Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
A soft, lightly spiced banana sheet cake with a generous layer of cream cheese frosting and chopped pecans. One tray makes 12 substantial snack slices. Batch yield: One 23 × 33 cm sheet cake, cut into 12 frosted slices. One serving: 1 frosted slice with pecans, approximately 150 g after baking and cooling. Allow approximately 3 hours 55 minutes from starting to finished slices. Prep time means all non-oven elapsed time: 30 minutes for the cake butter to soften, 45 minutes of active preparation including frosting and cutting, and 120 minutes of complete cooling. Oven preheating overlaps the initial butter-softening period, and frosting-ingredient softening overlaps the final 30 minutes of cake cooling, so neither is counted twice. Cook time is one approximately 40-minute oven batch. No mandatory chilling is needed; allow longer cooling if the cake is still warm. Appliances: Oven; Electric hand mixer; Refrigerator. Equipment: 23 × 33 cm cake tin, at least 5 cm deep; Baking parchment; Digital kitchen scales; Measuring jug; Measuring spoons; Mixing bowls; Fork; Whisk; Flexible spatula; Fine-mesh sieve; Wire cooling rack; Skewer; Knife; Chopping board; Airtight storage container. Allergens: Contains wheat flour, eggs, dairy butter, milk, cream cheese and pecans. Check packaged ingredients for additional allergens and cross-contact warnings. Storage: Refrigerate the frosted cake in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Because of the cream cheese frosting, do not store it at room temperature; limit total unrefrigerated time to 2 hours, or 1 hour above 32°C/90°F. For a softer texture, let a refrigerated slice stand for 15–20 minutes before eating, counting this within that limit. Freeze individual frosted slices in airtight freezer-safe containers for up to 2 months, then thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
195 min
Prep
40 min
Cook
12
Serves
530
Calories
Macros · per serving
6g protein
71g carbs
24g fat
Ingredients
For 12 servings
- 115 g Unsalted butter, for the cake
- 250 g Caster sugar
- 3 eggs Large eggs
- 360 g Very ripe bananas, peeled
- 120 ml Whole milk
- 5 ml Vanilla extract, for the cake
- 300 g Plain flour
- 8 g Baking powder
- 3 g Bicarbonate of soda
- 3 g Fine salt
- 2 g Ground cinnamon
- 0.5 g Ground nutmeg
- 0.1 g Ground cloves
- 225 g Full-fat block cream cheese, for the frosting
- 85 g Unsalted butter, for the frosting
- 270 g Icing sugar
- 5 ml Vanilla extract, for the frosting
- 40 g Pecan halves
Instructions
- 1
Allow the 115 g cake butter to soften at room temperature for about 30 minutes, until it yields easily when pressed but is not melted. Keep the frosting butter and cream cheese refrigerated for now. During the final 15 minutes of softening, preheat the oven to 175°C/350°F conventional or 155°C fan.
- 2
Line the base and sides of a 23 × 33 cm rectangular cake tin, at least 5 cm deep, with baking parchment, leaving enough overhang to lift out the cake. No greasing is needed. Mash the bananas thoroughly with a fork; a few small soft lumps are fine.
- 3
Whisk the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves together in a bowl.
- 4
Using an electric hand mixer, beat the softened cake butter and caster sugar in a large bowl for 3–4 minutes until noticeably paler and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl between additions. Mix in the mashed banana and the 5 ml cake vanilla on low speed. The mixture may look slightly curdled at this stage.
- 5
Using a spatula, fold in half the flour mixture, then the milk, followed by the remaining flour mixture. Stop as soon as no dry flour remains; the batter should be thick but spreadable. Scrape all the batter into the prepared tin and level the surface.
- 6
Bake on the middle shelf for about 40 minutes, checking from 35 minutes. The cake is ready when the centre springs back lightly, the edges are golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out without wet batter; a few moist crumbs are fine.
- 7
Cool in the tin on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Carefully lift the cake out using the parchment and leave on the rack for about 100 minutes more, until completely cool underneath and in the centre. During the final 30 minutes of cooling, take the 85 g frosting butter and the cream cheese out of the refrigerator to soften. Do not frost a warm cake.
- 8
Sift the icing sugar. In a bowl, beat the softened frosting butter with the electric mixer for 2 minutes until smooth. Add the icing sugar in three additions, mixing on low initially, then beating until creamy. Add the cream cheese and the remaining 5 ml vanilla. Beat briefly on low speed just until smooth and spreadable; prolonged beating can loosen the frosting.
- 9
Chop the pecans into small pieces. Spread all the frosting over the cooled cake in an even layer, making shallow swirls with a spatula. Scatter all the pecans evenly over the top. Allow about 20 minutes in total for making the frosting, decorating and cutting.
- 10
Cut into a 3-by-4 grid to make 12 slices, each approximately 7.7 × 8.3 cm. Serve or refrigerate promptly; a setting chill is not required.
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