Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

I have copies of recipes floating all over my apartment, some tucked into cookbooks, others stuffed into kitchen drawers. But I stumbled across a photocopy of this recipe below and knew I had to share it with you all as it is an unchallenged contestant for the moistest cake I have ever baked. I’m unsure of where this recipe originated from, but I do know it’s been a crowd favorite at many gatherings with family and friends. The technique of freezing the cake post-baking is what ensures the extreme moistness, and it’s a technique I plan on testing on all of my cakes in the future.

Shopping List

For the cake:

• 1½ cups mashed ripe bananas
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 3 cups flour
• 1½ teaspoons baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup butter
• 2 cups plus 2 Tablespoons sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1½ cups buttermilk

For the frosting:

• 1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese
• ½ cup butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3½ cups powdered sugar
• Chopped walnuts

Recipe

Makes one 9×13-inch cake.

For the cake:

Preheat the oven to 275º.

In a small bowl, combine the mashed bananas with the lemon juice and set aside.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Cream together the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in the eggs one at a time.

Add the vanilla then beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk.

Fold in the mashed banana mixture and pour into a 9×13-inch greased pan.

Bake the cake for one hour, or until a toothpick when inserted comes out clean.

Remove the cake from the oven when done cooking and immediately transfer to the freezer for 45 minutes to cool (this will make the cake extra moist).

Remove the cake from the freezer, frost with cream cheese frosting (recipe below) and top with chopped walnuts.

For the cream cheese frosting:

Beat together the cream cheese and softened butter until well incorporated.

Beat in vanilla then slowly beat in the powdered sugar until the icing is smooth in texture.

Spread on prepared cake and serve.