This easy vegan banana cake is moist, light and fluffy. It comes together in one bowl and uses only common pantry ingredients!
Why you'll love this banana cake
TASTE/TEXTURE: Fluffier and softer than vegan banana bread and banana muffins but denser than a regular vanilla cake. And you'll need 3 ripe bananas for the best banana flavor!
DIFFICULTY: The cake batter comes together in one bowl and it bakes in less time than banana bread. You won't need any special egg replacers such as flax eggs!
Ingredients you'll need
Notes about the ingredients
Overripe bananas. Similar to banana bread and muffins, the riper the bananas, the more flavor and moisture your cake will have! Frozen ripe bananas work wonderfully but just thaw them before using (you don't need to drain them).
Neutral oil for a moister banana cake. Melted coconut oil will work but I recommend serving your banana cake at room temperature (or warmed up), as coconut oil solidifies when cold and can make your cake feel dry.
Granulated and brown sugar. Granulated sugar makes the cake light and fluffy whereas brown sugar lends flavor. For a refined sugar-free cake, you can use all coconut sugar.
Non-dairy milk. I used soy milk but any variety will work. If you're in a pinch, even water will work!
Baking powder and soda. Double baking agents help ensure the vegan banana cake is light and fluffy!
A complete list of ingredients, quantities and instructions are in the gray recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Tips for preparing the batter
To make the banana cake batter, you can use a large bowl, hand mixer or stand mixer!
First, mash the bananas until they form a thick lumpy paste. A fork or potato masher will work but I like using an electric mixer.
Then add all the wet ingredients including the sugar. Mixing the sugar with the wet ingredients encourages it to dissolve more quickly.
Finally, add all the dry ingredients and mix until combined. If your all-purpose flour has lumps, make sure you sift it first.
It's okay for your final batter to have some lumps are fine, as long as they aren't lumps of dry flour.
Baking the banana cake
While baking, the top of the cake will go from light brown to dark brown. At the 20 or 25 minute mark, if the cake is browning too quickly, carefully cover the baking pan with aluminum foil or a baking sheet.
Decoration suggestions
I topped my cake with a soft vegan cream cheese frosting. Alternatively, you can top your cake with:
- Lemon buttercream, such as from my lemon cake recipe. The tartness from the lemon in the buttercream is similar to the flavor of cream cheese.
- Chocolate ganache
- Chocolate buttercream
- Whipped cream or dairy-free yogurt
Optional add-ins
This vegan banana cake is a seriously delicious dessert by itself. However, you can also add:
- Chopped nuts, such as walnuts or pecans
- Mini chocolate chips
- Dollops of peanut butter throughout the batter
- Shredded coconut
- Other fruit such as raspberries or blueberries
- Other spices such as ground nutmeg and cardamom
Expert Tips
Yes, the cake will also bake well in:
- 2 x 8-inch cake pans. Bake for around 35-40 minutes. This will make a 2 layer cake similar to my vegan carrot cake.
- 10-cup bundt pan. Bake for around 50-60 minutes.
I have other vegan banana recipes on my website including banana muffins, banana bread, and banana chocolate bread.
The easiest way is to frost and serve the sheet cake while it's still in the cake pan (make sure it's cool first). To store the cake, cover the pan with plastic wrap or transfer the cake to an airtight container and keep it in the fridge.
If the cake is unfrosted, you can store it at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the fridge.
More vegan cake recipes
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Vegan Banana Cake
Ingredients
Wet ingredients
- 3 x (~360g total) very ripe medium bananas, (about 1 ⅔ cups of mashed banana, note 1)
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (95g) packed brown sugar
- 1 cup (250g) dairy-free milk
- ½ cup (125g) neutral flavored oil
- 1 tablespoon white or apple cider vinegar, or lemon juice, optional (note 2)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Dry ingredients
- 3 cups (375g) all-purpose plain flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (120g) chopped walnuts, chopped pecans or mini chocolate chips, plus extra for decorating (optional)
Vegan cream cheese frosting (optional, see note 3 for alternatives)
- ½ cup (115g) vegan block butter, room temperature
- 8 z (240g) vegan cream cheese, room temperature
- 3-4 cups (300-400g) powdered sugar / icing sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Grease or line a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with parchment paper
To make the vegan banana cake:
- Add the bananas to a large mixing bowl and mash until it forms a thick lumpy paste. Add the sugar and the rest of the wet ingredients and mix until thoroughly combined.
- Add all of the dry ingredients (and optional add-ins) and whisk until just combined. Some lumps are fine, as long as there aren't lumps of flour.
- Pour the batter into your baking tray and smooth the top with a spoon, if needed.
- Bake the banana cake for 35-40 minutes or until you can insert a toothpick in the middle and it comes out clean. This cake is packed with bananas so a few moist crumbs on your toothpick are fine.
- Place the cake pan on a wire rack and let the cake cool completely.
Make the cream cheese frosting:
- Add the vegan butter to a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Beat until light and fluffy. Add the vegan cream cheese and beat until there are no lumps.
- Add the sugar and vanilla extract and beat until just combined. If your frosting is too runny, add more powdered sugar.
Decorating the banana cake:
- When the cake is completely cool, spread the frosting on the cake. If desired, decorate with extra nuts. Cut into square slices as desired.
- Store any leftover slices in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Notes
- For the best results, I recommend using a kitchen scale to weigh your ingredients, especially the bananas and flour.
- Vinegar or lemon juice reacts with dairy-free milk to make vegan buttermilk and makes a cake more tender. You don't need to mix the vinegar and milk separately.
- If you don't have vegan cream cheese, I recommend making lemon buttercream frosting from my vegan lemon cake recipe. Alternatively, you can serve the cake with a side of yoghurt, ice cream or by itself.
Nutrition
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Hello! I'm making this now, but the measurement for the milk seems to be off. 1/2 cup does not equal 250g. Which is correct? Thank you!
Hi Grace, I'm so sorry, it's meant to be 1 cup! I'll update the recipe now :). I hope your cake still went well!