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
Made this and my husband said it was a new favourite!!!! Love this cake! Thank you for sharing.
Yay!! 🙂
This looks delicious! Love anything with poppyseeds. can’t wait to try it out!
My almost 7-year-old and I are excited to make this for her birthday cake, as a double layer with chocolate zucchini being the second layer! Would I need to double the recipe to make it into a 9×13″ cake? Has anyone had luck in doing so? What would the bake time be for that? Thanks!
Wow, your 7 year old has a sophisticated palate!! I think you can double this recipe for the larger pan, but I’m not sure how much longer you’d need to bake it, you’ll have to pay close attention to that and check with a toothpick.
Curious- What is the reliance of the “3” before the 4oz of cream cheese? You have “(about half the 8 oz package)” which would be 4 oz. The three would indicate you need a total of12 oz or you are trying to say 3/4?? Thank you. Btw, the banana poppyseed is in the oven as I type. Can’t wait to try!
Hey Melissa, I changed it to clarify, it’s 3 to 4 ounces. Hope you like it!
Best banana cake ever omg? This recipe is a révélation! First time i used vanilla beans and its totaly worth it! Thanks à lot for creating my latest obsession 😉
I’m so happy I could give you a new obsession, Justine :))) Not to be an enabler, or anything, but I have LOTS more great banana cake and bread recipes on the blog…
Hi, this looks wonderful, and just what I’m looking for to send my mother for a more personal touch to her Mothers Day gift! However, this is the first time I’ve lived so far away, so I’ve never sent any food before, and it would be more than I could afford to overnight it. So my questions are; firstly, does it need to be refrigerated? And if not, would it last 2-3 days (in mostly cold temperatures) to make the trip? Any advice would be greatly appreciated, I’m having a bit of trouble with general searches on the matter. Thank you!
The problem is that this is a frosted cake, Adriann, and that’s never the best choice for shipping, unless you’ve got fabulous packaging and plan to ship it super quickly. In this case I really think cookies, or shortbread, would be a much better choice…sorry! I think it’s such a sweet idea!
Mmm this looks super tasty!
hi! this looks delicious and would be perfect for my twins who celebrate their 4th birthday on Easter. I am just wondering if you have ever made cupcakes using this recipe? if so, what adjustments did you make, if any? thanks so much!
I haven’t Amy. I’m sure you could, but it has the texture of a moist dense bread rather than a fluffy cake, if that makes sense. I think it would work, though, as long as you watch the cooking time.
What other fruits could you use in place of bananas? Could you use blueberries or strawberries instead, and if so how many?
Well, the banana is mashed, so I wouldn’t advise replacing it with those other fruits, Monique.
Just had to tell you, this is the best recipe. I use it as my “Go To” for banana bread. The cake is awesome! I just omit the frosting when I bake it in a loaf. Love it! I like that it has barely any butter or sugar. I was out of eggs but had a few whites left from another dish, turned out great. Thanks for the recipe. Super easy. I think I’ve made it 4 times since finding the recipe this month.
I never thought of doing it that way, thanks Bridget!