Banana Layer Cake is full of banana flavor layered with fresh blueberries between the cake layers. The cake is moist with a slightly dense crumb and oh so delicious. It is then frosted with a delicious and creamy Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting full of fresh lemon juice and citrus zest. The finishing touch is more fresh blueberries to decorate the top and edges of the cake!
This banana layer cake is a perfect birthday cake or just any day dessert. I like to serve it in the spring, which is why I happened to make it for my mom's birthday, which is also in the spring! The citrus flavor in the frosting compliments the banana cake, making it a great pairing.
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Banana Cake for Mom's Birthday
I made this particular Banana Layer Cake for my Mom's birthday in 2010! I just love the photo below of her all smiles and holding her birthday cake! It is a well-known fact with my family that I love blueberry and lemon combination. After all, my favorite cookie of all time is my soft and tender recipe for Blueberry Cookies with Lemon Glaze!
This Banana Layer Cake and citrus-flavored icing go well with just about any fruit. I have made it with blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries. I'm pretty sure strawberries would go well also! The original recipe is a Cooking Light recipe that I have slightly adapted to make my own. It is not only delicious but can really be a showstopper for a birthday dessert and is one of my favorite banana cake recipes!
Common questions on how to frost a layer cake
What is a crumb layer?
A crumb layer is a thin layer of icing spread onto your cake layer. Once this layer has been added to your banana cake, it is refrigerated to firm the frosting up. Then, when you add the last frosting layer, you will not have crumbs in your final coat.
Do I have to add a crumb layer to my banana cake?
If you don't care that your cake has crumbs in the icing, then no. The crumb layer is basically a visual, to make the cake more pleasing to the eye.
Can I use a regular knife to frost my banana layer cake?
You can, however, if you want a pretty cake, the best type of frosting utensil to use is an angled icing spatula. The angle in the spatula makes it easy to go around the cake and gives it a smoother look.
How to perfectly frost this Banana Layer Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
Add a crumb coat to your first cake layer. Place your first banana cake layer on the cake plate and place a thin layer of frosting using a large angled icing spatula.
Add blueberries to the top of the first cake layer. After icing your first layer, place a layer of blueberries on top.
Place the top layer on top of the fresh blueberries. Take the unfrosted top layer of cake and place it on top of the bottom layer.
Add a crumb coat to the top layer. Using your cake spatula, add a crumb coat to the top layer and sides of your cake. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
Add the last frosting layer. Remove cake from refrigerator, add last layer of frosting and decorate with blueberries as desired.
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If you love banana recipes as much as I do....
If you really love banana recipes, then I have a few more favorites I want to share with you!
To start, I always love banana-flavored oatmeal. Recently I made this Chunky Monkey Noatmeal that was so delicious! It's super delicious with extra sliced bananas on top!
This Banana Cake with Browned Butter Maple Frosting is absolutely out of this world. The moist sheet cake is topped with a frosting that has flecks of browned butter throughout and has a mapley syrup addition that makes it to die for!
This Classic Banana Bread is my go-to recipe for those times when we want a quick bread rather than cake!
And these Banana Cake Cookies are lightly flavored with Cardamom making them a nicely spiced holiday cookie!
*If you made this Banana Layer Cake Recipe, please leave a star rating*
📖 Recipe
Banana Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
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Ingredients
For the Cake:
- Cooking spray
- 1-⅓ cups granulated sugar
- ¼ cup unsalted butter softened
- 3 large eggs
- 1-¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup greek yogurt
- ⅓ cup water
- 1 cup mashed ripe banana about 2 bananas
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Frosting:
- 1 package 8 ounces ⅓-less-fat cream cheese, chilled
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- 2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Dash of salt
- 2-½ cups powdered sugar sifted
- 2 cups fresh blueberries
Instructions
- To prepare the cake
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Coat 2 (8-inch) round cake pans with cooking spray; line bottoms with parchment paper then spray with a light coat of cooking spray.
- Place granulated sugar and ¼ cup butter in a large bowl. Using hand mixer, beat at medium speed until well blended.
- Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.Lightly spoon 1-¾ cups flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife.
- Combine flour, baking powder, and ½ teaspoon salt, stirring well with a whisk.
- Combine greek yogurt, water, banana, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add the flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternately to the sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture (mix after each addition just until blended).
- Pour batter into prepared pans.
- Bake cake at 350° for 25 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
- Cool in pans 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pans.
- Peel off parchment paper. Cool layers completely on wire rack.
To prepare frosting:
- Combine cream cheese, 2 tablespoons butter, lemon rind, ½ teaspoon vanilla, and dash of salt in a large bowl.
- Beat with a mixer at high speed until fluffy.
- Gradually add powdered sugar; beat at low speed just until blended.Place 1 cake layer on a plate, and spread with ⅓ cup frosting.
- Arrange blueberries in a single layer over frosting, and top with remaining cake layer. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake.
- Decorate top of cake with more blueberries if desired. Store cake loosely covered in refrigerator.
Eileen
Yum, I bet your mom was very happy to have this for her birthday. Looks delicious with either blueberries or blackberries.