This easy banana cake with chocolate frosting is light, airy, and loaded with fresh bananas. Easy chocolate buttercream comes together in minutes. This cake bakes in an 8″ x 8″ pan, cutting down on the baking time and making frosting much easier! Make and frost this banana cake in the pan for easy storing and transporting. Banana cake is everyone’s favorite banana bread, but better!
This is a great recipe if you have lots of brown bananas!
Highlights of this banana cake recipe:
- Moist cake
- Light & airy
- Full of banana flavor
- Simple chocolate frosting
- Easy cake recipe
- Bakes quickly in an 8″ x 8″ pan
- Oil based
Tools I used for this easy banana cake with chocolate frosting recipe:
- KitchenAid 6 Qt. Stand Mixer – I always recommend a stand mixer as it saves time and helps to keep baked goods consistent.
- Rubber Spatula – a must for any home baker! Perfect for scrapping batter out of the mixing bowl.
- USA Pan 8″ Square Pan – another USA Pan product I love! The corners of my bars and cakes never stick and I love the squared of edges this pan creates.
Grocery store list for this easy cake:
- All-purpose flour
- Kosher Salt
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Vegetable oil (canola oil)
- Whole large eggs
- Vanilla extract
- Mashed bananas
- Milk (can substitute a non-dairy milk like almond milk or oat milk)
- Granulated white sugar
- Heavy whipping cream
- Confectioners or icing sugar
- Unsweetened cocoa powder
If you like this chocolate banana cake, you’ll love these other easy recipes….
Protein Packed Banana & Yogurt Peanut Butter Cups
Easy Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread
Easy One Bowl Moist Banana Cake Recipe with Oil
One-bowl Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread
This chocolate frosting recipe is super simple, rich, and creamy!
What is the difference between banana bread and banana cake?
Banana bread is firmer and more dense, great for slicing. Banana cake is lighter and more airy, banana bread is typically butter based while this banana cake is oil based.
What can I add to make my cake moist?
Adding bananas to this cake ensures it stays light and moist, while still staying airy and not too dense. The bananas not only add moisture but add a nice sweetness.
Instructions:
For the Banana Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and line a 8″x8″ square pan with parchment paper, set aside.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, combine and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl whisk together the oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla extract until smooth. Gently whisk in the milk. Fold in the mashed banana. Add the flour mixture into the wet ingredients, mix gently until smooth. Careful not to overmix. Transfer the batter into the prepared baking pan.
- Bake in a preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.
For the Simple Chocolate Frosting:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with a electric hand mixer, beat the butter until light and fluffy, 4-5 minutes.
- Add about half of the powdered sugar and the cocoa powder, beat on low until fully incorporated. Add in the remaining powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and salt. Beat on low speed again just until the powdered sugar is incorporated.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add in the heavy cream and mix on low again until smooth. If the frosting is to thick, thin with extra cream, if it is to thin, add extra powdered sugar. Spread the buttercream over the cooled banana cake.
Variations & notes:
- Overripe bananas work best
- If desired, fold chocolate chips into the cake
- Slice the cake in half and frost as a layered banana cake
- Frost with chocolate cream cheese frosting instead of buttercream
- Could bake in a 8″ round cake pan instead of square
- If making this cake ahead of time, allow to cool completely, cover in plastic wrap until ready to frost
Easy Banana Cake with Chocolate Frosting
Equipment
- 8"x8" pan
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 1 1/4 cup All-purpose flour
- 1 tsp Baking powder
- 1 tsp Baking soda
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1/2 cup Canola oil or vegetable oil
- 1 cup Granulated sugar
- 2 Eggs, room temperature
- 1 tbsp Vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup Milk, can substitute a non-dairy milk like Almond milk
- 2 large Ripe bananas, mashed
For the Chocolate Buttercream:
- 1 cup Unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup Unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 cups Powdered sugar, sifted
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 tbsp Vanilla extract
- 6 tbsp Heavy cream
Instructions
For the Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and line a 8"x8" baking pan, set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, combine and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl whisk together the oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla extract until smooth. Gently whisk in the milk. Fold in the mashed banana. Add the dry ingredients into the wet, mix gently until smooth. Careful not to overmix. Transfer the batter into the prepared baking pan.
- Bake in a preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
For the Buttercream:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter until light and fluffy, 4-5 minutes.
- Add about half of the powdered sugar and the cocoa powder, beat on low until fully incorporated. Add in the remaining powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and salt. Beat on low speed again just until the powdered sugar is incorporated.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add in the heavy cream and mix on low again until smooth. If the frosting is to thick, thin with extra cream, if it is to thin, add extra powdered sugar. Spread the buttercream over the cooled banana cake.
Nutrition
Did you make this recipe?
Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and tag @theheartylife on Instagram and hashtag it #theheartylife.