Stunning Banana Cream Cake with Whipped Berry Frosting 

Updated Sept. 2024 :: Did you know that bananas are always in season? Such lovable things, they are. Anyway, this Banana Cream Cake is as delicious as it is gorgeous, with a glowing, vibrant fresh berry frosting and the subtly sweet flavors of banana and coconut cream. Easy, low-maintenance, and perfect for company, this one is a total keeper. Read on for some simple cake baking tips, or go right on ahead and grab the recipe.

If you’re into this Banana Cream Cake, you might also enjoy our Pear Coffee Cake with Streusel, our Best Lemon Cream Cake (it’s a wonder), or for a real plot twist – this Vegan Pound Cake. I also have a wacky little Black Velvet Cake and a French Vanilla Gooey Butter Cake with Strawberries. Lastly, might I suggest my Berry Crumble Picnic Cake for another berry-licious cake option for you?

Banana Cream Cake Tips and Tricks

1. Read the instructions for this banana cream cake all the way through before you start. This is a universal tip, for every recipe ever, but it really helps with cakes, I think.
2. Your ingredients will perform best for you if they’re all at room temperature when you use them. There are chemical reasons for this that are sort of above my pay grade to explain fully, but if you’re into food science, check out this post to learn the “why” behind this.
3. Don’t cheat the directions and try to throw everything in one big bowl at once to save time and dishes. Baking is a total science and there are tried and true reasons behind why you’re asked to combine dry ingredients in one bowl, wet in another, and then to gently combine them in an alternating pattern.

Berry Frosting TIPS

1. This frosting is a fresh berry cream cheese number that is absolutely beautiful AND delicious. We’ll create a fresh berry juice from simmered blackberries and raspberries BUT – you could absolutely step right over this step and use a bottled mixed berry juice, if you want. No worries. It won’t be as thick, though, so just watch as you add it to the frosting.
2. Another alternative to adding fresh berry juice is to use dehydrated berries. I LOVE these products but I hesitate to call for them in my recipes because they just aren’t easy to find everywhere. I actually can never find them at my go-to grocery store. Target tends to have them, and Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods as well.

How to use dehydrated berries in this banana cream cake frosting

If you do happen to find a package of dehydrated blueberries and/or strawberries, you can add that to a food processor and process on high until you have a fine powder. Add this powder to the mixing bowl with the creamed butter and cream cheese (and powdered sugar) until it’s the flavor and color you like.

What You’ll Need to make this banana cream cake

This is the best banana cake I’ve ever tried, I think. It’s so flavorful and it bakes up nice and thick – perfect for the big slathering of vibrant, purple frosting that it’ll get. The bananas need to be nice and ripe, as they’re actually sweet then, and don’t taste like a plant, you know? I technically put measurements for vanilla in my recipes, but let’s be honest – just pour until your heart says stop.

The addition of coconut cream is what makes this cake batter different, and extra special. It adds a real richness to the cake, and incidentally, is what gives it the “banana cream cake” name.

TIP: Coconut cream is sold in cans just like coconut milk, though the two products are not the same. Coconut cream is far richer and will settle into its two separate parts if left undisturbed. The thick cream will sit atop the coconut water, making it easy to skim that right out of the can, with the water left behind.

What to do with leftover coconut water?

Literally anything! I always save mine in the fridge and add it to smoothies (this is usually what I do), but it’s also perfect in sauces, dressing, soups, stews … you get the idea. In fact, it would be great in this week’s Thai Meatball Soup, or my quick-fix Indian Butter Chicken. Coconut water is very healthy and hydrating, and shouldn’t be wasted, y’all!

INGREDIENTS FOR THE BANANA CREAM CAKE

• 3 large, very ripe bananas 
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pan
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar (light or dark)
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• 3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1.5 cups buttermilk, at room temperature
• 14.5-ounce can coconut cream

FOR THE BERRY CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

• 6 ounces blackberries
• 11 ounces blueberries (one package, typically)
• 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (one stick)
• 4 cups powdered sugar (or more, depending on how sweet you like it)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

How to make this Banana Cream Cake

This is a totally standard cake preparation. We’ll whisk together the dry ingredients and then cream together the butter with both granulated and brown sugars. Then, in go three eggs and a big glug of vanilla. Lots of mashed, sweet banana goes into the mix and then, in our super pro move, we’ll add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk/coconut cream mixture in an alternating pattern.

Why alternate dry and wet ingredients?

Okay, the reason most cake recipes ask you to add the dry ingredients in three portions, alternating with the wet ingredients (in this case, buttermilk and coconut cream), is to ensure smoothness but mostly to help almost emulsify the batter (not unlike the way you create a salad dressing). If we added all of the wet ingredients at one time, the batter could actually separate on you. Not idea, right?

As such, we add little bits of each component – the dry and wet – until everything has been added. This way, the batter will come together and remain whole, i.e. not split.

Banana Cream Cake DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9 X 13-inch baking pan. Line with parchment paper. Mash the bananas in a bowl and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside. 
3. Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the 10 tablespoons of butter on high speed until smooth and creamy – about 1 minute. Add the sugars and beat for 3 minutes until very smooth and creamy. 
4. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each. Add the vanilla and bananas, and scrape the sides of the bowl to ensure everything is fully mixing together. Mix on med-high until well blended.
5. In a bowl, whisk the buttermilk together with the coconut cream (tip: don’t shake the can of coconut cream to mix it – you just want the thick solid cream at the top. Save the coconut water underneath for another use).
6. Add the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with the buttermilk/coconut cream mixture. After each addition, mix just until things are incorporated – no more. Overmixing makes for tough cakes.
7. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 43 to 45 minutes, or just until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If the top is browning too quickly in the oven, just lay a piece of foil over top.
8. Cool completely before removing, and slathering with the frosting (see below; you probably won’t need all of the frosting).  

To make the berry frosting:

1.  Put the berries in a saucepan over medium heat and, stirring occasionally, let them simmer and cook into what is essentially a chunky berry sauce. After about 10 to 12 minutes, when the berries have totally broken down, strain them through a fine mesh sieve/strainer and collect as much juice as you can (you’ll get about 1/3 to 1/2 cup-ish). Set the juice aside and discard the pulp in the strainer. 
2. Using a hand held or stand mixer, cream together the butter and cream cheese until super smooth. Add the powdered sugar, ¼ cup of the reserved fresh berry juice, and the vanilla. Whip until very smooth and creamy (It’s very smooth and silky compared to standard butter creams). Add more berry juice, if you like. The more you add, the prettier the color but the looser the frosting. 

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