Banana Layer Cake

A slice of triple layer banana cake on a spatula being pulled out of the cake.

4.50 from 2 votes

This Banana Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting is an irresistible harmony of flavors with banana, peanut butter, and chocolate all in a soft, fluffy, and moist cake. It's luscious, and a flavor combination you didn't know you needed.

Cook Time40

Total Time40

Servings: slices

Calories: 782kcal

Equipment

Hand Whisk
Large Mixing Bowl

Ingredients

For the Banana Cake:

2/3 cup unsalted butter (softened)
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 TBS vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk**
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (2 to 3 ripe bananas)

For the Peanut Butter Frosting:

2 cups creamy peanut butter
3/4 cups unsalted butter (softened)
4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup whole milk
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla

For the Chocolate Ganache:

6 TBS heavy cream
2 TBS granulated sugar
2 TBS unsalted butter (softened)
6 oz semi sweet baking chocolate bar (chopped)
2 TBS corn syrup

Instructions

For the Banana Cake:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
Coat three 8 or 9 inch cake pans with nonstick spray and flour (9 in pans will be thinner, and can be cooked in 2 layers instead of 3 if preferred)
In a large bowl, beat together the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until light and creamy for about 2 minutes.
Add in the eggs and vanilla and mix in.
In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt.
Add 1/3 of the dry ingredient flour mixture into the sugar mixture and mix until combined. Then 1/2 of the buttermilk. Repeat with more flour, more buttermilk, and the last of the flour. Scraping the edges and sides of the bowl as needed.
Stir in the mashed bananas until just fully mixed.
Divide the batter evenly between the pans.
Bake the cakes for 30-40 minutes, rotating pans half way through, until a toothpick comes out of the center of the cake clean.
Allow the cakes to cool for 20 minutes in the pans. Then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the Frosting:

In a large bowl combine the peanut butter and butter until smooth.
Mix in the powdered sugar, milk, salt and vanilla and whip for 2-3 minutes until the frosting is light and smooth.
Add more milk or more powdered sugar to the frosting if needed to get a nice spreadable consistency.

For the Chocolate Ganache:

Add the milk, sugar and butter to a small sauce pan and cook over medium heat. Heat, stirring often, until the sugar is dissolved.
Put the chocolate pieces and corn syrup in a small bowl.
Pour the warm milk mixture over the top of the chocolate. Allow to sit for 2 minutes.
Whisk the mixture until smooth.
Let the ganache rest for about 15 minutes to thicken. (You can frost the cake while it rests)

For Assembling the Cake:

Place one layer of cake on a stand, smooth the top of the cake out with a knife as needed to make it flat.
Cover the top with peanut butter frosting. Add another layer, and repeat with remaining layers of cake.
Cover the sides of the cake completely with the remaining frosting.
Drizzle the chocolate ganache evenly over the top of the cake, letting it drip down the sides as pictured.

Notes

**You can make your own buttermilk with 1 1/2 cups of milk and 3 TBS lemon juice combined in a bowl and set aside for a few minutes till milk curdles

Nutrition