This banana walnut cake is a sweeter version of the beloved banana bread. By beating air into the batter with a mixer instead of making this by hand, you get a lovely cake texture that is moist and soft. It’s simply and amazing thing how air can take a bread into a cake consistency. It goes to show how simple changes can make a big impact on recipes and why it’s important to follow directions. Or then again, maybe not!

Sometimes, a disaster in the kitchen isn’t a bad thing. Instead, the mistakes turn into the creation of a whole new recipe. A lovely, tender, tasty recipe. For example, today I invented a banana cake trying to modify a recipe. Instead of mushy over-ripened bananas, I used fresh ones and Hudson flour as it’s always such a wonderfully light flour for cakes and soft rolls. I love their flour and wish our stores carried their bread and wheat flours.

What I ended up with was an amazing result. It was way too sweet and airy to be banana nut bread. No worries, we will call this a delicious banana walnut cake. If you want to ice it, try out some cream cheese frosting. Cream cheese goes beautifully with banana deserts in general.

Banana Walnut Cake

If you like banana nut bread, you'll love this cake. It's a sweeter, lighter version of the famous quick bread and just as easy to make!

Print Recipe

Prep Time10 minutes minutes

Cook Time50 minutes minutes

Total Time1 hour hour

Servings24 Slices

Calories 230.2

Ingredients

• 2 ½ cups (375g) all-purpose flour
• 3 large (270g) mashed bananas
• 1 ½ cups (300g) sugar
• 1 cup (226g) butter
• 4 large (200g) eggs
• 1 ½ cups (170g) walnut pieces
• 2 ½ tsp (10g) baking powder
• 1 tsp (5mL) vanilla
• 1 tsp (5g) salt
• 1 tsp (2g) cinnamon

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350F (180C.)
• Line with parchment or grease and flour one 9×13" baking dish (13×33 cm.)
• Toss walnuts in 2 tbs of the flour until well coated. Combine flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon and baking powder in a small bowl. Mash bananas with a fork in a separate bowl. Set aside.
• Cream butter and sugar on medium speed until fluffy in a large bowl.  Beat in eggs, one at a time, until mixture is creamy. Beat in the vanilla. Add mashed bananas and flour mixture and beat on low speed for one minute. Fold in the nuts. Pour batter into baking dish.
• Bake 45 – 55 minutes or when a tooth pick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Center should read between 200F (93C) and 210F (99C.)
• Let cake cool completely in pan on a wire rack before icing.

Notes

This can also be baked in two loaf pans.  Line or grease and flour two 9×5 loaf pans (13×23 cm.) Bake 50-60 minutes until Center reads between 200 – 210F (93-99C) or toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Nutrition Facts

Banana Walnut Cake

Serving Size

 

1 slice

Amount per Serving

Calories

230.2

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

13.2

g

20

%

Saturated Fat

 

5.4

g

34

%

Polyunsaturated Fat

 

3.6

g

Monounsaturated Fat

 

1

g

Sodium

 

158.2

mg

7

%

Carbohydrates

 

27

g

9

%

Fiber

 

0.8

g

3

%

Protein

 

4.9

g

10

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

* Calories provided as a courtesy and not guaranteed.