If you’re in the mood to make banana cake, but don’t want the tedious clean-up that comes after baking, just make one using a cake mix! Don’t worry, it will taste just as if you made it completely from scratch. All you’ll need is a bowl and a cake pan, and you’re done! Baking (and clean up) has never been this easy. Sure, this recipe is simple, but it doesn’t mean it yields a less tasty treat. This banana cake is extremely moist, tender, and full of banana flavor. If you’re looking for an easy cake recipe, you’ll definitely go bananas for this one.
Banana Cake (with Cake Mix!)
There’s no need for flour, baking soda, and baking powder! With a bunch of bananas and the ever-reliable yellow cake mix, you’ll be able to pull off this extra moist and flavorful banana cake. It’s so delicious, no one will be able to tell it came from a box! Apart from the cake itself, it has a secret weapon that makes it stand out from the rest: a brown sugar glaze. Have you ever tried a brown sugar glaze? If you haven’t, then this recipe is a must-try! The buttery, caramel-like flavor deserves a standing ovation.
Ingredients
For the Cake
Bananas – You’ll use 3 ripe bananas to make one cake, so expect it to be loaded with banana flavor. It makes the cake ultra-moist, to boot.Eggs – They’ll bind the ingredients together and give the cake structure. Use room-temperature eggs for easier blending.Butter – To add richness and moisture to the cake.Yellow Cake Mix – You’ll use yellow cake mix for this recipe because the flavor of vanilla and custard pairs beautifully with bananas. But feel free to experiment on other cake mixes, too!Milk – The liquid mixed with yellow cake mix to create the batter.
For the Frosting
Butter – For a rich, buttery frosting. I use salted butter to balance out the sweetness of the sugars.Brown sugar – It has a deeper and sweeter taste than white sugar. When cooked with butter, it creates a wonderful caramel-like flavor.Milk – To smoothen the frosting. Powdered Sugar – To give the frosting that crisp glaze-like crust.
Tips for the Best Cake
The key to making a successful banana cake is to use over-ripe bananas. You’ll want those skins to be brown, not just spotty. The darker the skin, the better. Over-ripe bananas will be super sweet and full of flavor.Another reason you’ll want to use over-ripe bananas is that they are so mushy, they’re effortless to mash. You can either pre-mash them with a fork or beat them with an electric mixer, along with the other ingredients. Have some frozen bananas? Those work great for this recipe. Thawed frozen bananas are mushy, which again, is the consistency you’re looking for when making banana cakes. Do not rush the glaze. Unlike the usual white sugar frosting, you’ll use brown sugar in this recipe. Brown sugar does not dissolve as fast as powdered sugar does, so you’ll need to give it several minutes to cook. Otherwise, your glaze will be gritty.
The Best Way To Brown Bananas
As I said, you’ll want to use over-ripe bananas when making a banana cake for maximum banana flavor. But what if you’re already craving cake and your bananas haven’t reached that brown, almost black-ish stage yet? You can speed things up by placing the bananas in a paper bag along with ripe apples. The ethylene in apples will cause the bananas to ripen faster. With this simple hack, your bananas will be ready for baking in 1 to 2 days. Want banana cake today? Don’t head to the bakery just yet! Here’s how to ripen those bananas much faster. Place the bananas on a cookie sheet and pop them in a 300-degree Fahrenheit oven. Bake them for about 15 to 30 minutes and see the difference. The heat from the oven will not only brown the skins, but will also cause the bananas to release more sugar, making them riper, sweeter, and ready for baking. Let the bananas cool for 10 minutes before use.
How Is Banana Cake Different from Banana Bread?
I once thought these two were one and the same, but nope, I was wrong! They’re very similar, though. The difference is in the consistency. Banana cake is very moist and, as cakes should be. Banana bread has a slightly denser and fluffier consistency, as you would expect from a quick bread. You’ll find that these two have the same ingredients, except for the flour and leavening agent. For banana bread, you’ll only need all-purpose flour. Banana cake calls for cake flour to achieve that tender cake crumb. As for the leavener, banana cake uses both baking powder and baking soda, while banana bread only uses baking soda. But with this recipe, you need not worry about any of that. The cake mix takes care of everything for us. Click on a star to rate it!
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