Easy Banana Cake with Oil
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Banana bread lovers have to try this banana cake with oil! This banana cake is covered in my favorite chocolate frosting, and you don’t even need a mixer to make the cake. Plus, you can easily make it dairy-free so it’s perfect for those with food allergies!
If you’ve got overripe bananas on your kitchen counter, then you have to try this banana cake with chocolate frosting! This banana cake without butter (yup that’s right, no butter needed for the cake!) is a breeze to make.
I love it with my favorite dairy-free chocolate frosting, I mean chocolate and banana is the perfect combo! If you can’t get enough of this flavor combo, then you have to try my chocolate chip banana bars or chocolate chunk banana muffins.
Why You’ll Love This Easy Banana Cake with Oil
- This banana cake with chocolate frosting is the perfect recipe to whip up if you have a bunch of overripe bananas!
- The cake is made in one bowl and you don’t even need a mixer to make it.
- You can easily make this banana cake dairy-free, so it’s perfect if you have food allergies.
- I love making this cake with chocolate frosting, but you can easily swap it out for your favorite frosting recipe.
Ingredients Needed
- Oil: you’ll want to use a neutral oil like grapeseed, sunflower, or canola oil. Using oil instead of butter is going to make this banana cake super moist! You can use olive oil in a pinch but the cake will have a slight olive oil flavor.
- Bananas: make sure to use extra ripe bananas! You want them to be freckly with brown spots. They’ll be easier to mash and sweeter.
- Flour: I’ve used all-purpose flour, but you can easily swap it out for an equal amount of white whole wheat or whole wheat flour.
- Butter: now, this is a banana cake without butter, but we’ll need butter for the frosting! You can use regular butter or vegan butter if you’re dairy-free.
- Milk: you can use regular milk or vegan milk.
- Cocoa Powder: you can use dutch-processed cocoa powder or natural cocoa powder.
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350°Fahrenhait. Grease and line a 9×13 baking pan with parchment paper.
Step 2: In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, oil, and vanilla extract. Whisk in the sugar.
Step 3: Mash the bananas with a fork and then add it to the other liquid ingredients.
Step 4: Add in the flour, salt, and baking soda.
Step 5: Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan, making sure the top is smooth and even.
Step 6: Bake in the preheated oven for 17-23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Let cool completely.
Step 7: Once the cake has cooled, make the buttercream. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter, vanilla extract, and cocoa powder until smooth.
Step 8: Slowly add in ¼ cup of powdered sugar at a time until you get your desired consistency.
Step 9: If the buttercream is too thick, add ½ tablespoon of milk at a time. If the buttercream is too thin, add in more powdered sugar ¼ cup at a time.
Step 10: Frost your cake and enjoy!
My favorite way of mashing them up is with a fork, but you can also use a potato masher. Using overripe bananas with a ton of brown spots will be easier to mash since they’re softer! Plus, they’re sweeter and have a stronger banana flavor.
While butter is going to give you a buttery taste (duh!), using oil will make the banana cake super moist and soft. It’ll stay soft for days versus a banana cake made with butter. Plus, using oil means we don’t have to cream butter or melt butter – it’s a win-win situation!
You might have added too much flour (check out my tips below for measuring flour!) or overbaked the cake.
Expert Tips
- I always recommend using a kitchen scale to weigh your flour! It’s so easy to add too much flour if you’re using measuring cups, which will make this banana cake with oil super dry and dense.
- Don’t have a kitchen scale? Then make sure to use the scoop and level method to weigh out your flour!
- Check out my homemade chocolate frosting recipe If you want more in-depth tips and tricks.
- Not a chocolate fan? Swap out the chocolate frosting for cream cheese frosting or vanilla frosting!
- Feel free to swap out the all-purpose flour for an equal amount of whole wheat flour.
Storage Instructions
Store this banana cake with chocolate frosting at cool room temperature for up to 3 days. Freeze by storing in a Ziploc bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Let the cake thaw at room temperature before enjoying.
More Banana Recipes You’ll Love
If you make this recipe, let me know how it went in the comments below, I’d love to hear from you! You can also tag me on Instagram or Facebook so I can check it out!
Easy Banana Cake with Oil
Ingredients
Banana Cake
- ½ cup (106 ml) neutral oil, (like sunflower, canola, or grapeseed)
- 2 eggs
- 2 cup (465 g) ripe mashed bananas (3-4 ripe bananas)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¾ cup (150 g) granulated white sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cup (250 g) all-purpose flour
Chocolate Frosting (optional)
- 1 cup butter, softened, (regular or dairy free)
- ¾ cup (65 g) cocoa powder
- 2-2½ cup (240 g) icing sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 Tablespoons milk, if needed, (regular or dairy free)
Instructions
Banana Cake with Oil
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×13 pan or line it with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, add oil, eggs, and vanilla. Whisk in the white sugar.
- Mash the bananas with a fork to remove large clumps. Mix it in with the other liquid ingredients.
- Add in the flour, salt, and baking soda.
- Pour the batter into the pan and smooth it out evenly.
- Bake for 17-23 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let the cake cool completely before frosting.
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
- Make the buttercream. In the bowl of a standing mixer or handheld mixer, beat butter, vanilla extract, and cocoa powder until smooth.
- Slowly add in ¼ cup of powdered sugar at a time until it reaches your desired consistency.
- If the buttercream is too thick, you can add ½ tablespoon of milk in at a time, thinning it out as much as you'd like. If buttercream is too thin, add in more powdered sugar ¼ cup at a time.
- Once the cake has cooled completely, frost and enjoy!
Equipment
Video
Notes
The calorie information provided for this recipe is an estimate. The accuracy of the calories listed is not guaranteed.
It was so easy to follow and make
So yummy and very moist. Its just amazing. Thank you!!!
Very easy and absolutely delicious. Only had self raising flour at the time of added some cornflour 2tbsp and still worked out well. We added dark chocolate bits to the cake mix and it was very nice . Will make this again
Thank you for your review Lana!
I appreciate your simple and delicious recipe. It’s a great way to use up overripe bananas. While I didn’t make the frosting, the cake itself is delicious (i just did a very basic cream cheese concoction/icing lol). Anyway, lovely recipe and I’ll make it again! Props for not needing a LB of butter too 😉
Thank you for your review!
Loved this cake! It’s perfectly moist and used up all my ripe bananas. The chocolate icing on top was delicious as well. Definitely making again!
Hi Kelly! I’m so happy to hear that you loved the cake, thank you for the review!
Yummy recipe, I used almond flour and chickpea flour instead of all purpose flour. No need for frosting. Thanks lots for sharing ☺️
Thank you Judy!