This Banana Poppy Seed Cake with Vanilla Bean Frosting is a moist one bowl banana snack cake that pleases everybody, from the pretty crunch of the poppy seeds to the creamy vanilla buttercream, it’s a joy to make, and eat!
That handful of everyday ingredients pulls together to make a really special cake…I’m not sure if it’s the extra ripe bananas, the poppy seeds, the sour cream in the batter, or that frosting with a virtual galaxy of vanilla bean specs. But in the end, does it really matter? This cake is perfect, that’s all we need to care about, right?
Vanilla beans are expensive, but you can also use vanilla bean paste, which is one of my favorite new discoveries. It gives you that same flavor and beautiful specs at a much lower cost. The heavy vanilla presence in this frosting really makes a difference, and extract just doesn’t cut it.
Of course you could double the recipe and made a grand layer cake, but I like it this way, it’s more approachable, more snackable. And I could never eat a layer cake for breakfast 😉
I know this is going to become your favorite…
‘Nuf said.
In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve got more great banana cakes on the blog~
-
BANANA CAKE WITH SPICED VANILLA BUTTERCREAM
-
BANANA CAKE WITH NUTELLA BUTTERCREAM
-
BANANA WALNUT CAKE WITH MOCHA BUTTERCREAM
-
BANANA WALNUT CAKE WITH CARAMEL FROSTING
Banana Poppy Seed Cake with Vanilla Bean Frosting
Ingredients
the cake
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 large egg
- 2 ripe bananas, mashed
- 1/2 cup poppy seeds
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
the vanilla bean frosting
- 3 to 4 ounces of cream cheese, at room temperature (about half the 8 oz package)
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
- the seeds from 1 vanilla bean
- 2 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted
- milk or cream for thinning the icing
- a squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Set oven to 350F
- Cream the butter, sugar and sour cream together. Beat in the egg, bananas and vanilla. (Make sure the bananas are completely mashed smooth first)
- Sift the flour, salt and baking soda into the wet mixture. Mix together just until thoroughly combined. Fold in the poppy seeds.
- Spread the batter into a greased 8x8 square baking pan. I lined mine parchment paper (or foil) so I could remove it easily for a neater presentation and cutting.
- Bake for about 25 minutes until a toothpick just comes out clean.
- Cool before frosting.
- To make the frosting--- mix everything together until you have a thick, creamy, spreadable consistency. Taste to adjust your lemon juice.
- Heap onto the completely cooled banana cake and swirl it around thickly.
Don’t forget to pin this Banana Poppy Seed Cake with Vanilla Buttercream
Poppy seed cake is one of my favourites – I usually make it with a lemon icing for bite (Maggie Beer has a great recipe). Must try with the banana and cream cheese – sounds great.
Aw yeah…this looks amazing. I think I’ve told you before that I’m a sucker for anything studded with poppyseeds – just gorgeous.
It looks beautiful!!!! I love banana cakes or breads and this recipe sounds delicious….I always have ripe bananas and always looking for different ways to use them. I am printing this one!Happy New Year!
i love unassuming cakes! obviously i trumpet the layer cake quite a bit, but truth be told, simple cakes like this are my most favorite. and i’m changing my status on facebook to “in a relationship” with your vanilla bean frosting. ooohhhhhh…
There’s something about anything with vanilla bean seeds in it that I seriously adore. I never think to put poppy seeds with anything other than lemon desserts, but this totally works! I want some!!!
I have wanted to make that butteryum banana cake forever! It stalks me. Everywhere I go, I see it. And your version with poppyseeds would be a huge hit with my parents, they’re poppy seed lovers! I personally want that frosting 🙂
If you could guess what the cake would be like without the poppy seeds, is it everything the butteryum post and comments promise it to be? Like the most amazing banana cake ever? I love really dense cakes, more like cakes-as-breads and super moist. Just curious your thoughts on it!
That’s so funny, I’ve been haunted by it forever too…why do you think that is? It’s such an unassuming little cake!
The cake was good for a couple of reasons, one, like I said, there is a lot of banana in it, more than in most breads and cakes, which I liked. Also, it’s super easy to whip up, which is nice. It is dense, and moist, but from the banana, not from butter or oil. I think the amazing part comes from the combo of the cake and the frosting, not the cake itself, if that makes any sense.
So nice to know my humble little cake haunts people haunts and stalks people ;). It’s the craziest thing ever – my photo wasn’t even that great but people have gone completely gaga over that cake (it’s even on Foodgawker’s favorite – most gawked page). Love your addition of poppy seeds – I must give that a try. Take care!!
I can’t get the vision of that creamy icing out of my head! So pretty.
I did a few extra dips into it with the spoon…just for research purposes…
Oh my goodness it looks sensational – LOVE that creamy looking cream cheese frosting.
Mary x
I was on the fence about whether to make a cream cheese frosting, or just make a vanilla buttercream. I’m glad I went with the cream cheese because it gives a little bit of zip to the cake.
once again, why won’t you be my neighbor?! This sounds perfect right now!
We need to do a blogging retreat!
I love poppy seeds and there are always bananas around that are ready! Great idea, thanks.
It seems like I’m throwing poppy seeds into everything these days, they are so pretty and I keep thinking, why not??