Zucchini Banana Cake with Maple Frosting

This Zucchini Banana Cake with Maple Frosting tastes like a giant maple bar! Optional to freeze this banana zucchini cake before serving.

Today we’re calling all banana cake lovers! If you love the moistness of banana bread and zucchini bread or cake, then you’ll love this old fashioned Zucchini Banana Cake with Maple Frosting combination.

Zucchini Banana Cake with Maple Frosting

The moist zucchini cake is so flavorable with bananas, and the “maple frosting” is truly the “frosting  on the cake.”

It does taste like a maple bar! Yum! Or, you could frost these Zucchini Banana Muffins (if you’re a muffin lover, instead of cake).

Why we love this recipe

• It’s a moist zucchini banana cake with maple frosting that tastes like a maple bar.
• Optional to eat without frosting, or leave out the maple extract.
• Truly a cake that will have your company talking about for a long time. It’s that good.
• Each bite melts in your mouth.

Gather these ingredients:

• Flour (you can use all purpose or whole wheat)
• Baking powder + baking soda + salt
• Cinnamon + cardamom (this really makes the cake delicious, so don’t skip it)
• Ripe bananas
• Granulated sugar, light brown sugar + turbinado sugar (optional, if you frost the cake)
• Eggs
• Sour cream
• Vegetable oil
• Vanilla extract
• Zucchini

You need a good hour to bake the cake, and then let it cool before frosting it.

Best Maple Frosting ever

Ingredients for maple frosting:

• Packed brown sugar
• Butter + 2% milk
• Maple extract
• Confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar)

How do you make a zucchini banana cake?

Print the full recipe below!

1. Grease a 9×13 pan and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cardamom, and cinnamon. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, add the mashed bananas, granulated sugar, brown sugar, egg, sour cream, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract. Using stand mixer, mix until well combined for 1-2 minutes. Add in the flour mixture and mix.
4. Don’t skip this step: Place the zucchini on a paper towel and squeeze the liquid out of it; add it to the batter.
5. Pour the batter into cake pan. Sprinkle top with turbinado sugar (optional, especially if you choose to add frosting). Bake for 45-50 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean when placed in the center. Cool before frosting.
6. For frosting the cake: Combine brown sugar, butter and milk in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir until thickened. Remove from heat; stir in maple extract. Cool to lukewarm.
7. Gradually beat in confectioners’ sugar until frosting reaches spreading consistency. Frost the cake.

Tips and substitutions:

• The riper the bananas, the better (sweeter) the banana flavor.
• Optional to leave out the cardamom, but we do love the flavor of this spice!
• You can use a regular cream cheese frosting if you don’t like maple.
• Make the cake ahead and freeze (without the frosting).
• Completely defrost before frosting. 
• Store the cake covered with plastic wrap on the counter for up to 3 days.

This cake is a fall cake. You can even bake the cake and freeze half, and frost each half before serving!

I love to turn my oven on, now that the mornings are nice and cool.

Who says no to a good bite of cake? :)

More zucchini cake recipes:

Healthy Zucchini Muffins

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

3.72 stars (165 reviews)

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Zucchini Banana Cake with Maple Frosting

This Zucchini Banana Cake with Maple Frosting tastes like a giant maple bar! Optional to freeze this banana zucchini cake before serving.

Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Cook Time: 30 minutes mins

Total Time: 45 minutes mins

Yield: 12

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Ingredients

 

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• 3 cups all-purpose flour, you can also use whole wheat flour
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• 1 ½ tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp cardamom
• 3 large ripe bananas mashed
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• ¼ cup sour cream
• ⅔ cup vegetable oil
• 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cup shredded zucchini, leave skin on
• 3 Tbsp turbinado sugar, optional

Maple Frosting

• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• ½ cup butter, cubed
• ¼ cup 2% milk
• 1 tsp maple extract
• 2 cups confectioners’ sugar, + more, if needed

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13 pan and set aside.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cardamom, and cinnamon. Set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, add the mashed bananas, granulated sugar, brown sugar, egg, sour cream, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract. Using stand mixer, mix until well combined for 1-2 minutes. Add in the flour mixture and mix for 1-2 more minutes.
• Place the zucchini on a paper towel and squeeze the liquid out of it; add it to the batter.
• Pour the batter into cake pan. Sprinkle top with turbinado sugar (optional, especially if you choose to add frosting). Bake for 45-50 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean when placed in the center. Cool on a wire rack for 20-30 minutes before frosting.
• For frosting, combine brown sugar, butter and milk in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir until thickened, 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in maple extract. Cool to lukewarm.
• Gradually beat in confectioners’ sugar until frosting reaches spreading consistency. Frost the cake.
• Store the cake covered with plastic wrap on the counter for up to 3 days. The cake also freezes well; freeze before frosting. Completely defrost before frosting.

Notes

Originally posted July 2020.

Cuisine: American

Course: Dessert

Author: Sandy / Reluctant Entertainer

Calories: 496kcal, Carbohydrates: 92g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 22g, Saturated Fat: 8g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g, Monounsaturated Fat: 5g, Trans Fat: 0.4g, Cholesterol: 51mg, Sodium: 471mg, Potassium: 310mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 43g, Vitamin A: 411IU, Vitamin C: 10mg, Calcium: 90mg, Iron: 2mg

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