Best Banana Cake Ever

Don’t you just love the smell of baking banana cake?
(OK. if you hate bananas, this post is not for you. Stop reading now. If you love bananas, then read on for you will find a recipe so simple you’ll run out right now to buy some to make this cake.)
I do. I love bananas fresh but also when bananas turn overly ripe, as they tend to do in our warm Malaysian weather, don’t throw them out. I know soggy, ripe bananas aren’t the best looking items to cook with but wait a minute and you will know why.
Bake a banana cake with soggy ripe bananas and you will have a luscious, moist, 100 per cent lovingly homemade banana cake par excellence (OK, and I am also running out of bloody superlatives here).
Bananas freeze well so even if you’re not in the mood to bake a cake anytime soon, they can sit in the freezer for sometime.
I have made this banana cake so many times I’ve lost count. And unlike my bread baking adventures which can be counted on the fingers of one hand, this one is a sure winner. Unless you don’t like bananas, in which case I cannot help you.
Marsha, my cyber buddy, asked for this recipe so I gave it to her. She promises to courier to me if it is hard as a rock. I assured her, no, I guaranteed her – this is a no-fail cake.
If I can make it, anyone can. After all, look at me. I am not the best baker around – I tend to go for shortcuts if I can (like cake premixes but after sometime I gave up on those as the cake tastes fake!)

All you need are mashed bananas, beaten egg & self raising flour
All you need are mashed bananas, beaten egg & self raising flour

OK, for this banana cake you will need:
150 gm sugar
150 gm butter
150 gm self raising flour (with a pinch of sodium bicarbonate)
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup of ripe bananas, mashed
First you cream the butter and sugar. I used to beat them by hand with a wooden spoon for about 15 minutes. Then I got a hand mixer so that made it even quicker.
Creaming butter and sugar
Creaming butter and sugar

With a hand mixer, you take about 5-8 minutes on a medium speed. Then slowly pour in the egg, bit by bit. You don’t want the whole thing to curdle like taufufah. I usually pour in the egg about 3 times, each time mixing it well into the creamed butter and sugar.
Banana batter done!
Banana batter done!

Once the eggs are all in, use a metal spoon and fold in half the amount of flour first. Fold lightly. Add in the whole cup of bananas. Then add in the second half of your flour. Don’t overfold.
Pour batter into a greased tray that’s lightly coated with flour. I don’t line my tray with greaseproof paper – too lazy for such dainty stuff.
Bake in a preheated oven at 160 C for 20 minutes (using bottom heat) and after that 10 minutes (using top heat). I know ovens can be strange so your oven may take a little longer or a little less. So the final test lies with your equipment. The test of a done cake is a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake and comes out real smooth and clean, no batter bits stuck.
Tadaaah...banana cake ready in 30 minutes!
Tadaaah...banana cake ready in 30 minutes!

Cool, cut and serve.
That’s it! A superbly yummy cake (which can be cut into 24 pieces) and eaten in a jiffy.
Try and do tell me how yours turned out, OK?
What's left of the banana cake I made last night!
What's left of the banana cake I made last night!

88 thoughts on “Best Banana Cake Ever”

  1. Maya, your post is going to make me cry and grow frustrated, cuz I am damned until the next life because I can never bake any goods. They turn horrible and most definitely, inedible Sigh… I’m green with envy with your cake. they look very nice and beautiful and scrumptious! Looks like will go well with tea too. πŸ™ Sedihnya!

    Reply
  2. @ Cleffairy: Oooh, then you MUST try this recipe. Me as bad too. I have not much patience for most baking (hence, I do not try to bake muffins or cookies) but this cake is really gila senang.
    @ Vern: Hmmm, maybe I will bake some for you. Not comparable to your mom’s canggih punya cakes and tartlets lah.

    Reply
  3. Hi Domino: I use this cheap oven I got from TESCO a year ago. It’s the small box like thing – looks like a microwave. It’s about RM100. I have another easier, yummier chocolate recipe to share later…just made it a few days ago. It was such a success I could not believe it!

    Reply
  4. Tesco atau Teso Extra ? What brand ? Or maybe you can upload your oven photo in the post on your yummy Choc cake. Just want to make sure I get the correct one. Thanks!

    Reply
  5. Domino: Haha, if you really want to know the exact brand, it’s some no name like Osaki bought from Tesco Extra, Jalan Sungai Dua, Penang. πŸ˜‰ I shall take a pic of my trusty but cheap oven in my next post then! Until then, hang on πŸ˜‰

    Reply
  6. Lol I was going really well with this recipe when I realized I had no bananas 😐
    haha instead i had two Oreo packets left and some chocolate and just used that instead LOL delish.. Would of liked banana cake though πŸ™

    Reply
  7. Hi Madison: Wow…what a good substitute for bananas. I will try your new recipe the next time I am out of bananas. It sounds delish as it is. Try bananas and let me know how the cake turned out ya?

    Reply
  8. Hi Violet: I used a square cake tin, 21 cm by 21 cm. Its depth is 7cm. The cake comes up to half the height, so the finished cake is around 3.5cm high and 21 cm wide. Hope this helps. I bought the cake tin from Tesco.

    Reply
  9. just finished baking 2 trays of your banana cake using your superb easy to bake recipe. thx a lot. I followed just the way u instructed. voila. they both turn out well n nice. no flaw at all. thanx again maya.
    just to share wt u i use bluekey self raising flour n guess whar?….farmcows salted butter. try it out gals. follow strictly maya’s imstruction n you will never go wrong.

    Reply
  10. Hi Susin: GREAT! I love it when people get yummy results from their baking adventures. That’s why I am always so pleased if a recipe recommended by a friend goes well – because I can ‘eat’ the results. Thanks again for your feedback. I use Blue Key self raising flour too. As for butter, I use Anchor Salted butter. πŸ˜‰ Pass on the recipe to others. Must share good recipes!

    Reply
  11. Hi! I tried it today. Its simple and easy.. added some sultanas into the batter and some vanilla essence. Turned out really great! Thanks for sharing this recipe and fyi, I was linked to your blog via google search!

    Reply
    • Hi Liza: Thanks. It’s always nice to hear feedback that the cake was easy to make (top criteria for me coz I am such a lazy bum and I have no time to mess with complicated recipes!). I have just tried a banana muffin recipe and it rocks. It’s also easy to make and I didn’t even need to drag out my hand-mixer. Will be sharing this recipe sometime soon so check back ya? Thanks for visiting Mayakirana.

      Reply
    • Hi Raji: I believe I used pisang emas. I always buy pisang emas when I am at the market. πŸ˜‰ They’re sweeter and very moist if you let them ripen a bit.

      Reply
  12. wahhhh I cant believe when I typed Banana Cake, this post came out the FIRST in google and then is my FRIEND’s blog!!! Hey, thanks for the recipe… trying out for Mother’s Day….

    Reply
    • Hoong Ling – Hey, nice to see you here. Try the recipe. It is super easy and super delicious. All my friends have tried it and they give it a thumbs up!

      Reply
    • Rachel, I am glad to hear it turned out great. I’ve had a number of ‘independent’ testers for this recipe and everyone found it easy and simple to make, even those who consider themselves totally inadept in the kitchen. I am now testing a cream cracker cake recipe – using the steamer. Using different brands of cream crackers makes the cake taste different too.

      Reply
  13. I’ve just finished making it and it looks awesome!It’s still cooling down so I don’t know how it tastes like yet but it sure does smell good! =D

    Reply
  14. I stumbled across the recipe online. I made the cake for the first time 2 months ago according to your recipe. It as a smashing hit and i was thinking about baking it again for a long time.
    I made it again today as I had riped bananas but as im on a diet i used only 1/3 of the butter, and sugar.
    It was still so yummy anyways

    Reply
    • Hi Thai: I am so pleased that the banana cake turned out well even with less butter and sugar. I try this recipe with all types of bananas – but I personally prefer the small yellow bananas with thin skins. I tried it once with another type of pisang – a pale fleshed banana – but the sweetness wasn’t as good as the small yellow type. Anyway, keep experimenting with the sugar quantity if you have riper bananas.

      Reply
    • Hi Azra: Hey, lovely to hear that. You’re another happy reader I see! I will try to put up more recipes…simple ones of course. I like my dishes to be simple and easy.

      Reply
  15. hi maya,
    loved your recipe and want to try it. please tell me how much baking powder or soda bicarb do i need to use if i am not using self raising flour.
    thank you.

    Reply
    • Hi Shilpa: To turn your plain flour to self-raising flour, just add baking powder. For every 150gm of plain flour, add 2 teaspoons baking powder. Stir and sift 2 to 3 times before using.

      Reply
  16. thanx a million. Can’t wait to try this one. do you have a christmas cake recipe that you could share with me? my daughter wants me to bake one for her,this christmas

    Reply
    • Hi Shilpa: Do try it out and let me know. Recently I made a butter cake but it bombed – too dense. Perhaps it was my cold butter. Or it could be too much milk. But I pride myself on never giving up. I shall try the recipe again and see what happens. Cake-making is like that. Lots of experimentation. Oh, sorry. I don’t have a Christmas cake recipe. Does your cake refer to Christmas stollen?

      Reply
  17. Hi Maya think stollen is more a kind of bread.I think yeast is used as the main rising agent.I was refering to the christmas fruit cake all yummy with rum soaked dry fruits. Anyways, have a nice day. I will share the recipe if I come across a good one. take care

    Reply
    • I actually have one. It’s a steamed cream cracker cake. I made it once because it was such a hassle for me to bring out my 3-tier steamer (you know the aluminum type). Will put the recipe up this week for you πŸ˜‰

      Reply
  18. Hi Maya! wish You a very Happy New Year, finally got some time of my busy schedule. wanted to tell u about the christmas fruitcake i baked for christmas- it was SUPERB!!.my daughters loved it,hope u like it too. it was given to me by a friend and i really enjoyed baking it.here’s the recipe-
    100 ml of rum, brandy or wine to soak about 300 gms of prunes, figs, dates, candied fruit, raisins, currants etc(soak the fruit for about a month)
    100 gms butter and brown sugar,
    1 tbsp caramelized sugar or treacle,
    2 eggs
    125 gms all purpose flour
    1/2 tsp mixed spice powder
    4tbsp chopped nuts of your choice
    4 tbsp rum to drizzle (you can reduce or increase this quantity as per your choice. i personally didn’t want it too boozy because my little girls were eating it.
    beat the butter, sugar and caramelized sugar till light an fluffy. add the eggs one at a time , beating well between each addition. gently mix in the flour drain the soaked fruit. Sprinkle a little flour on the fruits and then add them to the cake mix. Stir in the nuts also add a pinch of salt. pre heat the oven for 150 degrees centigrade . line a 7″ cake tin with a double sheet of grease proof paper. bake the cake for about an hour. Check to see if it is done by inserting a knife in the center of the cake.if it comes clean it is done or else bake for another ten mins.
    once it is baked bring it out of the oven, pierce it with a skewer in several places and pour the rum or brandy or wine over it. cool the cake completely before storing.
    since this cake takes quite a long time to bake my friend suggested keeping a pan of water under the cake tin while it is being baked.
    Happy baking!!
    Take care
    Shilpa

    Reply
  19. Hi Maya!
    thanks so much for sharing this brilliant recipe!
    i made mine yesterday and it tastes AMAZING!
    i was shocked of the outcome as well. thanks again. πŸ˜‰

    Reply
    • H Sarah – Happy for you ;-). This banana cake recipe is such a winner isn’t it? So many ‘beta testers’ have tried it – and I hope it has given you added confidence to try out other cakes. Thanks for coming back to let me know your cake result.

      Reply
  20. Hi Maya, Every time I make banana cake it comes out soggy on the bottom, so i’m looking forward to trying your recipe:-)

    Reply
  21. Hi Maya
    Just wanted to know if you have a good recipe for a Chocolate Mud Cake. My elder daughter wants me to bake one for her father’s birthday.
    Thanks a lot!

    Reply
    • Hi Shilpa: Not sure if I have one. But I try out a Chocolate Mayonnaise cake recipe which is super simple and fast to make. Will put it up soon.

      Reply
  22. Hi Maya…i found ur blog whn i was searcing for cake recipes…i would like to try dis recipe…d ingredients are simple n looks ez to do…will update u once try it…thanx for sharing.

    Reply
  23. Mmmmmm mine is baking in the oven as I type. At first I didn’t think the quantities would be enough. I thought too much sugar and butter and not enough flour but followed your directions and the batter was nice and light. The one I normally make is rather heavy. Its looking good as I peer through the glass door. I’m sure it will taste divine! I might drizzle lemon icing over the top or possibly if I feel a bit naughty, a cream cheese frosting.

    Reply
  24. Grrrrrr, its not cooking in the middle but the top is as cooked as it should be. I’ve got the oven down real low and shall leave it for a while longer. Its actually extremely soupy in the middle.

    Reply
  25. Ok, final update! Left the cake in the oven on low for about another 30 minutes? It is beautiful!!!! So delicious. And soft and fluffy! Not heavy like my other recipe. I will certainly be making this again. Served it up to my partner, Dave, he actually buttered it like bread, and he loved it. So thank you!

    Reply
    • Hi Wendy – Am so happy to hear of your successful baking with this recipe. You can double up the portions to make a bigger cake too. As it is only me and Nic in this household, I think this portion is just right. Thank you for trying it out! I do think it is the best banana cake recipe ever. So yummy and the kitchen smells heavenly when the cake is baking.

      Reply
      • If anyone has any quick and easy recipes for cakes, please share the links here. We can all learn from each other;-)….. Happy baking!

        Reply
  26. Hi Maya,
    I plan to bake this one soon. But I am puzzled with this steps:
    “Bake in a preheated oven at 160 C for 20 minutes (using bottom heat) and after that 10 minutes (using top heat).”
    Mind to explain?

    Reply
    • Joanne – Ah, it’s due to my little oven. It actually has a top heat and bottom heat element hence the weird instructions. If you’re using a regular oven, just follow your regular settings and temperature. As mine is too tiny, if I don’t watch the heat, it’ll burn the cake. πŸ˜‰ Sorry for causing the confusion.

      Reply
  27. Hi Maya, thanks for your quick reply.
    Actually I am using small oven too.
    Do you mind to take a look on this pic and see whether the heating element that you mentioned is it the button at the middle right side? Thanks! http://www.ezyshop.com.my/Pensonic-Oven-AE-19N/q?pid=484&doit=order
    Actually I always confused on which heating element should I set for baking? Upper, lower or Upper and Lower? Mind to give me some advice on that?
    And for every baking, I should always put the cake at the middle rack for baking is it?
    Back to your recipe.
    Erm, I should preheat the oven at 180C for 10 minutes?
    Then only follow this instructions; 160 C for 20 minutes (using bottom heat) and after that 10 minutes (using top heat)?
    Sorry for all my enquiries. I really need to brush up my skills in using oven. I am freaking out everytime using it. Normally it will burnt my cake!

    Reply
    • Hi Joanne: Yup. That’s the button. Mine has bottom heat, top heat and all round heat. Usually the heat should come from the bottom element but in my case, as the oven is too small, that makes the heat come too close to the cake and burn the bottom of the cake (even when I put it on the middle rack). So I “play” around with the heating so that my cake is baked just nice, not burnt on the bottom or top. I also learnt that you can cover your cake tin with aluminium foil if you don’t want to get the top burnt quickly. Yes, I believe the middle rack is the best location. I usually preheat my oven at 180C for 10 minutes. So what I do is, preheat the oven when I am mixing up the batter for the cake. It works for my oven so do try it out. Baking/cooking is a lot of experimentation. πŸ˜‰ Have fun!

      Reply
  28. Love you alot Maya.
    You really shared alot of great tips and advice with me. Thanks!
    I definitely wish to know the way to prevent cake top from burning and you have shared it with me just now. Lovely!
    I wondered you mentioned, cover the whole cake tin with aluminium foil? Or only top of the cake tin with foil?
    Anyway, after you shared the above mentioned method with me, I google search it and I found another method too. It stated:
    “If the top of the cake is cooked but the middle is still uncooked, rip off a square of baking parchment big enough to cover the top of the cake, then scrunch it up in to a ball. Unscrunch the ball and run the parchment under a running tap until the paper is soaking. Now open the oven door and carefully cover the top of the cake with the wet paper – this will stop the top of the cake from burning. ”
    What say you about this way?

    Reply
    • Hi Joanne: Just cover the top of the cake with foil. I haven’t tried the new method you suggested. Most of my cakes are OK haha mainly because I am quite used to my oven’s little characteristics. Once you know your oven, you can control how the baking turns out. Let me know which method you are using.

      Reply
  29. Hello Maya, sorry, is me again:-)
    Guess what, I have baked the cake today! OMG, it turned out nicely.
    You really a good tutor in baking.
    For me, I did used the method of soaking parchment paper and covered on the cake top.
    It worked a little by preventing it to burnt (completely), hehe!
    But I guess my oven is really heat up very fast. So I have to always stand near to the oven and check on my cake.
    Practice makes perfect, I will continue to work better:-)
    P/S: I will post my outcome of the banana cake and the muffin in my blog soon, welcome to see the photos and leave comment.
    Will inform you about that soon.

    Reply
    • Hi Joanne: Good to hear that! Some ovens heat up quite fast and retain heat well. Mine is OK and I’m so used to it that I am so reluctant to buy a (bigger) oven. Once I get used to something (and plus I know the heating well), I am so lazy to buy a new oven and go through al that testing again! Good that you made the banana cake. I often buy a bunch of bananas but can never properly finish up the entire bunch and I have always been taught not to waste (“think of the dying children in Africa” that’s what my Dad used to drill into us as kids) so I often make cakes with the ripened bananas. The thing is, success builds upon success. Once we are successful in the kitchen with our baking outcomes, we are more confident to try more complicated recipes. πŸ˜‰ I always start with simple recipes and build up gradually.

      Reply
  30. Love to see your reply:-)
    Hope you have a good day.
    Yea, I considered my oven h eat up very fast. I followed your instruction of using 10 minutes (top heat), but the top of my cake started turned brown very fast within 5 minutes. Therefore, I quickly covered the top with the “soaked parchment paper method”, later turned the temperature setting to “upper and lower” heating. Continue baking for few minutes and is done!
    For your opinion, do you think I should turned the “upper and lower” heating from the beginning of the baking (till the end of baking process) as oppose to your instruction?
    I think I will be using the “foil paper” method for my next baking because after I used the “soaked parchment paper” for minutes, the paper turned dry very fast, looks like burning very soon..
    Oh yes, is always a good value for appreciate and treasure the things that we have. Me and my husband also taught the same value with same eg as yours to my dotter for not wasting food.
    Gotto go! Continue blogging and baking too!

    Reply
  31. Hi Maya, thanks so much for this recipe. This is my 3rd time making this cake & its absolutely delicious! I added a bit of cinnamon-smells & taste heavenly.

    Reply
    • Hi Zara: Super super glad to hear that. Hmm, maybe I should try to add some cinnamon too…. thanks for the tip! Please share if you have any easy recipes!

      Reply
  32. M going to try your recipe for the banana cake for this Chinese New Year since mine is d regular oven (built in) can i use both top n bottom heat cos thats how i bake my cakes??

    Reply
    • Hi Catherine: If you have a regular oven, yes, you can still use the top and bottom heat for the cake. As for the 6 inch cake tins, sure. The cake batter won’t rise a lot so the two tins should be enough. As for the cake turning out light and moist, could it be there ripeness of the bananas and the type of bananas used? Sometimes, very very ripe bananas are quite moist. But if I use bananas taken out from my freezer (I freeze bananas if I don’t manage to eat them up in time), they thaw and get quite wet and messy after they are mashed. So my cake will turn out a little more moist then compared to using fresh, ripe bananas at room temperature. Could it be that you overbeat the cake mixture? Sometimes my cake turns out dense too if I overbeat it. I will also ask my aunt who is a whiz at making cakes.

      Reply
  33. Hi Maya,
    I am thinking of using two 6 inch round tins for your banana cake recipe do u think it will be able to contain the batter cos i have quite alot of baking tins and dont want to buy anymore!!. Aslo why is it that sometimes my butter cake turns out light and moist while other time it is heavy and dry even tho the method is the same n the temp of the oven is the same. Please help its so frustrating!!

    Reply
  34. Hi,
    Gave the cake to my friend and i manage to get a slice for taste n it turn out
    soft n light but mayb its the type of banana i use it was not as aromatic as i thought i should be!! Amyway glad it turn out ok but m curious as to why it was damp to the touch this morning when i open the box to check it ( i cooled it before i put it in the box) could it be becos the cake is too moist??
    Cat

    Reply
    • Hi Catherine: It could be that the bananas are over-ripe? Sometimes I get very moist cakes too when the bananas are of a different variety or if I have frozen them and then thawed them before use.

      Reply
  35. Maya, this is the best and the easiest- to-remember recipe for banana cake. It was moist and absolutely delicious (although i did cut down the sugar). Thanks for sharing the recipe with all of us.

    Reply
    • Hi Coco: Great to hear that! This is one of my classic recipes for banana cakes…I stick to this when in doubt or when I don’t know what else to do with lots of ripe bananas!

      Reply
    • Hi Uma – You can. But putting too many bananas might make your cake too moist and in our tropical weather, may make it moldy fast too.

      Reply
  36. Hi! Maya
    I wanted to know if you have a good no bake cheesecake recipe.My younger daughter wants me to make one for her.Please get back to me asap as she is after me for this cheesecake!

    Reply

Leave a Comment