Perfectly moist, light and fluffy vegan banana cake loaded with banana flavor and topped with lemon frosting. Can be made as a sheet cake or a layer cake.
So banana cake. It’s similar to banana bread, but not the same.
This vegan banana cake with lemon frosting and walnuts, let’s not forget the walnuts, is so delicious I am struggling to find the words to describe it right now.
I absolutely adore banana bread already, which is why I’ve made vegan banana bread, vegan chocolate chip banana bread, vegan chocolate banana bread and vegan banana bread muffins!
But this was my first go at a vegan banana cake. And it came out incredibly well. Just a few small changes from a banana bread recipe to a banana cake recipe and you get light, fluffy cake rather than the slightly denser banana breads.
And this cake can be either a sheet cake or a layer cake!
Sheet Cake or Layer Cake?
I was inspired by Sally’s Baking Addiction (a non-vegan blog, but full of great baking tips) to go with a sheet pan version of the cake.
I love a good sheet cake, it’s great to feed a crowd, so if you need to get more slices out of it, it’s a great option! We have a delicious chocolate sheet cake and a vanilla sheet cake too.
However, you can also make this as a 2-layer 8-inch cake. It’s wonderfully good either way. So I’ll also include instructions for that in the recipe card (and there are some photos further down below).
The importance of ripe bananas
It’s very important that you use ripe bananas when you make this. They must be spotty! Don’t go using green bananas or even yellow bananas that don’t have any spots yet.
You want the spotty bananas, this is perfectly ripe which means they are at the perfect sweetness for your dessert.
The great thing about this vegan banana cake is I was able to use relatively little oil. Just a quarter cup of coconut oil for the whole recipe. And it was deliciously, perfectly, moist. The moistness comes from those bananas, the coconut oil, some homemade vegan buttermilk and the addition of some applesauce to the recipe.
Other than using them on top for decoration, I didn’t use walnuts in the actual recipe. But this would be a good addition if you fancy it. Just chop up some walnuts (about 1 cup should be fine) and add it to the batter right at the end.
How to make this as a layer cake
You can easily adapt this recipe to making a layer cake. The recipe stays exactly the same, you just divide the batter between two 8-inch cake pans.
Make sure your cake pans are sprayed with non-stick spray and cut out circles of parchment paper to line the bottoms of the cake pans.
Bake for 30 minutes.
The amount of frosting in the recipe is designed for the sheet pan version of the cake, so as you can see it is enough for the top and middle of a layer cake, but it’s not enough for the sides.
If you want to be able to frost the whole cake including the sides, then use the lemon frosting recipe from our vegan lemon cake instead.
You will love this vegan banana cake, it is:
- Perfectly moist
- Light and fluffy
- Loaded with banana flavor
- Topped with lemon frosting
- Simple
- Can be made as a sheet cake or a layer cake
Keep leftovers covered in the fridge where they will stay fresh for up to 5 days.
More vegan cakes!
- Vegan Carrot Cake
- Vegan Vanilla Cake
- Vegan Red Velvet Cake
- Classic Vegan Chocolate Cake
- Vegan Pound Cake
- The Best Vegan Chocolate Cake
I’d love to know what you think of this vegan banana cake. Any questions? Post them down below. We’d love you to also rate this recipe, it’s super helpful, thank you.
And you definitely should sign up to our email list while you’re here, you’ll get a free recipe ebook (awesome!) and you’ll stay updated with all our latest recipe postings!
Vegan Banana Cake with Lemon Frosting
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 40 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 15
Description
Perfectly moist, light and fluffy vegan banana cake loaded with banana flavor and topped with a delicious lemon frosting. Can be made as a sheet cake or a layer cake.
Ingredients
For the Vegan Banana Cake:
- 2 and 3/4 cups (344g) All Purpose Flour
- 1 cup (200g) White Sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) Brown Sugar
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 2/3 cup (160ml) Vegan Buttermilk
- 3 Large Ripe Bananas (12.7 oz/360g peeled weight)
- 1/4 cup (60ml) Coconut Oil
- 1 Flax Egg (1 Tbsp Ground Flaxseed Meal with 3 Tbsp Hot Water)
- 2 Tbsp Applesauce
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
For the Vegan Lemon Frosting:
- 3 and 1/2 cups (420g) Powdered (Confectioners) Sugar
- 1/3 cup (75g) Vegan Butter
- 3 Tbsp Lemon Juice (freshly squeezed)
For Decoration:
- Crushed Walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Spray a 9×13 sheet pan with non-stick spray and set aside. For layer cake instructions see notes*.
- Sift the flour into a mixing bowl and add the white and brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and mix together.
- Prepare the vegan buttermilk by placing 1 Tbsp of freshly squeezed lemon juice into a measuring jug and then adding soy milk up to the 2/3 (160ml) line. Allow to sit for a minute to curdle.
- Add the bananas, vegan buttermilk and coconut oil to a blender jug and blend briefly until combined. Don’t overblend or the bananas will start to oxidize.
- Pour the blended bananas, buttermilk and coconut oil over the dry ingredients and mix in.
- Prepare your flax egg by mixing 1 Tbsp flaxseed meal with 3 Tbsp Hot Water and allowing to sit for a minute to become gloopy.
- Add the flax egg, applesauce and vanilla extract and whisk with a hand whisk to remove any lumps.
- Pour the batter out into the sheet pan and spread out evenly.
- Place into the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Check it at 30 minutes it might be perfectly done, I have had differing results in different ovens.
- Place the whole sheet pan onto a cooling rack and leave to cool completely before frosting.
- Prepare your frosting by adding the powdered sugar, vegan butter and lemon juice to the bowl of an electric mixer and starting at slow speed, gradually increase speed until perfectly thick and smooth. If your frosting turns out too thick, add more lemon juice a drop at a time until you get the right consistency. If it turns out too thin, add more powdered sugar until it reaches the right thickness.
- Frost the cooled cake, and decorate with crushed walnuts.
Notes
*Nutritional information is for 1 slice of 15 including frosting and crushed walnuts.
*Recipe adapted from my Vegan Banana Bread.
*To make this cake as a 2-layer 8-inch cake, the recipe stays exactly the same. Just pour it out into 2 8-inch cake pans that have been sprayed with non-stick spray and lined with parchment paper and bake for 30 minutes at 350°F. The frosting is enough to frost the top and middle but not quite enough to frost the sides. If you want enough to frost the whole layer cake including the sides, then you can use the lemon frosting recipe from our vegan lemon cake.
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Vegan
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Slice (of 15)
- Calories: 376
- Sugar: 50.8g
- Sodium: 236mg
- Fat: 8.7g
- Saturated Fat: 3.7g
- Carbohydrates: 72.5g
- Fiber: 1.8g
- Protein: 3.5g
Keywords: vegan banana cake
I’m totally not a baker, but this was easy to bake and totally got it right the first time! So happy about this yummy cake! I can’t even tell it’s vegan! So moist and yum!
Wonderful! Thanks Michelle!
Hey just wondering does it matter if I use liquid coconut oil ? I don’t have the slightly hard one in a jar and also will this be ok with vegan cream cheese frosting layer cake ? Also when blending you just mean with a hand whisk ? Thanks !!
Any coconut oil will work fine here. And yes you can make it as a layer cake and the frosting is up to you. We did blend the bananas in a proper blender but if you don’t have one you can mash them and use a hand whisk sure. It might help to watch the video so you have a visual idea of the process.
Hi Alison,
Your recipe is marvellous, thank you.
Would you reply back with oven instructions for using this recipe as cupcakes please?
Warm regards
★★★★★
Hi Casablanca, so glad you like the recipe! We do have a recipe for banana cupcakes!
This cake looks yummy and I would love to have a go at it, do you think a different type of plant based milk would work?
Hi Tracy, you can make vegan buttermilk with either soy milk or almond milk. 🙂
Would it work to halve the ingredients for a smaller cake in an 8×8 inch pan?
★★★★★
Yes I think so!
Incredibly moist cake🥰
★★★★★
Thanks Charlotte!
Really tasty cake. Luckily I had all the ingredients to hand. Needed longer in the oven than stated but I used a square tray bake dish. I only made half the frosting quantity which was plenty for the top. Family and non vegan visitors loved this cake.
★★★★★
Delicious cake! Just made it. What’s the rest way to store it and how long would it keep well for? Thanks!
★★★★
Keep it covered in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Absolutely delicious and stays moist even on the second day! I didn’t have apple sauce so substituted two tablespoons of vegan plain yogurt. Simple to make and my family loved it.
★★★★★
this was a great cake, made it for my friend who is dairy sensitive and she loved it. super tasty and moisture. did use eggs instead of the flax egg and did the 2 layer cake style. Thanks for the grams measurement this made it easier.
This was great, my family loved it! I made it as a sheet cake yesterday but I want to make it as a layer cake, too. Would it be better to divide the batter in two to bake the two layers separately, or bake the batter in one piece and then cut it in half horizontally?
★★★★★
Hi Alycia, definitely better to bake it as two layers, otherwise it will take forever to cook and likely won’t cook evenly.
Hi there from Holland. It I could give this cake a 5+ I would. Super easy recipe and clear instructions turned out perfectly. My daughter said it is yummy! Best regards.
So happy to hear that! Thanks Julia!
I’ve been looking for a new go to banana bread recipe since I stopped baking with eggs and now I’ve found it. A lot of recipes are very dense but I prefer a lighter texture. I made this as a sheet cake and it rose beautifully even though I did have applesauce. I would say the texture is between a bread and a cake, and the flavour is just right, not over sweet. The lemon icing (Londoner here!) lifts it perfectly and even my son, who doesn’t like banana cake, enjoyed it! Thank you for the metric measurements too, much appreciated not having to convert!
★★★★★
Awesome! Thanks so much Yvette!
Delicious cake- thank you!
Baked in a 10 inch springform with DIY cake strips at 325 for 50 minutes.
Light glaze with backyard lemons 🍋
★★★★★
Awesome! Thanks for sharing Deborah!