Total Time
1 hour 10 minutes (plus cooling)
Ripe bananas can become more than just banana bread, as this simple but striking cake proves. With its plush, cardamom-scented crumb and creamy, salt-sprinkled glaze, it’s an elevated spin that’s equally at home for breakfast or dessert. The cake’s instant popularity among BA staff is enough to tell me it will be a winner wherever this recipe finds you.
For thorough mashing (particularly if your bananas aren’t entirely ripe yet), place the fruit in a zip-top bag and mash with your hands to create a pulpy, baby-food-like consistency. Some small lumps are okay, but a smoother mash begets a fluffier cake. Don’t forget: It’s important to add the dry ingredients in stages to ensure even distribution and prevent overmixing, which would result in a tough outcome.
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What you’ll need
9" Round Cake Pan
$18 $16 At Amazon
Scale
$26 At Amazon
Stand Mixer
$330 $280 At Amazon
Rubber Spatula
$13 At Amazon
Zip-Top Bag
$6.99 At Amazon
Cake Tester
$3 At Amazon
Wire Cooling Rack
$18 At Amazon
French Wire Whisk
$18 At Amazon
Ingredients
8–10 servings
½
2
½
½
½
½
¾
¾
2
1½
2
1¼
1½
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat oven to 350°. Butter a 9"-diameter cake pan; line the bottom with a parchment paper round. Butter parchment. Whisk 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour, ½ tsp. baking powder, ½ tsp. baking soda, ½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt, and ½ tsp. ground cardamom in a medium bowl.
Step 2
Beat ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar, and ¾ cup (packed; 150 g) light brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium and mix in 2 large eggs, room temperature and 1 tsp. vanilla extract, then 2 ripe bananas, peeled, flesh finely mashed, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
Step 3
Reduce speed to medium-low and mix in half of dry ingredients, then beat in 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature. Using a rubber spatula, mix in remaining dry ingredients, making sure to scrape bottom of bowl so everything gets incorporated.
Step 4
Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth surface. Bake cake until golden brown, slightly puffed, and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 50–55 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.
Step 5
Meanwhile, whisk 1½ cups (165 g) powdered sugar, a pinch of kosher salt, remaining ¼ cup buttermilk, room temperature, and remaining ½ tsp. vanilla extract in a small bowl to combine.
Step 6
Turn out cooled cake onto rack or a plate and turn right side up. Pour glaze over top of cake, then sprinkle with flaky sea salt and a pinch of cardamom.
Leave a Review
Reviews (1)
Back to TopI made this cake exactly as shown in the recipe. It is delicious, but there is no way the glaze in the recipe is the brownish/tan color shown in the picture. It's as you would expect with a glaze of powdered sugar and buttermilk (and 1/2 tsp of vanilla) - white. What gives?
Anne D
Maine
11/5/2023
Delicious. Love the cardamon. Are you sure it fits in a 9 inch pan? I only had an 8inch pan and scrambled to prepare my 7x4 pan at the last minute for the overflow. I would make this again after reevaluating my pans
Madeleine
Philadelphia, Pa
10/24/2023
It would be really helpful to know the quantity of mashed banana, to ensure the baked cake turns out as it is supposed to.
Tracy
Canada
10/13/2023