Banana cake with spiced mascarpone frosting is the most luxurious outcome imaginable for those bananas on your counter. If you love banana cake with cream cheese frosting, you’ll love this upgrade!
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This super moist banana cake with mascarpone frosting is a great everyday family dessert, or for any time you need to bring something to a party or a gathering, because just about everybody loves banana cake. And this one has a few genius tweaks that make it extra special.
- A hint of cardamom in the cake
- It gives the familiar banana cake a soft, mysterious note.
- Mascarpone and a little spice in the frosting
- Using mascarpone instead of cream cheese gives the frosting a luxe texture and a subtle tang.
- Cinnamon and clove give the vanilla frosting a lovely fall vibe. I think cloves have been given a bum rap: they get stuck in a ham once a year and that’s the end of it. But seriously their fragrance is so clear and vivid. Just a dash gives this frosting its unique spiced flavor.
Don’t worry about your bananas
This banana cake requires two ripe bananas, or a generous cup mashed. You do not need to use super ripe black bananas, in fact personally I like to use ripe but firm yellow bananas. I like the fresher flavor and I feel like firmer bananas yield a nicer texture.
I skip the nuts
I almost always add nuts to my banana breads and cakes, but just for a change I left them out. I didn’t miss them, in fact I love the smooth texture of this cake, it slices like butter! In fact you can shave off super thin slices if you like, which is perfect for stealing snacks.
You can certainly add walnuts or pecans if you like ~ fold in about a cup, toasted and chopped.
Mascarpone beats cream cheese for this frosting
My spiced mascarpone frosting is an upgrade from regular cream cheese frosting
- Mascarpone is a rich, creamy Italian cheese made from cream. It’s softer, silkier, and less tangy than cream cheese.
- Mascarpone is easier to blend than cream cheese, so you can use it straight from the fridge.
- The frosting has a beautiful soft whipped texture right after it’s made, but chilling firms up the frosting into a sort of vanilla spice mascarpone fudge situation.
Banana mascarpone cake storage
Because of the fresh mascarpone in the frosting, this cake should be refrigerated after about two hours at room temperature. And while I usually prefer serving my cakes at room temp, the fridge does absolute wonders here ~ it sets the frosting into a firm, silky, almost fudge-like texture, and keeps the banana cake unbelievably dense and moist.
Tips to keep in mind
🍌 This banana cake with mascarpone frosting is a tall cake. It needs to bake in a 9″ springform pan. A regular cake pan will be too small.
🍌 The baking temperature is 325F because the cake needs to bake low and slow to get fully baked in the center. If it seems to be browning too fast, lay a loose layer of foil over the top toward the end of baking. Tip: be careful not to let the foil touch the top of the cake or it can mar the surface. If your oven runs hot this may not bake properly, check with an oven thermometer.
🍌 Know when it’s done: make sure to check the center of this moist banana cake ~ the center should not be jiggly, and it should spring back when touched lightly. The toothpick test is useful.
🍌 I have a Wolf range, but I’ve taken to baking in my countertop oven. It preheats quickly and seems to bake more evenly.
🍌 Even in the best recipes baking times can only be a suggestion because there are so many variables.
🍌 You will want to let this super moist banana cake cool completely before frosting. Yes, it’s frustrating to wait, but the frosting will melt if you try to frost a warm cake.
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Banana Cake with Spiced Mascarpone Frosting
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Ingredients
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 cups sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
- 1 tsp cardamom
- 2 ripe bananas, mashed, about 1 cup
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
spiced frosting
- 6 Tbsp butter, at room temperature
- 6 oz mascarpone cheese (you can substitute room temperature cream cheese)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- 1/8 tsp cinnamon
- 3 cups confectioner's sugar, or more as needed for correct texture.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F. Grease a 9 inch round springform pan (the cake is tall, you will need high sides.)
- Cream the butter and sugar in a stand mixer, or by hand. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Beat in the vanilla and cardamom.
- Mash the bananas until smooth, and add the lemon juice. Blend in to the butter and sugar mixture, and don’t worry if it looks curdled.
- Whisk the flour with the salt and baking soda, and add to the bowl alternately with the buttermilk, blending until everything is just mixed.
- Turn the batter into the buttered pan, and smooth out the top. Bake for about 60-70 minutes, or until the cake is risen, not wobbly in the center, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out without wet batter clinging to it. My cake took 70 minutes. Note: place a loose sheet of foil over the top of the cake toward the end of baking if it seems to be browning too quickly.
- Let the cake cool for 10 minutes before releasing the sides of the pan, then let it cool completely on a rack before frosting.
- To make the frosting, blend the butter and mascarpone cheese until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla and cloves. Blend in the sugar, a cup at a time,until you get a smooth, thick frosting.
- The frosted cake can sit at room temperature for up to 2 hours, but then should be stored in the refrigerator.
Notes
Nutrition
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Off to the kitchen I go to give this one a try. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Loved the cake. Made it three times since last year. The third time I was so bummed. The cake was dry. I might have over baked ( my oven was fixed recently)or maybe not enough banana?? (2 1/2 small bananas)? Idk.
Baking is such a tricky business, Ama, it could have been any number of small changes. Over baking will definitely dry a cake out, so that could be it.
I have been making almost this exact cake for about 15 years, but your version with the spices put it over the top! Every single time I’ve made this one I am asked for the recipe. Also, my family constantly demands it – my little granddaughter is named Annika so now we call this Banannika cake. Usually I make it in 2 square pans (bake for about 35-40 mins) and freeze one for later – I just make half the icing each time. Oh and the icing – so delicious! My kids eat it off the top of the cake like fudge.
This was AMAZING! I only had a mini pop pan thingy bobber so I cut the ingredients in half. It was still perfect! Thank you so much.
Made this on a Wednesday evening for company Friday. Had to make another one on Thursday evening because the first one was gone! I don’t care for cream cheese frosting so we used cool whip. Everyone loved it.
Thanks for the feedback Susan <3
Can I skip putting inn the freezer.
Yes, you can.
Followed directions to the letter, baked 70 minutes, I had same results as another , caved in the middle. Oven seems fine and I baked a lot, most times my baked goods cook faster than recommended time. I have put cake back in oven for another 15 minutes and hope it is baked by then
Also just Ed happen with my cake, I just put it back in the oven, and hoping I can salvage a piece, I had cooked it 70 mins, tooth pick was clean and it deflated , very disappointed
It sounds like your oven might not be cooking at the correct temperature, Jane, that happens all the time. I keep a hanging oven thermometer in mine so I can always check.
I have to adjust all my cakes to account for my high altitude. I assume no one else is at 5,000 feet so I automatically adjust recipes to account for this adjustment. Else my cakes sink in the middle. Not sure if this helps.
SO HAPPY that I made this cake! This will now be a staple banana cake, the fam loved it! I do have to say I love cardamom and was almost compelled to add more, happy that I didn’t. 1 tsp is the perfect amount of that citrusy and fragrant magic! She is spot on with the baking, don’t pull it before it is fully baked. You want a nice spring back because of all the moisture in there. (toothpick in very center of the cake should come out clean) Also the freezer trick is my new fave! I’m an avid baker and have never seen that tip before. Thanks for the awesome recipe!
Help! I just made the Banana cake with spiced vanilla frosting. Looked beautiful in the oven after 70 minutes – did not wiggle and toothpick came out clean for all 2”. Put it in the freezer, pulled it out after 30 to find the top collapsed wth about 3 “ of space and a gooey cake below. Going to try to put it back in the oven but I’m pretty sure it’s a goner. Any idea where I went wrong?
I’m guessing that your oven is off on temperature Deb, that’s the most common reason a cake wouldn’t cook in the middle after a long time like that. If you don’t have one I really suggest getting one of those small inexpensive oven thermometers that will tell you exactly what temperature you’re cooking at.
Sue, this cake is amazing BECAUSE I didn’t give up on it. I put it back in the oven for about another 20 minutes. Most of the cake rose to meet the top. It may have looked a bit odd and it had been through some extreme circumstances but in the end it was STILL DELICIOUS!
I made this for my family!! They loved it!!!!!! I followed the recipe exactly and it fit in a 9 by 13 cake pan btw. Thank you for this wonderful gem of a cake!!