Make banana bread celebratory with this birthday cake banana bread! It’s a super moist and tender bread that’s flavored with vanilla, almond, and full of rainbow sprinkles.

Looking for something festive you can serve for a birthday breakfast?

Look no further than this birthday cake banana bread! It’s a mash up between funfetti cake and banana bread, and tastes like a vanilla-forward banana cake. It may feel like you’re eating cake, but since it’s bread that makes it a breakfast food, right? 😉

Couple quick hit facts that make me love this quick bread:

This banana bread is so soft, moist, and flavorful. I added a little bit of Greek yogurt into the batter to make it super moist and tender. Using a bit of brown sugar for sweetness helps add to the moisture as well.
It’s made 100% from scratch. Instead of taking a box of funfetti cake mix and adding some banana to it, I built this recipe starting with classic banana bread as the base. To give it that funfetti birthday cake flavor, I used clear vanilla and almond extract. Then, I swirled in a bunch of rainbow sprinkles and topped it off with a vanilla icing that mimics frosting on a cake.
It’s easy to make: All you need are two bowls, a whisk, and a loaf pan! No need to whip out the stand mixer for this. I don’t know about you all, but I dread cleaning my stand mixer after using it. Anytime I can just use mixing bowls that will go straight into the dishwasher is a dream!

Ingredients Needed

For the bread:

All-purpose flour
Baking soda and baking powder
Salt
A neutral oil, such as vegetable oil or avocado oil
Granulated cane sugar and brown sugar
One large egg, at room temperature: to quickly bring a cold egg to room temperature, soak it in a bowl of very warm water for 10 minutes.
Overripe bananas, mashed: you’ll need one cup of mashed banana, which is 2-3 bananas depending on their size.
Greek yogurt: I recommend either plain or vanilla
Vanilla extract and almond extract: to best imitate the flavor of boxed funfetti cake, I recommend using a clear vanilla, which is an imitation vanilla. However, you can use any vanilla you desire and it’ll still taste delicious.
Rainbow sprinkles: pick your favorite colors and brand

For the vanilla icing

Powdered sugar
Milk
Vanilla

How to Make Birthday Cake Banana Bread

Start by prepping all your ingredients–make sure any cold ingredients are at room temperature and mash your bananas.

First, we’ll grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan. I used avocado-oil spray, and then also laid a wide strip of parchment paper across the bottom. This creates a cradle that you can use to easily lift the banana bread out of the pan. Preheat your oven as well here.

Next, whisk the dry ingredients (sans sugar) together in one bowl. In another bowl, whisk the oil, sugars, eggs, and extracts together until you have a smooth and creamy mixture. Then add in your mashed banana and Greek yogurt. Once that’s done, fold the dry ingredients in using a flexible rubber spatula. Make sure to not over-mix, and it could result in tough and gummy banana bread (aka the worst kind of banana bread). That’s why I recommend using a rubber spatula so that you can be gentle!

Lastly, fold in the your sprinkles of choice and transfer the batter into your prepared loaf pan. Bake the bread until it’s set and a toothpick comes out clean. This could take anywhere from 45-55 minutes, depending on a variety of factors such as your oven and/or what material your pan is made from.

Once your birthday cake banana bread is out of the oven, let it cool for 15 minutes in the pan first. This gives it time to set and the steam will help release the bread from the sides of the pan. After the 15 minutes, transfer it onto a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the icing, whisk all of the ingredients together in a bowl until smooth. Drizzle it over the bread and then enjoy!

Recipe Q&A

Can I make this banana bread dairy free? Yes you can! The only two ingredients in the recipe that you would need to substitute are the yogurt and milk. A dairy-free or vegan yogurt works perfectly in place of the Greek yogurt. I also made my icing pictured in this recipe with almond milk, so that substitute is just fine as well.

What sprinkles did you use? I actually used a combination of India Tree’s Natural Carnival Sprinkles and Wilton’s Rainbow Jimmies.

How should I store leftovers? Tightly wrap and store this banana bread in the fridge for up to 5 days. Fun fact–banana bread tastes better the second day, so I’m excited for you to have leftovers.

Have any other questions? Feel free to leave them in the comments below or send me a note via my contact form!

Did You Make This Recipe?

If so, I’d love to hear from you! Please leave a rating and/or comment to spread the love and help others find this recipe.

Also feel free take a picture and share it with me on Instagram @toppedwithhoney. Looking forward to seeing your festive funfetti banana bread!@

If you’re not ready to bake yet, no problem! Simply hover over any image in this post (pick your favorite), or tap if you’re on mobile, and click the pin icon in the corner to save for later.

Lastly, if you’re just all about the banana, I gotchu! Check out:

Maple Bourbon Banana Coffee Cake

Roasted Strawberry Banana Muffins