Honey Banana Cake
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When bees and monkeys go into a bar
You are going to be buzzing around this honey banana cake until the last bit of crumb. The honey makes this cake earthy, the bananas make it super soft and tender and a light touch of cinnamon makes it warm and spicy. It’s done in 50 minutes from prep to baked. Its crumb is tight and soft, perfect for a snacking cake. Dust a bit of confectioner’s sugar on top and have a piece any time of the day! Yes, with a smear of Nutella it makes a perfect breakfast!
For this honey banana cake I use my classic honeycomb cake pan. I have a very special connection with this cake pan. It’s so beloved to me! This was one of the first specialty cake pans I got, probably before a classic Bundt pan, and my mom bought it to me about eight years ago. I miss the kind of adrenaline I felt when I put my hands on it and thought of all the cake I could bake with it. The sky was the limit! Also, some of the first times me going viral on Instagram was sharing a recipe featuring a cake baked with this cake pan. Most importantly, I feel you guys love it! It helps anyone make something very beautiful and creative with no extra steps in the process, the cake pan design does everything!
Find the honeycomb cake pan at Amazon here or at Williams Sonoma here.
Of course you don’t need this particular cake pan to make this cake. You can use a 9” regular or springform cake pan for this recipe.
Because you know I like a theme, I like to create recipes that have honey for this pan. What better way to hold up honey than in something honeycomb shaped? If you haven’t tried a honey cake yet you’re missing out, they are super moist and yield a cake crumb that’s dense yet bouncy. The perfect texture for snacking cakes. Add bananas to it and well, you will be going bananas for this cake!
You can use any kind of honey but, given that so much amount goes to the batter and not just a drizzle, use the highest quality honey you can put your hands on. This will affect greatly the flavor and texture of the cake (I used the organic honey from Costco). For the bananas, I used pretty ripe but not black bananas because I don’t like the strong fermented taste they leave behind. I haven’t tested this recipe with blackish bananas but if you love them in your banana bread I’m sure they will work fine here.
How to prevent this cakes getting stuck in the pan
I know, I know! One of the main concerns when baking with this type of cake pans is that the cake will get stuck in it. The anxiety is very real! One of the keys in preventing cakes getting stuck is to use a good amount of baking spray. On the other hand, too much spray can get accumulated in the cake ridges and affect the pattern imprinted on the cake. What I like to do is to gently and carefully brush any excess I see in the pan ridges with a pastry brush. But don’t brush too hard that you end up wiping out the spray. A light stroke is what you want to use.
Another important thing is to let the cake rest in the pan the right amount of time before removing. Too quick and it can crumble because there could still be stuck spots; too long and the fats cool down and harden sticking the cake again to the pan. The sweet spot is to remove the cake between 7 to 10 minutes after it is out of the oven.
Making a Honey Banana Cake
As I mentioned, I used ripe bananas that were still yellow, not black as other banana breads or cakes call for. So you don’t have to wail too much time until your bananas are super ripped to make this cake.
If you don’t have this honeycomb cake pan you can use a regular 9” regular or springform cake pan. If using this honeycomb cake pan, spray it throughly with baking spray and with a pastry brush remove any excess of product that got accumulated in the ridges.
In a bowl whisk together the dry ingredients and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer you are going to place the bananas and give them a quick mash with a fork. Then use the mixer to beat the bananas. This step will make the bananas smoother so they will get blended with the cake batter more evenly.
To the bananas add the rest of the wet ingredients and mix. Then add the flour mixture and mix until mostly combined. End up mixing by hand with the beaters of your mixer turned off or with a wooden spoon or silicon spatula. Transfer batter to the cake pan.
Run a chopstick or spoon through the batter to pop any bubbles and to make sure there are no gaps between the batter and the pan’s inside walls. Bring to preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes. Let it rest in the pan about 10 minutes before trying to remove it. If you try to remove it before chances are it will crumble. In front of your very own eyes!
Finish it up with a dust of confectioner’s sugar on top!
Shop the Post
My honeycomb cake pan is a classic from Williams Sonoma.
My Mason Cash large mixing bowl.
My KitchenAid electric handheld mixer has been with me your years!
A strainer set with different sizes is always a good idea!
The classic Pyrex measuring cup will be with you forever!
I know you are going to love this cake. It’s really irresistible! And take my word with the bit of Nutella on top. Let me know how it was for you! Until the next one!
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Honey Banana Cake
Ingredients
◯ All-purpose flour, preferably unbleached - 2 cups (300g)
◯ Baking powder - 2 ¼ Tsp
◯ Cinnamon - 1 ¼ TBSP
◯ Ground ginger - 1 Tsp
◯ Fine sea salt - ½ Tsp
◯ Large bananas - 5 (about 2 ¼ cups when mashed)
◯ Squeeze of half a lemon (optional)
◯ Dark brown sugar - ½ cup
◯ Natural granulated sugar - ¼ cup
◯ Honey, preferably organic - ⅓ cup
◯ Pure vegetable oil - ¾ cup
◯ Large eggs, preferably from cage free chickens - 2
◯ Cream cheese - 4 oz (4 TBSP, ½ single box)
◯ Confectioner’s sugar for dusting
Details
Yield:
a 9” cake
Total time:
1 hour
Prep time:
20 minutes making for making the batter
Baking time:
30 minutes
Equipment:
stand mixer or electric hand mixer, honeycomb cake pan or 9” cake pan
Steps
Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly but thoroughly spray cake pan with baking spray. Using a pastry brush, gently thin out any small pools of liquid that can form through the largest ridges of the pan. Set aside.
In a medium bowl whisk the 2 cups of flour, the 2 ¼ teaspoons of baking powder, the 1 ¼ tablespoon of cinnamon, the 1 teaspoon of ginger and the ½ teaspoon of salt. Set aside.
Peel bananas and place them in a large mixing bowl. Roughly mash them with a fork and then, using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or an electric hand mixer with the beaters attached, mix in medium speed until there are just very small banana pieces. Squeeze half a lemon and mix. Add the ½ cup of brown sugar, the ¼ cup of natural granulated sugar, the ⅓ cup of honey, the ¾ cup of oil, the 2 eggs and the 4 ounces of cream cheese. Mix in medium-slow speed until the mixture looks well mixed and mostly homogeneous, about 3 to 4 minutes.
Dump flour mixture over wet ingredients. Mix in the slowest speed just until most of the flour mixture has incorporated. Turn mixer off and end mixing manually with the same beaters or with a wooden spoon or silicon spatula. Scrape batter into prepared pan. Bake for 30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean after inserted through the center of the cake. Remove from oven.
Wait 7 to 10 minutes before turning cake out of the pan. Let it cool down completely. Dust some confectioner’s sugar on top if desired.
