Name: Moist Banana Cake
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 55 min
Ingredients: 2 or 3 overripe bananas (290 to 320 g peeled weight, skin mostly brown); 2 large eggs; ½ cup (100 g) white granulated sugar; ¼ cup (50 g) packed brown sugar; ⅓ cup (75 g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled; 3 tbsp (45 g) plain yogurt; ⅓ cup (80 ml) whole milk; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 1½ cups (190 g) all-purpose flour; 1 tsp baking powder; 1 tsp baking soda; ¼ tsp salt; ¼ tsp ground cinnamon

Three spotted bananas were sitting on the edge of my counter on Sunday, too far gone for snacking but exactly right for banana cake. My kids had already written them off, but I knew better.

Overripe bananas are the whole point. The skin should be mostly brown, almost black in patches, because that’s when the starch has fully converted to sugar and the flavor is deep and almost caramel-sweet.

A pale yellow banana makes a flat-tasting cake no matter what else you do.

I’ve made this with butter and I’ve made it with oil. This version uses melted butter, following the Savor Easy method, and I think the flavor is worth it.

The crumb is tender and the top sets to a thin, lightly golden crust that my youngest always picks at first.

Prep: 15 minutes · Cook: 35 to 40 minutes · Total: about 1 hour 15 minutes (with cooling) · Serves: 8

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How do you make banana cake moist and not dense?

Use bananas that are fully overripe, at least 290 g peeled weight, and fold them in after the flour. Beating the eggs, sugar, and fat together first builds air into the batter. Stop mixing the moment no dry streaks remain. Overmixing develops gluten and that’s what makes a banana cake heavy and tight.

Why It Works

Beating the eggs, sugar, and fat until light and fluffy traps air before any flour goes in, giving the cake lift alongside the baking powder and baking soda.
Using both baking powder and baking soda matters here. The soda reacts with the natural acid in the banana (and in the yogurt, if you use it), while the powder provides lift independent of that acid. They’re doing two different jobs.
Folding the mashed banana in last, after the flour is incorporated, means you only need a few strokes to distribute it. The batter doesn’t get overworked.

The first time I tried adding the banana early, the batter looked fine but the cake came out dense in the middle. Switching the order fixed it completely.

Why This One’s Worth Making

Uses up overripe bananas before they hit the trash
One bowl, simple pantry ingredients, nothing to hunt down
Works in an 8-inch round pan you probably already own
Freezes well, so you can bake ahead and pull a slice whenever you need it

What Goes Into Banana Cake

2 or 3 overripe bananas (290 to 320 g peeled weight, skin mostly brown)
2 large eggs
½ cup (100 g) white granulated sugar
¼ cup (50 g) packed brown sugar
⅓ cup (75 g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
3 tbsp (45 g) plain yogurt
⅓ cup (80 ml) whole milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1½ cups (190 g) all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground cinnamon

Ingredient Notes and Swaps

The bananas are the most important variable in this recipe. Two sources I worked from give a peeled weight of 290 to 320 g, which is typically two large or three medium bananas.

Size varies a lot at the store, so weigh them if you can. A banana that’s only yellow won’t give you the same sweetness or moisture.

The sugar here follows the Savor Easy split: 100 g white and 50 g brown, totaling 150 g. The brown sugar adds a faint caramel note and a little extra moisture.

You can use all white sugar at the same total weight and the cake will still work, it’ll just taste slightly plainer.

Plain yogurt is a small addition, just 3 tablespoons, but it gives the baking soda more acid to react with and keeps the crumb from drying out. Full-fat or low-fat both work.

Don’t skip it if you have it in the fridge.

Making Banana Cake, Step by Step

Heat the oven and prep the pan. Set the oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch round cake pan with butter or cooking spray, then line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper. This cake is moist enough to stick without both steps.
Beat the eggs and sugars. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, white sugar, and brown sugar together vigorously for about 2 minutes, until the mixture looks slightly pale and a little thicker than when you started.
Add the fat and dairy. Pour in the melted butter, yogurt, milk, and vanilla. Whisk until everything is smooth and fully combined, with no streaks of butter visible at the edges of the bowl.
Add the dry ingredients. Sprinkle the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon directly over the wet mixture. Fold with a spatula just until no dry streaks remain, about 10 to 12 strokes. The batter will look a little rough. That’s fine.
Mash and fold in the banana. In a small bowl, mash the bananas with a fork until mostly smooth with a few small lumps. Add them to the batter and fold in with 4 or 5 strokes, just until the banana is distributed and no yellow streaks remain. Stop there.
Bake the cake. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake at 350°F for 35 to 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the very center comes out clean with no wet batter clinging to it. The top should be golden and set, not shiny.
Cool before turning out. Let the cake cool in the pan for at least 15 minutes before running a knife around the edge and turning it onto a wire rack. Warm banana cake tears easily, so patience here saves the whole thing.

Good to Know

Don’t try to rush the bananas. If yours are still mostly yellow, seal them in a paper bag on the counter for a day or two and check again.
The recipes I worked from don’t give a storage shelf life, so here’s what I go by in my own kitchen: the cake keeps well at room temperature, covered, for the first day. After that, I move it to the fridge.
If you want to use oil instead of butter, one source uses ¾ cup (180 ml) oil for the same amount of flour. It’s a real difference in quantity, so don’t try to substitute at a 1-to-1 ratio by volume.
A loaf pan works too. The same batter in a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan needs 45 to 50 minutes at the same temperature, and the toothpick test is still your best cue. The deeper pan just takes longer to bake through to the center.
I still don’t measure the cinnamon precisely, and I’m probably never going to start. A small pinch is all it is, just background warmth.

Storing and Reheating

The recipes I worked from don’t specify a shelf life, so I’ll share what works in my kitchen. Covered at room temperature, this cake is best within the first day.

After that, wrap it tightly and refrigerate it for up to a few days. A quick 10 to 15 seconds in the microwave brings a cold slice back to something close to fresh.

This cake freezes well. Wrap individual slices in plastic wrap, then place them in a zip-top bag.

Pull a slice out the night before and let it thaw on the counter. Don’t freeze it with any frosting on top, since the texture suffers on thaw.

If you want to bake ahead, the cake can be made a day in advance and kept covered at room temperature overnight.

On the Side

A spoonful of plain whipped cream pairs well because it cuts the sweetness without adding more sugar to an already sweet cake.
Strong black coffee or a plain latte is the natural match here, the slight bitterness balances the banana flavor.
A small scoop of vanilla ice cream works for dessert, especially if the cake is still slightly warm from the oven.
Sliced fresh strawberries alongside add a bright, tart contrast that kids tend to like.

Special Equipment

An 8-inch round cake pan, light-colored aluminum holds heat more evenly than dark nonstick for a delicate cake like this.
Parchment paper cut to fit the bottom of the pan, so the cake releases cleanly even if the sides stick a little.
A large mixing bowl with enough room to fold without the batter spilling over the sides.
A fork or potato masher for the bananas, a fork gives you a little more control over the texture and leaves small lumps if you want them.
A toothpick or thin skewer for the doneness test, it needs to reach the true center of the cake.

Questions I Get About Banana Cake

Can I use frozen bananas for banana cake? Yes, and they often work even better than fresh overripe ones because freezing breaks down the cell walls and makes the banana extra soft and sweet. Thaw them completely and drain off any liquid before mashing.

Why did my banana cake sink in the middle? The most common reason is overmixing the batter after the flour goes in. Working the batter too long develops gluten and can cause the center to collapse as it cools. Mix only until no dry streaks remain, then stop.

Can I make banana cake in a loaf pan instead of a round pan? Absolutely. Use a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan and bake at 350°F for 45 to 50 minutes. The deeper shape takes longer to bake through, so don’t pull it early. The toothpick test is the only reliable cue.

Do I need both baking powder and baking soda? Yes, and they’re not interchangeable. The baking soda reacts with the acid in the banana and yogurt, while the baking powder provides lift on its own. Leaving one out changes the rise and the texture.

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