This easy, homemade strawberry banana cake is made with strawberries, fresh bananas, and creates a delicious cake akin to banana bread. Add a simple strawberry frosting (or super silky strawberry swiss meringue buttercream) to the top of the cake and garnish with more fresh strawberries or strawberry slices for the perfect finish and extra flavor!
Why You'll Love This Recipe
This may just be the best strawberry banana cake recipe. It's nostalgic just like classic banana bread, but is leveled up with the strawberries and the luscious strawberry frosting!
Flavor - this recipe takes a moist banana cake and adds juicy strawberries. It creates just the right amount of sweetness, then gets topped with a punchy strawberry frosting made with freeze-dried strawberries.
This is also such an incredibly flavorful cake, with pieces of strawberry and banana strewn throughout.
Simple - This easy strawberry banana cake recipe requires super low energy or skill level, with wonderful results! We also love that it's a "single layer" cake made in a loaf pan (like quick breads) for easy making (and easy transport).
Year-Round Dessert - because you can always find bananas and strawberries, this is a great cake option to make all year! Though it would be great for an easter celebration because of the colors, it's a great option to make for any special occasion.
Try some more strawberry cake desserts:
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Ingredients
Basic pantry staples are used for this beautiful cake recipe, but here are some I want to specifically mention.
- Fruit. You'll need both strawberries and bananas for this recipe. These can actually be fresh fruit or frozen, just be sure you're using overripe bananas. The strawberries don't matter as much, as they get cooked down with some sugar prior to adding to the batter.
- Dairy. The sour cream and eggs for the batter should be at room temperature. The butter for the strawberry frosting should also be at room temperature.
- Freeze-dried strawberries. These will get ground into a powder and be used in the frosting. Freeze-dried strawberries are best for this as it produces the most strawberry flavor (and color) without adding any liquid. Using fresh strawberries would make the icing too thin and would not produce the same flavor.
See recipe card for additional ingredients and quantities for the easy banana strawberry cake.
Substitutions
- Yogurt can be used in place of sour cream in this recipe. Just be sure to use full-fat Greek yogurt.
- This recipe uses all brown sugar in the cake, however, you could also split it 50/50 to go half brown sugar and half granulated sugar.
- While the recipe calls for vegetable oil, any neutral oil can be used in this recipe. Coconut oil could also be used without changing the flavor too much.
Variations
- While this cake is made in a loaf pan, you could also use cake pans (9") or a square pan (8" or 9"). You will only use one pan for either. Start checking for doneness at the 30-minute mark.
- Raspberries could be used in place of strawberries in the cake, and also use freeze-dried raspberries rather than strawberries.
- Use the less-sweet strawberry swiss meringue buttercream to top the cake.
- Turn this into a strawberry cream cheese frosting by following the icing recipe in my strawberry whoopie pies!
How to Make This Recipe
One: Cook down the strawberries with sugar until the liquid releases and turns into a syrup-like consistency. Break them down a bit with a spoon.
Two: Combine the strawberries with the mashed bananas in a small bowl and set aside to cool off a bit while you make the rest of the cake.
Three: Cream together the brown sugar, oil, and eggs, then scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Four: Add the sour cream the wet ingredients - be sure it's room temperature so there are no lumps!
Five: Mix half of the dry ingredients into the fruit and stir, then add it to the cake batter and mix to combine.
Six: Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Pour it into the prepared loaf pan and bake until done. Cool completely.
Pro tip! Remove the cake from the pan after about 15 minutes and allow it to finish cooling on a wire rack. Once cool, remove the parchment paper and turn the loaf over to allow the bottom to release moisture, as well.
How to Make Strawberry Frosting
Seven: Beat together (with the paddle attachment) the butter, icing sugar, vanilla extract, and freeze-dried strawberry powder on medium speed for two minutes.
Eight: Then, add the heavy cream and whip on high speed until stiff peaks form. Add the frosting to the cooled cake, and top with fresh strawberries!
Expert Tips
- Use room temperature ingredients for this recipe so the batter incorporates evenly and also bakes evenly.
- For best results, don't over-mix the batter once the flour mixture has been incorporated.
- Line the loaf pan with parchment paper for easy removal and so none of the cake breaks of as it gets removed for cooling.
- Remove the cake once cool and turn it over so the excess moisture and steam can release.
Recipe FAQs
Very ripe! Full brown spots on the bananas is what we're looking for, as this will provide the most banana flavor.
Yes, definitely. Allow the bananas to thaw completely, then drain out the excess water, mash, and use in the recipe.
Also yes! You can cut these while frozen and add them to the pan with the sugar and cook from frozen.
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Storage
Store the frosted cake at room temperature for one day, then in an airtight container in the fridge for an additional three days.
To freeze the cake, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap (pre-frosted), aluminum foil, then in a sealed container for up to three months. Unwrap the cake completely and thaw at room temperature, then add the strawberry frosting.
Individual pieces can also be wrapped and frozen, if desired.
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📖Recipe
Strawberry Banana Cake
Equipment
- 9x5" loaf pan
- Stand mixer with paddle attachment, or handheld mixer
Ingredients
Strawberry Banana Cake
- 1 cup strawberries 250g, hulled and quartered
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar 25g
- 2 bananas very ripe (250g)
- 1⅓ cups all-purpose flour 160g
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon optional
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup light brown sugar 200g
- ¼ cup vegetable oil 60ml
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- ½ cup full-fat sour cream room temperature (114g)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
Strawberry Frosting
- ¼ cup unsalted butter room temperature (57g)
- 2 tablespoons freeze dried strawberries pulverized into a powder
- 1¼ cups powdered sugar 150g
- ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 350℉/170℃ and spray and line a 9x5" loaf pan with a parchment paper sling (this is so you can easily remove the cake to frost it).
- Add the strawberries to a skillet with sugar and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the strawberries bread down and becomes syrup like. Cool slightly.
- Roughly mash the bananas with a fork, then add the strawberries and mix to combine.
- In another bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt).
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the brown sugar, vegetable oil and eggs and beat on medium high speed for two minutes. Scrape down the sides.
- Add the sour cream and mix until the streaks are gone.
- Add half of the flour to the fruit and stir to combine. Then add the fruit and remaining flour to the batter and mix on low speed until the flour is just incorporated.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan, then bake for 40-50 minutes until the loaf is set and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean with moist crumbs.
- Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then use the parchment slings to remove the cake to a wire rack to cool completely.
Strawberry Frosting
- Pulverize the freeze dried strawberries into a powder.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (paddle attachment) beat together the butter, powdered sugar, and strawberry powder over medium high speed for two minutes, then scrape down the sides.
- Add the heavy cream and vanilla and mix on low to combine, then increase the speed to medium high and beat until light and fluffy.
- Spread onto the cooled loaf cake and top with strawberries.
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