake. The lotus biscoff buttercream is also Biscoff-based and so good!
More on a cookie kick? Then check out my oat flour chocolate chip cookies, which are delicious, easy to make, and naturally gluten-free.
Print
Banana Cake with Chocolate Frosting
- Total Time: 90 minutes
- Yield: 1 6-inch, 3-layer cake 1x
Description
Banana bread fans will love this moist banana cake with chocolate frosting. The ganache covering its layers is smooth and tastes like fudge!
Ingredients
Banana Cake Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons (85 g) unsalted butter at room temperature
- ½ cup (125 g) granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup (55 g) light brown sugar
- 1 egg
- ⅓ cup + 2 tablespoon (110 g) buttermilk, room temperature
- 4 tsp of a colorless, odorless oil like vegetable or canola
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- About 2 ½ mashed bananas (270 g)
- 1 and ⅔ cup (230 g) all-purpose flour
- ¾ tsp (3 g) baking powder
- ½ tsp (3 g) baking soda
- ½ tsp (2 g) kosher salt
Chocolate Frosting Ingredients
- 225 grams of chopped dark chocolate, between 50 and 60% cacao
- 8 oz/226 grams/1 block of Philadelphia cream cheese, room temperature
- ⅓ cup (80 grams) heavy cream
- 2 cups (250 grams) powdered sugar
- 2 tsp Vanilla extract
Instructions
Making Banana Cake Layers
- Preheat oven’s to 350°F. Line three 6” round cake pans with parchment paper. Alternatively, you can generously butter and flour them or use non-stick baking spray before setting them aside.
- To a large mixing bowl, add and whisk together the following dry cake ingredients: all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, kosher salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.
- Using the paddle attachment in the bowl of a stand mixer, cream your butter and sugars together on medium-high for 2-3 minutes. Stop mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the egg and mashed bananas, and mix on medium-high again for 2-3 minutes. You may need to cover your stand mixer with a towel to avoid splatter.
- Add your buttermilk, oil, and vanilla extract to one small bowl and drizzle it down the side of the mixing bowl to slowly incorporate it. Start the mixer on a low speed before increasing to medium-high and beating for 4 minutes, until mixture is completely homogeneous with no streaks in the batter.
- Incorporate dry ingredients into wet for about 30 seconds with your mixer. Continue incorporating by hand with a spatula until well-combined. Scrape the bowl’s sides to ensure no dry ingredients are hiding in pockets.
- Pour and evenly spread the batter into your prepared cake pans. Bake for 30 - 35 minutes. You’ll know your cake is done when it appears buttery and dense but bounces back at the touch of your finger.
- Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Making Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
- Create a double boiler on your stovetop, using a medium-sized heatproof bowl on top of a similarly sized pot full of gently boiling water. Pour your heavy cream and chocolate pieces into the heatproof bowl and whisk continuously until smooth.
- Then pour that into your mixing bowl, along with room temperature cream cheese and vanilla extract. Mix everything together for about 1 minute. It will look initially lumpy.
- Lastly, beat in powdered sugar last. The final texture will look like a thick pudding.
Assembling Cake Layers
- First, pipe or spread a dollop of your frosting onto a cake circle to act as glue to hold the layer in place. Set first cake layer on top of that.
- With a spoon or offset spatula, evenly spread roughly 20% of your chocolate frosting on top of the bottom layer. Place second cake layer on top of the first, repeating the same steps, and then add your third layer.
- Then, starting from the base of the cake, begin to place dollops of frosting onto your cake and drag it around with a spoon or offset spatula. The design is more rustic so doesn't need to be perfect, though be careful to avoid pulling lots of crumbs through your frosting.
- Continue coating cake with remaining cream cheese frosting.
- If desired, add sprinkles on top of your cake for a more dressed up appearance.
Notes
Please note that the nutritional information is an estimate and based on one slice of this cake, which would yield approximately 10 servings.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cake Assembly: 35 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Calories: 560
Jessica
Oh my goodness, this banana cake is to die for! The chocolate frosting was rich and creamy, and it paired so well with the moist banana cake. I followed your recipe to a T and it turned out absolutely perfect. My kids couldn’t get enough of it and have already asked me to make it again this weekend. Thank you for sharing this delightful recipe, Susan!
Susan
Yay! I'm glad it was a success. Thanks for the review!
David
I have to say, I’ve tried many banana cake recipes before, but this one truly stands out. The hint of cinnamon and nutmeg adds a nice warmth to the cake, and the chocolate frosting is just heavenly. It was a hit at my office potluck and everyone was asking for the recipe. This will now be my go-to recipe for banana cake. Amazing job, Susan
Susan
So happy you liked the recipe. Thanks for the review!