When the bananas look like they’re splotchy and clinging on for dear life one of the best things you can do for them is to turn them into a delicious banana bundt cake. This banana bundt cake is tender, moist, and made with overripe bananas and a not-so-secret ingredient aka vanilla pudding mix. It’s topped with a brown butter vanilla icing.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
I don’t use the word ‘best’ in a recipe lightly, but I do think about this banana bundt cake at least once per month lol.
- This is a simple but delicious banana cake that is great for both an everyday treat or a get-together with friends and family.
- Vanilla pudding mix in the batter leads to a flavorful, tender, and moist banana bundt cake.
- A great idea for using overripe bananas.
- Topped with an easy to make, rich, brown butter vanilla icing.
- You can adapt it by adding walnuts, pecans, or other mix-ins.
Ingredients for Banana Bundt Cake
- Overripe Bananas: The darker, spottier the banana, the more sweet and flavorful it will be for banana cake. If you would be afraid to eat it then go ahead and bake with it (as long as it’s not rotten or moldy).
- Vanilla Pudding Mix: You will need one 3.4oz box of vanilla pudding mix. For best results avoid the sugar-free mixes.
- All-Purpose Flour: I recommend measuring flour with a scale for the most accuracy, as it can be easy to over or under measure flour. If you do not have a scale, then use the spoon-and-level method.
- Large Eggs, at room temperature: Soak eggs in a bowl of hot water for 5-10 minutes before baking to quickly bring them to room temperature.
- Brown Sugar and Granulated Sugar: Add sweetness.
- Unsalted Butter and Oil: I like the combination of butter + oil for banana cake. Butter adds a lovely richness and crumb while oil keeps the cake moist and tender.
- Buttermilk: Adds moisture.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda: Leavening agents.
- Ground Cinnamon, Nutmeg: Add nice, warm flavors to the banana cake.
- Butter, Powdered Sugar, Milk, Vanilla, Salt: For the brown butter icing.
Why Use Pudding Mix in Cake Batter?
Adding instant pudding mix to cake batter is something that I love doing. It makes cake more moist, denser, and richer in flavor. This is because pudding mix contains contains cornstarch, which helps retain moisture, and sugar, which contributes to a softer texture. It also adds flavor, which in this case is vanilla.
This is a actually a common practice in professional bakeries to elevate their cakes, and it’s something that I recommend you start doing at home as well!
Tips for The Best Banana Cake
- Use room temperature ingredients. To get a soft cake with a tender crumb, make sure that all your ingredients are at room temperature–in this case primarily the eggs and buttermilk. Cold ingredients do not mix together well. 12-15 seconds in the microwave followed by a quick stir usually gets the job done for warming up the buttermilk.
- Weigh ingredients (and most importantly the flour) using a kitchen scale. It’s easy to overmeasure flour, which leads to dry cake. If you do not have a scale, fluff the flour and spoon it into a measuring cup, using a knife to level off the top.
- Test for doneness by inserting a toothpick through the top of the cake, in between the edge and middle of the pan. The toothpick should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
FAQs
What are some good mix-in ideas?
Chopped walnuts, pecans, macadamia nuts, chocolate chips, dried fruit.
How do you release a bundt cake without sticking?
The two tricks here are to grease liberally and let the cake set for a bit before trying to release it.
Bakers sprays are my preferred method for greasing a pan since they are usually designed for such tasks. I rarely. have issues when I use Bakers Joy or Pam for Baking. Make sure to get into every nook and cranny and don’t be afraid to use a brush or your fingers to spread out the spray. Another tip is to not grease the pan until right before you pour the batter in.
To cleanly get a bundt cake out of the pan, let it cool first for 15 minutes. This gives it a chance to set and also naturally release a bit from the sides. Then, put a large plate lined with parchment over the top and flip everything over so that the cake falls out. Be careful of hot steam!
How do you store leftover banana cake?
Store banana bundt cake in an airtight container or tightly wrapped in foil. It will be good left out on the counter for 1-2 days, but then I recommend transferring it to the refrigerator so that it will stay good for longer given the high moisture content from the banana.
Do I have to use brown butter for the icing?
Although recommended, you can skip the browned butter!
Pin & Save for Later
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Hope you love your banana bundt cake and that it is the best you’ve ever made!
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The Best Banana Bundt Cake
The moist amazing moist and tender banana bundt cake with brown butter icing. A secret ingredient (aka vanilla pudding mix) takes this banana cake to the next level -- making it one of the best banana bundt cake recipes out there!
Ingredients
Banana Bundt Cake
- 3 cups (360g) all-purpose flour
- 1½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 box (3.4oz) vanilla pudding mix
- ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, softened
- ⅓ cup oil
- ⅔ cup (135g) light brown sugar
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- ⅔ cup buttermilk, warmed to room temperature
- 3 medium to large overripe bananas (350g without peel)
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Brown Butter Icing
- 4 tbsp (56g) unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- 1 ½ cup powdered sugar
- 2-3 tbsp milk
- ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Prep the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and vanilla pudding mix together and set it aside for now.
- Prep the bananas. Gently smash the bananas with a fork to start breaking them down. Do not mash the bananas fully into mush, a few chunks are okay.
- In an electric mixer, beat the butter, oil, brown sugar, and granulated sugar on medium-high speed for 1 minute until it's lighter in color. Then add in the eggs, one at a time, until the eggs are fully combined and continue beating for another minute. Make sure you scrape down the sides of the bowl after adding each egg to ensure an even mixture.
- Turn the mixer speed down to low and start to slowly stream in the buttermilk. Do not go to quickly otherwise it will splatter everywhere since you're forcing the liquid into a thick emulsion. Add the vanilla extract and turn up the mixer speed to medium. Continue beating until smooth.
- Add the smashed bananas and mix for another 30 seconds. Your batter may split a bit at this point but that is okay. Then add all of the the dry ingredients and fold them in until the flour is just combined. You can do this with the mixer on low speed or by hand with a spatula.
- Liberally grease a 10-12 cup capacity bundt cake pan with a baker's spray such as Pam or Baker's Joy. Pour the batter into the bundt pan, using a spatula to spread it out evenly. Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs (but not wet batter).
- Allow the cake to cool for 15 minutes in the pan first. Then, line a cooling rack with a piece of parchment paper and place it on top of the pan. Flip everything over to release the cake from the pan. Allow the cake to cool completely before making the icing.
- Make the brown butter icing: in a heavy bottomed pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Continue to heat the butter, stirring constantly. It will crackle and sputter and then eventually start to foam up. Keep your eyes and nose out for brown flecks and a nutty smell. Immediately remove the butter from heat and pour it into a medium heatproof bowl. Allow the butter to cool until it is no longer hot, then add the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, salt, and milk. Whisk everything together until a smooth icing forms. Use more or less milk depending on your desired consistency.
- Spread our pour the icing over the bundt cake and enjoy!
Notes
- Bananas: Extra ripe, dark bananas will yield the best flavor. If it looks to ripe to eat, it'll probably be best for baking. I used three medium-large bananas to make this cake, which ended up being 350g without peels.
- Room temperature ingredients: make sure to use room temperature ingredients. Soak the eggs in a bowl of hot water for 5-10 minutes and heat the buttermilk for 10-12 seconds in the microwave before using.
- Option to skip the icing: this banana bundt cake tastes great even without the icing! You can skip it if you'd like and instead just give it a dusting of powdered sugar or substitute cream cheese frosting.
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