Moist Banana Cake (Print Version)
Soft, moist banana cake with warm cinnamon notes and a tender crumb, ready in one hour.
# What You'll Need:
→ Wet Ingredients
01 - 3 ripe bananas, mashed (approximately 1 cup)
02 - ½ cup vegetable oil (or melted butter)
03 - ½ cup granulated sugar
04 - 2 large eggs
05 - 1 tsp vanilla extract
→ Dry Ingredients
06 - 1½ cups all-purpose flour
07 - 1 tsp baking soda
08 - ½ tsp baking powder
09 - ¼ tsp salt
10 - ½ tsp ground cinnamon (optional)
→ Optional Add-ins
11 - ½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans
12 - ½ cup chocolate chips
# How to Make It:
01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9-inch round or square cake pan.
02 - In a large bowl, beat the mashed bananas, oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract until smooth and well blended.
03 - In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon if using.
04 - Gradually fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture until just combined. Be careful not to overmix.
05 - Gently stir in chopped nuts or chocolate chips if desired.
06 - Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the surface with a spatula.
07 - Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
08 - Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before serving.
# Expert Advice:
01 -
- The banana flavor is deep and genuine, nothing like artificial banana extracts, and it makes your whole kitchen smell incredible while baking.
- It uses one bowl for the wet ingredients and barely takes ten minutes of active effort before the oven does all the real work.
02 -
- Undermixing the batter is always better than overmixing because once the flour is overworked the cake becomes tough and never recovers, so stop folding the moment the last dry streak disappears.
- Opening the oven door before the 30 minute mark can cause the cake to sink in the center, so resist the urge to peek and let the heat do its job undisturbed.
03 -
- If your bananas are not ripe enough, put them in a 150 degree Celsius oven on a baking sheet for 15 minutes until the skins blacken completely, and they will soften and sweeten as if they had been sitting on the counter for a week.
- Line the bottom of your pan with parchment paper before greasing it, because this guarantees the cake releases without sticking and you never lose the bottom to the pan.