This moist banana pound cake has a rich, buttery and banana flavor that’s pure comfort in every bite and it’s all topped off with a delicious cream cheese glaze.
This homemade banana pound cake has everything that you love about classic banana bread, but it’s richer, softer, and a bit more indulgent. It’s really easy to make and it’s got a buttery, moist and tender crumb, thanks to the sour cream and ripe bananas. Oh, and let’s not forget that the cream cheese glaze takes it right over the top and it’s the perfect complement to banana cake.
This cake makes your whole house smell amazing. It’s hard to wait for it to cool down to eat it! I love this cake as a dessert, breakfast or a snack. I especially love it slightly warmed up.
If you have some over-ripe bananas just sitting on your kitchen counter, this banana bundt cake is the perfect way to use them.
Why You’ll Love This Cake!
- It has a bit of a deeper flavor thanks to the brown sugar.
- It’s moist and buttery thanks to the butter and sour cream
- It’s perfect for potlucks or taking to get-togethers
- The cream cheese glaze is optional but works perfectly with the banana flavor
- It’s even better the next day!
Pro Tip
Use very ripe bananas. The spottier, the better! They’ll give the cake a richer banana flavor.
Recipe
Moist Banana Pound Cake with Cream Cheese Glaze
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (Measured correctly: Spooned into the measuring cup and leveled off – don't scoop and pack the flour into the cup, that will add too much flour.)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 ½ cups mashed very ripe bananas (about 4 medium-sized bananas)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup sour cream, room temperature
- 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
For the cream cheese glaze: (optional)
- ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature (1 stick)
- 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature (½ block)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups confectioner’s sugar
- 2-4 tablespoons milk (add more if needed)
- ¼ cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional for garnish)
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
- Grease and flour a large bundt pan and set aside.
- In a medium size mixing bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Whisk well and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the room temperature butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar and mix with an electric mixer on medium-high to high for approximately 2 minutes.
- Add the eggs one at a time, mixing on medium for about 15-20 seconds after each addition.
- Scrape down the bowl and add the mashed bananas and vanilla, then mix on medium speed until well combined.
- Alternately add the flour mixture and sour cream to the butter/sugar mixture as follows: Start with adding a third of the flour mixture to the butter/sugar mixture and mix on medium speed only until just combined (about 10-15 seconds only).Add half of the sour cream and mix on medium speed only until just combined (about 10-15 seconds only).Add another third of the flour mixture and mix on medium only until just comined (about 10-15 seconds only).Add the last half of the sour cream and mix on medium only until well combined (about 20 seconds only).IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT SCRATCH CAKES: Be very careful only to mix until well combined. Once the batter is well combined, stop mixing. The batter does not have to be silky smooth. Mixing scratch cake batter too long and/or at too high of a speed can cause the gluten in the flour to over-develop and that will cause the cake to come out dense, rubbery or it may fall in the middle.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again, but only by hand with a large spoon or a silicone spatula.
- Add chopped nuts if desired and mix those in by hand.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake at 325 degrees F for approximately 55 – 65 minutes. Ovens vary. The cake is fully baked when a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs on it or clean, but no raw batter should appear.
- Set the baked cake on a wire rack, still inside of the pan, to cool for 15 minutes, then turn the cake out of the pan and onto the rack and let cool completely.
- While the cake is cooling, prepare the glaze.
For the cream cheese glaze: (optional)
- In a large mixing bowl, add the room temperature butter and cream cheese and mix with an electric mixer on medium-high until smooth.
- Add the vanilla extract, confectioner’s sugar and 2 tablespoons of milk and mix well on medium-high speed.
- Check the consistency. If it’s too thick add another tablespoon of milk and mix again. Repeat until desired consistency is reached. Depending on how warm the mixture is and/or how warm it is in your kitchen, you may need to add up to 5 tablespoons of milk to get a glaze consistency.
- Add the glaze to the cooled cake. You can use a piping bag, a squirt bottle or just spoon onto the top of the cooled cake.
- Optional: Sprinkle crushed or chopped pecans or walnuts over the top of the glaze if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
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Video
Video coming soon!
How to make this cake
(The full printable instructions are in the recipe card above.)
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F and grease and flour a large bundt pan and set aside.
Step 2
In a medium size mixing bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Whisk well and set aside.
Step 3
In a large mixing bowl, add the room-temperature butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar and mix with an electric mixer on medium-high to high for approximately 2 minutes.
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing on medium for about 15-20 seconds after each addition.
Scrape down the bowl and add the mashed bananas and vanilla, then mix on medium until well combined.
Step 4
Alternately add in the flour mixture and sour cream to the butter/sugar mixture and mix on medium speed as follows: Start with ⅓ of the flour mixture and mix that into the butter/sugar mixture, then add ½ the sour cream and mix, ⅓ of the flour and mix, the last half of the sour cream and mix, then the very last ⅓ of the flour and mix. IMPORTANT: Be sure to only mix on medium speed and only mix until the ingredients are just combined.
Add chopped nuts if desired and mix those in by hand.
Step 5
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake at 325 degrees F for approximately 55 – 65 minutes. Ovens vary. The cake is fully baked when a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs on it or clean, but no raw batter should appear.
Set the baked cake on a wire rack, still inside of the pan, to cool for 15 minutes, then turn the cake out of the pan and onto the rack and let cool completely.
Step 6
To prepare the glaze, in a large mixing bowl, add the room temperature butter and cream cheese and mix with an electric mixer on medium-high until smooth. Add the vanilla extract, confectioner’s sugar and 2 tablespoons of milk and mix well on medium-high speed. Check the consistency and if it needs adjusting, just add in a bit more milk or a bit more confectioner’s sugar.
Add the glaze to the cooled cake. You can use a piping bag, a squirt bottle or just spoon onto the top of the cooled cake.
FAQs
Not quite. This is richer and more cake-like, with a buttery pound cake texture. Think of it as a fancy banana bread!
Of course. The nuts are completely optional and won’t affect the texture or structure of the cake. I did not add nuts to mine as I’m allergic and it was still great!
Sour cream is best in this recipe as it helps make a very moist cake and gives a little flavor. If you don’t have access to it, you can use plain yogurt, but use the full-fat yogurt instead of the low fat or fat free type.
Possibly. I have not tested out this recipe in a different type of pan, but you should be able to bake this cake using two loaf pans. You’ll need to adjust the baking time accordingly though and that might mean start checking it at about 30 minutes or so. Watch it closely after that.
The cream cheese glaze is optional. You do not have to add it. This cake is still delicious without a glaze. You could just sprinkle on a bit of confectioner’s sugar instead of adding a glaze. You could also warm up some premade caramel sauce and pour it over the top of the cake. You could make a simple confectioner’s sugar glaze and add to the top of the cake as well. Here is a link for a simple glaze you can use that does not contain cream cheese: Cake Glaze 3 Ways
Feel free to add any type of nuts that you like to the batter or add mini chocolate chips!
Yes. To freeze, just make sure the cake is fully cooled down and forego adding the glaze until you’re ready to serve it. Wrap the cooled cake in plastic wrap, then foil and freeze up to 2-3 months. Thaw at room temperature, then add the glaze if desired and serve.
This cake is finished baking when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs on it or clean, but no raw batter.
This cake should be stored, covered, in the fridge, for up to 5 days.
This cake is a butter cake and will firm up in the fridge. I find it best served at room temperature, since the cake has a chance to warm up a bit and is softer, however it can be eaten cold, at room temperature, or warm.
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Tried This?
If you give this banana pound cake a try, I’d love to know what you think!
Teresa Cook
This is the best banana cake I’ve ever made. The recipe was easy to follow. And you’re right. It taste even better the next day. But the glaze didn’t turn out right. It was super thick. So I added more milk. Not sure what happened there. I could have cut the glaze recipe in half, and had plenty. But the cake itself is perfect.
Kara
Hi Teresa, so glad you loved the cake! Thank you for the wonderful review. That’s a mystery about the glaze. I’m not sure what could have happened. I use that glaze on a number of my cakes here and it usually works for me, but maybe it just needed a bit more milk? I’m just not sure. It does make quite a bit of glaze, that’s true – I am a glaze and buttercream fan, so I do tend to make a lot. LOL. Thank you again for your wonderful comment and review!