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    Home » Recipes » Classic Cake Recipes

    Banana Cake with Lemon Icing

    Published: Sep 26, 2018 · Modified: Jan 30, 2024 by Libby Hakim · 8 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    When I spotted this Banana Cake with Lemon Icing recipe in Nana Ling's cookbook, I had a hunch that my go-to banana cake recipe was about to be replaced.

    My feeling came from the state of the Banana Cake recipe page. It's well-worn and quite possibly has some banana cake splatters from 80 years ago!

    Banana Cake cut
    Jump to:
    • An old-fashioned recipe
    • Ingredient notes
    • How to make the Banana Cake
    • The icing on the cake
    • Storage
    • Love this recipe?
    • Banana Cake with Lemon Frosting

    An old-fashioned recipe

    This recipe is quite possibly the perfect banana cake recipe and is now my banana cake recipe of choice.

    The cake is moist and a little more dense than the more "cakey" varieties. It's also less oily than my other recipe.

    The banana cake approaches banana bread territory, but once you add the lemon frosting it's most definitely a cake.

    banana cake recipe handwritten

    Note that I've updated and tweaked this recipe a little, so keep scrolling for the recipe card at the end of this post.

    Ingredient notes

    To make the cake you'll need:

    • caster sugar
    • brown sugar
    • butter
    • egg
    • ripe bananas 
    • plain flour
    • baking powder
    • bicarb soda
    • milk.

    TIP: Make sure you use ripe bananas. You can even freeze them when they've passed their best and thaw them when you're ready to make banana cake.

    To make the lemon icing for banana cake you'll need:

    • cream cheese
    • butter
    • lemon
    • icing sugar.

    How to make the Banana Cake

    Pre-heat oven to 170 degrees celsius (fan-forced). Grease a bar tin (approx 24cm x 14cm x 7cm) and line the bottom of the pan with baking paper.

    Beat the butter and sugar in a stand mixer on medium-high for 5 minutes.

    Add the whisked egg and beat again for a few minutes.

    Add mashed bananas and beat again for one minute.

    Add sifted flour and baking powder gradually. Mix until combined.

    Dissolve bicarb soda in milk and add to mixture. Mix until combined.

    Pour mixture into the bar tin and bake for 35-40 minutes.

    Allow to cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

    The icing on the cake

    Nana Ling's recipe just includes an instruction to add lemon icing.

    So, here I've used my own lemon frosting recipe. 

    It's sweet, but not too sweet, and has quite a burst of lemon.

    To make the lemon icing, cut the cream cheese and butter into small cubes and beat until soft.

    Cut the lemon in half and slice off 3 small rounds from the inside of the halves. Juice the remaining lemon and finely grate some zest from the sides of the lemon halves.

    Add all of the lemon juice and zest to the mixture and beat well.

    Add the icing sugar and continue to beat until soft and fluffy.

    Decorating

    Slice the top of cake to level if necessary.

    Add the lemon frosting and smooth over top. Dab with spatula to create a textured look.

    Slice lemon round almost in half. Twist and place along top of cake to create a swirl effect.

    Storage

    Store the un-iced cake in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

    Once iced, store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

    This cake can be frozen for up to 6 weeks provided it's wrapped well.

    Love this recipe?

    If you love this recipe, you might also like to check out:

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    banana cake with lemon frosting

    Banana Cake with Lemon Frosting

    Libby Hakim
    A lovely old-fashioned banana cake topped with a lemon cream cheese frosting.
    4.82 from 16 votes
    Prevent your screen from going dark
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    Prep Time 30 minutes mins
    Cook Time 40 minutes mins
    0 minutes mins
    Total Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins
    Course Dessert
    Cuisine Australian, British, Western
    Servings 12 servings
    Calories 315 kcal

    Equipment

    • Bar (loaf) tin (24cm x 14cm x 7cm)

    Ingredients
      

    Banana Cake

    • ⅔ cup caster sugar
    • ⅓ cup brown sugar
    • 60 grams butter
    • 1 egg
    • 3 medium ripe bananas
    • 1 ½ cups plain flour
    • 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
    • 1 teaspoon bicarb soda
    • 1 tablespoon milk

    Lemon Frosting

    • 250 grams cream cheese
    • 50 grams butter
    • 1 small lemon
    • ½ cup icing sugar

    Instructions
     

    Banana Cake

    • Pre-heat oven to 170 degrees celsius/ 340 degrees fahrenheit (fan-forced).
    • Grease the tin and line the bottom with baking paper.
    • Beat butter and sugars in a stand mixer on medium-high for 5 minutes.
    • Add whisked egg and beat again for a few minutes.
    • Add mashed bananas and beat again for one minute.
    • Add sifted flour and baking powder gradually. Mix until combined.
    • Dissolve bicarb soda in milk and add to mixture. Mix until combined.
    • Pour mixture into the tin.
    • Bake for 35-40 minutes.
    • Allow to cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely before icing.

    Lemon Frosting

    • Cut cream cheese and butter into small cubes and beat until soft.
    • Cut lemon in half and slice off 3 small rounds from the inside of the halves. Juice the remaining lemon and finely grate some zest from the sides of the lemon halves.
    • Add all of the lemon juice and zest to the mixture and beat well.
    • Add the icing sugar and continue to beat until soft and fluffy.

    Decorating

    • Slice top of cake to level if necessary.
    • Add frosting and smooth over top. Dab with spatula to create a textured look.
    • Slice lemon round almost in half. Twist and place along top of cake to create a swirl effect.

    Notes

    Storing:
    Store the un-iced cake in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Once iced, store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
    Freezing:
    This cake can be frozen for up to 6 weeks provided it's wrapped well.
    Nutrition:
    The nutrition information is an automatically generated estimate and is not guaranteed to be accurate.
    Tips:
    Make sure you use ripe bananas. You can even freeze them when they've passed their best and thaw them when you're ready to make banana cake.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 315kcalCarbohydrates: 43gProtein: 4gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 56mgSodium: 232mgPotassium: 227mgFiber: 1gSugar: 27gVitamin A: 548IUVitamin C: 7mgCalcium: 59mgIron: 1mg
    Tried this recipe?If you love it, let me know!

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    Comments

    1. Denise

      January 14, 2022 at 9:46 am

      What size pan? I have no idea what a bar tin is!!

      Reply
      • Libby Hakim

        January 14, 2022 at 9:55 am

        Hi Denise - it's about 24cm x 14cm x 7cm (also called a loaf tin). I'll update the recipe to include this information 🙂 Thanks and happy cooking!

        Reply
    2. Sharon

      November 11, 2021 at 10:37 pm

      5 stars
      This is an absolute winner! Thanks so much for sharing.

      Reply
      • Libby Hakim

        November 12, 2021 at 9:14 am

        Wonderful! Thanks for leaving a rating and review, Sharon 🙂 Happy cooking!

        Reply
    3. Regan Doyle

      January 26, 2021 at 10:50 am

      4 stars
      Loved the recipe but hated all the insipid ramblings beforehand. Not your fault though as it's the same with all recipe sites and I assume to provide more room for clicks or something.

      Reply
      • Libby

        January 26, 2021 at 9:05 pm

        Glad you loved the recipe, Regan. I won't apologise for my "ramblings" because it's my website and I like writing and rambling. Sometimes recipes have a story. If you're not interested or find them intolerable, just scroll a couple of times or buy a cookbook. Easy! Happy baking.

        Reply
    4. Vanessa

      August 09, 2020 at 3:49 am

      Hi,

      This looks amazing. I’m about to try it for the first time and I’m wondering if this will have good results as cupcakes, instead of cake. In that case, do you have suggestions on temperature and time.

      Thanks,

      Reply
      • Libby

        August 10, 2020 at 11:59 am

        Hi Vanessa. I'm sure it will work really well as cupcakes. Just reduce the cooking time to about 20-25 minutes. Happy cooking!

        Reply
    4.82 from 16 votes (14 ratings without comment)

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    Hi, I'm Libby, a recipe collector and writer. I love everything about home cooking and share modern classics and recipes that have been passed down for generations – I hope you find a few that bring back treasured memories.

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