This moist and tender Banana Walnut Cake is layered with a tangy Cream Cheese Frosting. The cake is flavored with ripe banana, cinnamon, vanilla, and toasted walnuts. Perfect for celebrations, dinners with friends and family, or an evening dessert with a cup of tea.
Mix dry: In a large bowl, mix together flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt.
Mix wet: In a medium bowl, mix together banana, butter, eggs, brown sugar, milk, and vanilla.
Combine: Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Gently stir until there are only faint streaks of flour showing. Gently fold in walnuts just until flour is incorporated. (Do not overmix!)
Bake: Divide batter into 2 (8-inch/20 cm round) parchment-lined baking pans (see note 6). Bake until a toothpick, inserted into the center of the cake, comes out clean (20 to 25 minutes). Let cakes cool in the pans for 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Frosting: Add cream cheese and butter to a stand mixer (or use a large bowl and electric beaters). Whip until completely smooth. Mix in vanilla. Slowly add in powdered sugar in increments, mixing on low speed until incorporated. Use immediately or refrigerate.
Assemble: Place 1 cake layer on a serving plate. Evenly cover with Cream Cheese frosting. Top with 2nd layer and spread remaining frosting over top and sides. Garnish with more walnuts on top, if desired.
Notes
Bananas: About 4 bananas. Use brown, speckled, over-ripe bananas for the best flavor and moisture. The riper the better! If your bananas are frozen, allow to come up to room-temperature by defrosting before using.
Butter: You can use salted or unsalted butter for the cakes. We've tested both.
Milk: Whole (full-fat) milk recommended. If you must substitute for a reduced-fat milk, opt for 2% milk.
Walnuts: For extra flavor, you can lightly toast the walnuts before using. To toast the nuts, spread them on a sheet pan and put them in the oven while it preheats. Bake until the walnuts are pale golden and fragrant (about 5-10 minutes, but watch carefully). Avoid roasting them too much, because they'll bake again in the cakes. If toasting, ensure the nuts have fully cooled before adding to the batter.
Powdered sugar: If your powdered sugar is clumpy, either sift it or run a whisk/fork through it to break up any clumps before adding. Powdered sugar is difficult to measure by volume (weight is more accurate)—so fluff it up before measuring, and add in small increments so you can adjust to taste.
Lining cake pans with parchment: Parchment paper resulted in a more tender exterior, compared to using the greasing and flouring method. To line a round cake pan with parchment, cut out a circle for the bottom of the pan (you can trace it using a pencil). Then cut a strip to run along the sides of the pan. You can help the parchment stick to the pan by using a few dabs of butter, water, or batter like "glue".
Baking by weight: For the most reliable results, we recommend measuring by weight when baking. Ingredient weights are provided in metric. If you must go by volume (measuring cups), make sure to fluff, spoon, and level the flour to avoid adding too much.
Storage tips: Cover and refrigerate cake for up to 4 to 5 days. This cake can also be frozen. You can freeze individual cake layers by wrapping in plastic wrap, then putting each layer in a freezer bag. Frosting can be frozen in an airtight container. This cake also freezes once iced. Our preferred method is to wrap individual slices, then put them in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 3 months.