Banana Walnut Cake
Use ripe bananas for this delicious, moist Banana Walnut Cake that is prepared with a lemony cream cheese frosting. This banana cake recipe has been in our family for years! The frosting is superb and so tasty, and it makes a great party cake. Yum!
Birthday celebrations are the best celebrated with my mom’s recipe: Banana Walnut Cake. This cake recipe has always been my dad’s favorite, so I try to make it everytime we see him. The creamy, lemony cream cheese frosting (just a hint of lemon) is sooooo good!
Banana Walnut Cake
Pulling out my Mom’s church cookbook that she gave me for my 30th birthday, I thumbed to the “cake” section where I already had this recipe earmarked, and made one of her favorite cakes: Banana Walnut Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. I combined the recipes from 2 different pages because I had made notes in the book that these recipes were delicious together.
Read more: Banana Walnut Cake
Everytime I have ripe bananas sitting on the counter, just waiting to be mashed and baked into a delicious cake, I reach for this recipe. The secret is to have very ripe bananas, because they are the sweetest! You can make a layered cake, or you can make it in a 9×13 baking pan.
Why I love this recipe
- You can make it anytime of year–all you need is ripe bananas.
- It’s a great party cake.
- You can decorate the top however you choose.
- Make ahead and freeze the cake (before frosting) – a great tip!
Gather these ingredients
Make the cake:
- Butter
- Eggs
- Very ripe bananas
- Buttermilk
- All purpose flour
- Sugar
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Walnuts
Make the cream cheese frosting:
- Cream cheese
- Powdered sugar
- Butter
- Lemon zest
- Vanilla
- More walnuts
How do you make Banana Walnut Cake?
Bake the cake:
- Cream together butter, eggs, and sugar. Add vanilla and buttermilk.
- Mix dry ingredients together and add to the creamed mixture.
- Add bananas and 1/2 cup chopped walnuts. Mix well.
- Pour into 2 (or 3 small) well-greased cake pans.
- Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.
- Cool for 15 minutes and remove from pans. Frost the cake and serve!
Make the frosting:
- With hand mixer, combine cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add vanilla and lemon zest, continuing to mix. Add in powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time. Mix until smooth.
- Divide frosting into thirds in between each cake layer making sure to push frosting in large globs (not smooth) to the edges of the cake. Once frosting is done, sprinkle walnuts on top and place cake in refrigerator for at least an hour, allowing frosting to harden slightly (this makes cutting the cake much easier).
Tips and substitutions
- A tip about banana cake is that you can make ahead of time, and freeze the layers on a cookie sheet in the freezer! Pull out of the freezer, frost, and serve!
- You can also make it in a 9×13 pan. Watch the baking time so you don’t overbake the cake.
- Ripe bananas: Ripe bananas are essential to the success of the cake, to make it banana-flavored (nice and sweet) and moist.
- Frosting is optional, as you can just serve it plain with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. We also love this cake frosted with chocolate or pecan frosting.
- Swap out the walnuts for pecans, or you can leave the nuts out (for nut allergies).
- Garnishing with flowers: Make sure if you garnish the cake with flowers that you use edible flowers.
- We layered the 3 cakes together differently this time, with cream cheese frosting in between and the frosting on top. Or, frost the entire cake.
How do you serve a banana walnut cake?
Serve with your favorite ice cream, like vanilla, chocolate, vanilla-pecan, or even lemon gelato! It’s refreshing. You can also leave off the frosting and serve with whipped cream and strawberries (or any berries).
We served this for my Dad’s birthday, and it’s been a family tradition to cook a family favorite German dish called Fleischkuechle with my sisters, for a birthday dinner. We also serve these green beans.
Storage
Bake and freeze and cool the cake layers (before frosting) and wrap with plastic wrap (tightly), and freeze in ziplock bags (remove all of the air) for up to 3 months.
After the cake is baked, because of the cream cheese, store the cake in the fridge!
More banana recipes you may want to try while you are here:
- Best ever Sour Cream Banana Bread
- No-Bake Banana Dream Dessert
- Banana Popsicles
- Banana Coffee Cake
- Banana Pudding Trifle
Get the Recipe:
Banana Walnut Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe
Ingredients
CAKE:
- ⅔ cup butter, softened
- 2 eggs
- 4 ripe bananas, mashed with a fork
- ⅔ cup buttermilk
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 ¼ tsp. baking powder
- 1 ¼ tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
FROSTING:
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 6 Tbsp butter, softened
- 4 tsp lemon zest
- 2 tsp vanilla
- ¼ c walnuts, toasted and chopped
Instructions
CAKE:
- Cream together butter, eggs, and sugar. Add vanilla and buttermilk.
- Mix dry ingredients together and add to the creamed mixture.
- Add bananas and ½ cup chopped walnuts. Mix well.
- Pour into 2 (or 3 small) well-greased cake pans.
- Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.
- Cool for 15 minutes and remove from pans. Frost the cake and serve!
FROSTING:
- With hand mixer, combine cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add vanilla and lemon zest, continuing to mix. Add in powdered sugar ½ cup at a time. Mix until smooth.
- Divide frosting into thirds in between each cake layer making sure to push frosting in large globs (not smooth) to the edges of the cake. Once frosting is done, sprinkle walnuts on top and place cake in refrigerator for at least an hour, allowing frosting to harden slightly (this makes cutting the cake much easier).
Notes
Hello and welcome to my home and table!
I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
Can I use gluten free flour? Would I need to modify anything (other than the flour)?
I have not tried this recipe with gluten free flour, Elizabeth. Please let me know if it worked for you!
Have you ever made in a 9×13 pan instead? How would I adjust baking time?
I have not, but if you make it, come back and tell me the time for 9×13! Or, if I make it soon, I’ll add it in here.
Do you use buttermilk or milk? video shows Milk but recipe reads buttermilk. I’m trying to do it now but it looks really clumpy
It’s def. buttermilk and yes, it will be a little lumpy – no worries! (I’ll have to fix the video, thanks for pointing that out). ENJOY!
This looks DELICIOUS! I love banana bread (and my family does, too!), so I bet banana cake would be delicious – basically banana bread with frosting on it, right?!
I love that you think it’s a big deal to celebrate birthdays. I DO TOO. We just celebrated my youngest daughter’s 1st birthday this last weekend. When I asked my older daughter, who is 3, what kind of cake I should make for her sister’s birthday, she said she needed a blueberry cake, so that’s what I set out to make! I love being adventurous in the kitchen, but I hadn’t yet made a blueberry cake, so that was fun. Everyone at the party thought it was super fun that the 3-year-old determined the flavor! :) It was hit, and I just kept thinking that whole day how honored and thankful I am that I was having the opportunity to celebrate my daughter’s birthday! So special for a mama!! – Mauri @www.theamericanpatriette.com
Yum and church cookbooks are the best. Especially when the person who contributed the recipe conjurs up a memory
Hello,
I recently made this cake and have to say it is delicious. I am not used to measuring things in cups (as I am from the UK and we do everything in grams on the scale) so was a bit dubious as to how the cake would turn out. It came out beautifully though and made the whole house smell of bananas. What a great way to use up ripe bananas, even got the kids involved with the mashing, mixing and decorating!
I’m getting ready to make now, only will be omitting filling as I’m making as cupcakes. I only wish you had some comments from folks who have tried making and tasting. I pulled a similar recipe off the internet, but the cake came out dry. This time, I’ve compared your cake receipe to my banana bread recipe (which everyone raves over) and they’re very similar. My NEXT comment will be to let you know how these turned out!
My mom used to make banana cake when I was growing up. I had forgotten about it until now. I love making banana bread and really want to try this cake. Thanks for the memories. :)
Sandy, Thanks so much for posting this recipe! This is my Mom’s favorite cake and there is only one bakery that makes it. Next time I’ll make it for her. Blessings my friend. BTW – I pinned it.
Sandy, I love the first picture of you and your family! This cake looks fabulous. I hope he had a happy birthday!!
Don’t tell my mom that this recipe exists outside of her home! She thinks it’s her secret recipe….even though someone else put it in their church cookbook! Too funny! It is that fantastic!!!! Maybe I’ll tell my kids it’s a family secret too! Makes it more special! Love the pics of your Dad and all the happy smiles! Hugs!
Many times I’ve made cream cheese frosting to go with my pumpkin bread, but I’ve never thought of pairing it with banana (bread or cake or anything else)–what a good idea! I like cream cheese frosting with pretty much anything in the world.
You’re so smart to use what you have. I always ask what someone would like–hence I sometimes end up with a LOT of bananas in my freezer. ‘Twould be better to use up what I have! :)
eeeeeeeee!!! I’ve been thinking about the cake my mom used to make when I was little/growing up, a banana walnut cake w/cream cheese frosting and wondered if I’d be able to find a recipe. I was doubly excited about this when I see that you got the recipe from your mom’s church recipe book! My mom would make her cakes for many a church pot luck! Thanks for sharing & posting this recipe!!
I love the addition of lemon curd, I would not have thought of it but can’t wait to try it!
Oh my goodness. That looks amazing. I so want to make it.
On the cream cheese frosting. I’m assuming it’s 1/4 CUP butter, but it could be 1/4 POUND, which would be a different measurement entirely. So, wanted to clarify.
Thanks so much for all your fabulous recipes.
I always ask what the celebrant would like for his/her meal and cake/pie/treat. So fun to please them!
Hands down the best chocolate layer cake, which is my son’s perpetual request and STILL did not have anything better than a Texas sheet cake in the arsenal, is this recipe just in time for his 18th birthday. A SERIOUS WOW.
http://myfivemen.blogspot.com/2009/06/mister-chocolate-aficionado-practically.html
Hi Sandy,
Oh that cakes looks yummy!
Overall, my family is easy to please, so when it comes to baking cakes for them – I tend to use what I have on hand. Most of the time everyone is happy with chocolate cake or if I’m feeling very ambitious…cheese cake. I always seem to have cream cheese and ricotta on hand.
Just love seeing the pics of you, your sisters, and your Dad!
Love,
Mary
Sandy ~ your posts always feel like “home”. :-) Love love coming here. Yes, I’ve gotten in the habit of asking each family member what they want for their bday cakes….. I love to see who picks what and I love making them. Have a super start to your week!!
I’m a big fan of banana cake and the addition of the cream cheese frosting sounds yummy. For our birthday celebrations, I usually make a chocolate cake layered with ganache and topped with chocolate curls -yummy. In fact, it’s on the menu for a supper on Wednesday night.
That first photo is beautiful. Just pouring with emotion. Love it!
The cake doens’t look to shabby either!
Have a great day!
What a beautiful cake!!! I love any cake that has the sweetness of banana, so delicious!
I love that first photo of all of you with your dad, so sweet!