Easy and Moist Banana Cake with Oil

Name: Easy and Moist Banana Cake with Oil
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 70 min
Ingredients: 1 cup banana (ripe, mashed, About 2 medium-large or 3 small bananas); 3 large eggs; 1 cup vegetable oil; 2 tsp vanilla extract; 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar; 2 cups all purpose flour; 1 tsp baking powder; 1/2 tsp baking soda; 1/2 tsp kosher salt; 1 batch Cream Cheese Frosting

by Sam Adler on Aug 22, 2022 (updated Dec 20, 2023) 44 comments

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This Banana Cake recipe is made with oil and easy to make and a great way to use those spotted bananas! With these step-by-step instructions, you’ll bake an incredibly moist and indulgently sweet banana cake from scratch. Finished with a luscious layer of whipped cream cheese frosting, this cake will surely be a hit wherever it’s served!

Banana sheet cake topped with cream cheese frosting and cut into 4 pieces.

When bananas ripen past their prime, don’t toss them! Instead, mash them up and use them in this homemade banana cake recipe. This easy-to-follow recipe results in a light and fluffy cake with delightfully sweet and creamy banana flavor.

As a trained pastry chef, I’m used to making banana cakes with butter, but for this banana cake, I opted for all-oil, and it made a DELICIOUS difference. It’s soft and smooth with a melt-in-your-mouth moist crumb. Just like this banana bread made with oil. The cream cheese frosting is a bonus!

As a rule of thumb, the spottier the bananas you have, the sweeter your cake will be! These are the kinds of bananas I am always baking with.

Do you love baking with bananas?! I always seem to have some past their prime on my counter so I like to make these 5 star rated banana chocolate chip muffins, banana bundt cake, or fresh banana cupcakes!

If you are new to making cakes- this recipe is super easy! If you need to troubleshoot check out this post on why cakes sink in the middle.

Baking with oil instead of butter

I use oil here instead of butter for a few reasons. Using oil keeps a cake moist for longer (like days longer) than a cake with butter. It also creates a more tender crumb. Sometimes butter can weigh a cake down and I definitely didn’t want that for this recipe.

Not using butter also allows the cake to stay dairy free, just choose a different frosting, like this dairy free frosting to top instead!

Frosting

The frosting I like the best for this cake is cream cheese frosting! The super sweet and soft cake pairs perfectly with the complex, tangy tastes in cream cheese frosting. It’s a great frosting to pipe perfectly onto your cake or slather on with a spoon or knife.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED

Bananas – Save your fresh bananas for snacking, and use the brown and spotty ones for baking. The softer and more ripe the bananas, the more moist and sweet your cake will be.
Eggs & vegetable oil – These liquid ingredients play a role in adding moisture and making a tender crumb. As a rule of thumb, your eggs should always be at room temperature.
Vanilla extra – Enhancesthe rich, creamy flavors. Use a quality, pure vanilla extract for the best results.
Granulated sugar – Adds sweetness. If you don’t have white sugar, use light brown sugar instead.
All-purpose flour – Flour acts as the cake’s structure and expands the wet ingredients into a stable cake batter.
Baking powder & baking soda – This pair of leavening agents create a reaction as the batter bakes, making it rise into a tender but firm cake.
Salt – Salt also plays a role in rising while making everything sweet taste even sweeter.
Cream cheese frosting – This moist banana cake is the best with tangy cream cheese frosting. I encourage you to make it from scratch (it’s simple!), but you can also use store-bought.

HOW TO MAKE A BANANA CAKE FROM SCRATCH

Prepare for baking: Preheat the oven to 350F and generously grease a 9″x13″ rectangular cake pan with baking spray.

Mash bananas: Place the peeled bananas in a large bowl, then use a fork or potato masher to smoosh them (it’s okay if it’s a little lumpy!).

Mix wet ingredients: Add the eggs, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract to the bowl with the mashed banana, and stir to combine. Then, add the sugar and mix well.

Combine with dry ingredients: In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Then, pour the dry mix into the bowl with the wet mixture and lightly stir to combine.

Bake: Pour the cake batter into your prepared cake pan, and bake until the surface is firm to the touch and the edges begin to pull away from the sides of the pan (30-35 minutes).

Let cool. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes before turning it onto a cooling rack to finish cooling.

Frost and serve. Meanwhile, make your cream cheese frosting. Then once the cake is cool, spread it with a luscious layer of frosting, and enjoy!

Mashed bananas in glass bowl. — Mash the bananas.

Wet ingredients for a banana cake in a bowl. — Mash the bananas.

The secret to keeping this cake moist

Using oil instead of butter in this recipe keeps it light and moist with a fluffy crumb.
Only mix until combined! Do not over mix the batter as it can create a tough batter.
Measure your dry ingredients correctly. The best way to do this is with a kitchen scale. If you don’t have a scale then spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level it off.

Expert Baking Tips

The cake batter is a cinch to mix by hand, but you can also use a stand mixer and mix on medium speed. What’s most important is that you do not over-mix the batter. As soon as it’s combined, leave it be.
Your bananas MUST be ripe! Seriously, the spottier the banana, the better the banana cake!
For the best results, set the eggs out 10-15 minutes before getting started to bring them to room temperature. Your bananas shouldn’t be ice cold either.
The cake is done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean with some moist crumbs attached.

Three pieces of banana cake cut off the corner of the sheet cake.

STORAGE AND FREEZING

Storing: Unfrosted banana cake is best kept in a covered container or wrapped tightly in plastic at room temperature for 3-4 days. If your cake is decorated with cream cheese frosting, it’s best kept covered in the fridge.

Freezing: If you plan to freeze your cake, let it cool to room temperature, then wrap the whole cake or individual slices in plastic wrap and keep frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature, then layer on the cream cheese frosting.

Cake sizes

If you dont want to make this into a sheet pan you can divide the batter into two round 9″ cake pans and bake like that to make a layer cake. Make sure to check on the cakes at the 30 minutes mark. If they are still jiggly in the middle give it another 5-10 minutes.

You can also make this recipe into cupcakes. Line a muffin tin with cake liners and bake for 18 minutes.