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This is my ultimate banana layer cake! Two layers of fluffy moist banana cake, a caramelized banana crémeux filling, and a silky honey buttercream frosting. Contrasting creamy and fruity layers for all of us banana lovers. Perfect for a spring dessert or maybe even a wedding cake.

Slice of two layer banana cake being held on a pie server.

Banana Cake… NOT banana bread!
Key Ingredients & Test Notes
How to Make Banana Layer Cake
Jenn’s Tips
Moist Banana Layer Cake with Honey Buttercream Recipe

Banana Cake… NOT banana bread!

While I do love a good banana bread that’s deliciously dense, moist and full of brown sugar, I wanted to make a cake with a lighter profile. This recipe is definitely still moist, but the layers are more of a fluffy cake texture. I found that blending the bananas in a food processor made a smoother crumb without the extra banana chunks.

Using the reverse creaming method also played a huge roll in these tender cake layers that bake level. I love this method of mixing the fat into the dry ingredients instead of creaming butter and sugar first. No need for trimming domed tops and no waste.

For a bit of extra banana enjoyment, there’s a layer of caramelized banana crémeux that screams banana pudding. And to top it all off, I swapped the classic cream cheese frosting for a lighter honey Swiss meringue buttercream. Three different textures and flavors each complementing one another.

Key Ingredients & Test Notes

Cake or Pastry Flour: Lower protein flours, around 8-9%, create a light tender cake crumb compared to higher protein all purpose flour. Choose either cake or pastry flour and make sure to weigh with a scale to prevent adding too much!
Ripe Bananas: Just like banana bread, if you want banana flavor, you’ll need ripe or slightly overripe bananas.
- Test Note: Weighing the sliced banana pieces is also important. My original test had 40 grams extra banana and I adjusted down slightly to keep the cake fluffy.
Granulated Sugar: No brown sugar in this recipe! This cake is all about the banana. Granulated sugar lets the flavor come through minus the notes of molasses from brown sugars.
- Test Note: Since bananas add sugar to the batter, I’ve reduced the overall amount of sugar added compared to my other cake recipes.
Softened Butter and Oil: To give the cake the best flavor, I’m using salted European style butter for the majority of the fat. To help retain moisture, I’ve added a touch of sunflower oil.
Crème Fraiche: A bit more fatty than sour cream, crème fraiche adds moisture and tenderness to the final cake crumb.
- Test Note: It can be swapped in even amounts for either sour cream or greek yogurt.
Eggs: Whole eggs are used in the cake batter, egg yolks in the creamy banana filling and egg whites for the buttercream.

Frosted banana layer cake, decorated with edible flowers on a wood cutting board.

How to Make Banana Layer Cake

Sliced bananas in a mini food processor.

Weigh and place sliced ripe bananas into a food processor.

Blend bananas into a smoothish liquid puree.

Eggs and banana batter in a mini food processor.

Add in the crème fraiche, vanilla and eggs.

Liquid banana cake batter in a food processor.

Process again until you have a smooth mixture, similar to a banana smoothie.

Flour and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer.

Rub the lemon zest into the sugar to release its oils. Combine the lemon sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix to distribute.

Reverse creaming butter into sugar and flour inside a stand mixer bowl.

On medium low speed, add in the softened butter and oil. Mix until it looks like wet sand.

Banana cake batter being mixed in a stand mixer with paddle attachment.

Continue on medium-low speed and slowly pour in the banana mixture. Mix to form a thick cake batter.

Overhead of two cake pans filled with batter.

Divide the batter between two prepared 8-inch round cake pans. Level with an offset spatula if needed.

Overhead of wto pakes cakes in their pans on a cooling rack.

Bake the cakes until the tops spring back and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. They may have a tiny dome, but should bake pretty flat and will cool even flatter.

Single layer of banana cake on turntable, topped with frosting and banana cream filling.

Place one cake layer upside down on a serving plate. Pipe an outer ring of honey buttercream around the top. Fill the center with piped banana crémeux. Smooth with an offset spatula.

Partially frosted two layer cake with honey buttercream on a turntable.

Place the second layer upside down on top of the crémeux filling. Pipe and smooth the outside of the cake with the honey buttercream.

Frosted two layer banana cake with rippled frosting and edible flowers.

Cover and smooth the top of the cake with buttercream. Pipe additional frosting decoration with your preferred piping tip. For a little color add a few edible flowers.

Jenn’s Tips

Read the Recipe First: Read through the steps of the cake, filling, and frosting before starting. Each part is beginner friendly, you’ll just need to make them all separately.
Make Ahead: I like to spread a layer cake project into two days. Or at least make everything that I can the day before assembly. Here’s my schedule for a low stress banana cake prep.
- Day 1:
  - Prep banana crémeux, cover and let it sit in the fridge overnight.
  - Bake layer cakes, cool, wrap in plastic wrap and either leave on the counter overnight or place in the fridge.
- Day 2:
  - Make honey buttercream and transfer to piping bags. You’ll need two batches if you’d like to add the extra frosting decoration.
  - Whip the crémeux until smooth and pipeable.
  - Assemble cake!
Weigh Your Ingredients: Use a kitchen scale for exact measurements of each ingredient. Yes, even the mashed bananas.
Piping Tip: For the wide, striped frosting topping, I’m using the Wilton 789 tip. Pipe with the teeth on the top.
Serving: Since the crémeux filling is stabilized with gelatin it will hold up at room temperature. If you decide to refrigerate the cake, let it warm to room temp before serving. That way the frosting and filling will have a nice soft texture.