This delicious banana spice cake is filled with banana flavor and warm spices and topped with chocolate sour cream frosting! It’s an easy recipe that’s perfect for the holidays or any day of the week.
This flavorful banana spice cake is soft and moist. The bananas taste so good with warm spices. It’s topped with creamy chocolate and sour cream frosting.
Spiced banana cake is easy enough to make on weeknights. It’s also special enough for the holidays!
For more cake recipes, try my pumpkin olive oil cake, blueberry chocolate cake and sweet potato chocolate cake.
Jump to:
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Simple to make. This banana cake with chocolate frosting doesn’t require specialty tools to make it.
- Stays moist for days. Bananas, oil and sour cream make this cake extra moist!
- Perfect for holidays. It travels well and is perfect for a crowd. For another holiday cake recipe, try my christmas cranberry cake.
- Cozy flavors. Everyone will love the warm flavor of bananas with spices. If you love baking with bananas, definitely try my banana bread!
- Chocolate sour cream frosting. This chocolate frosting is luscious and fresh tasting thanks to the sour cream.
Ingredient Notes
Would you like to save this?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Here are some useful notes on some of the the ingredients.
- Bananas-Use 3 overripe bananas. Overripe bananas will have brownish peels or peels with brown spots. They are soft, sweet and perfect for baking! Be sure to add this moist banana and blueberry coffee cake recipe to your baking list!
- Brown sugar– I prefer dark brown sugar for the flavor. Light brown sugar can also be used.
- Oil- Oil makes this cake super moist. Use vegetable or canola oil.
- Butter-Use unsalted, room temperature butter for the cake and the frosting.
- Ground spices: Ground spices add warm flavor. I use a mix of ground cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ginger, and cloves. Make sure to use fresh spices. Try my cinnamon swirled banana bread for another cozy banana spice treat!
- Sour cream– Use full fat, room temperature sour cream.
- Eggs-Use 3 large, room temperature eggs.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Substitutions and Variations
- Instead of vegetable or canola oil, use melted coconut oil.
- Add chopped nuts to the batter or on top for decoration.
- Use room temperature buttermilk or unsweetened plain whole Greek yogurt in place of sour cream in the cake batter.
- If you don’t have all the spices, feel free to leave one out.
Instructions
Here are the directions on how to make and bake this banana cake with oil.
Step 1: (Photo 1 above) In a large mixing bowl, mash the bananas with a fork.
Step 2: (Photo 2 above) Beat the butter for 1 minute. Add the sugars and beat 2 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time followed by the oil vanilla, and mashed bananas.
Step 3: (Photo 3 above) Add the dry ingredients into the batter alternatively with the sour cream and milk til just combined.
Step 4: (Photo 4 above) Pour the batter into the pan. Bake at 350 F for 30-35 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.
Step 5: (Photo 5 above) Add the ingredients in a mixing bowl. Turn mixer on low and slowly turn it up to medium high. Beat 1-2 minutes until frosting is smooth.
Step 6: (Photo 6 above) Frost the cake. Slice and enjoy!
Expert Tips
Use a fork, potato masher, or mixer to mash the banana.
Leave an overhang of parchment paper to make it easier to remove cake from pan. You can use the parchment paper to lift the cake out of the pan.
Place cake in the fridge. If you’re short on time, this will help the cake cool faster so you can frost it and serve it.
Sift the powdered sugar and cocoa powder for the chocolate sour cream frosting. This will prevent lumps and make the frosting smooth.
Recipe FAQs
Banana bread is baked in a loaf pan. Banana cake is baked in a cake pan. Banana bread has a dense texture. Banana cake is lighter and fluffier.
Yes. Thaw bananas and allow to come to room temperature before using.
Store this banana sheet cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Freeze the unfrosted cake for up to 30 days. Thaw before frosting.
More Banana Recipes You’ll Love
Did you try this recipe or any other recipe on my website? Please leave a 🌟 star rating and 📝 comment below.
Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest!
Banana Spice Cake
Ingredients
Banana Spice Cake
- 2¾ cups (343.75 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoons (1 teaspoons) baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon (1 teaspoon) baking powder
- 2½ teaspoons (2.5 teaspoons) cinnamon ground
- 2 teaspoons (0.5 teaspoon) nutmeg ground
- ½ teaspoon (1 teaspoon) allspice ground
- ½ teaspoon (½ teaspoon) ginger ground
- ½ (½) cloves ground
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) salt
- ¼ cup (59.15 ml) oil vegetable or canola
- ½ cup (113.5 g) unsalted butter room temperature
- 1½ cups (337.5 g) mashed bananas about 3 large overripe bananas, mashed
- ¾ cup (165 g) brown sugar light or dark, packed
- ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (230 g) sour cream room temperature
- ⅓ cup (78.86 ml) milk whole milk, room temperature
- 1½ teaspoons (1½ teaspoons) vanilla extract
- 3 (3) large eggs room temperature
Sour Cream Chocolate Frosting
- 5 tablespoons (70 g) unsalted butter room temperature
- ¼ cup (21.5 g) cocoa powder sifted
- 1¾ cups (210 g) powdered sugar sifted
- ⅓ cup (76.67 g) sour cream full fat
- 1¼ teaspoons (1¼ teaspoons) vanilla extract
- 1 pinch (1 pinch) salt to taste
Instructions
Banana Spice Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit.
- Spray a 9X13 inch pan with baking spray or grease with butter. Line it with parchment paper leaving an overhand on the two longer sides to make it easier to remove once baked.
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk to combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, cloves and salt. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, stir to combine the sour cream and milk. Set aside.
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, mash the bananas with a fork, potato masher or electric mixer. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter on medium high speed with an electric mixer for 1 minute. Add the sugars and beat on medium high speed for an additional 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula.
- Turn the mixer to medium speed. Add the eggs one at a time until combined. Next, beat in the oil and vanilla extract followed by the mashed bananas.
- Turn the mixer to low and beat in the dry ingredients alternatively with the sour cream and milk mixture in three additions til just combined. Avoid overmixing.
- Pour the batter into the pan. Use an offset spatula to spread evenly and smooth the top, if needed.
- Bake 30-35 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle of the cake.
- Remove from oven and place pan on a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
Sour Cream Chocolate Frosting
- Add all the ingredients in a mixing bowl. Turn mixer on low and slowly turn it up to medium high. Beat 1-2 minutes until frosting is completely combined and smooth. Frost cake and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Please note that nutritional values are created by an online calculator and should only be used as an estimate.
Sunshine
in the section of what ingredients you need thete are no measurements so how do you make a spiced banana cake with no measurements for the ingredients?
Natalie
Hi, the full list of ingredients and their measurements are in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. Please click on “jump to recipe” button at the top of the post or scroll to the bottom and you’ll find the full list of ingredients and their measurements.