Banana Layer Cake with Nutella Buttercream

Banana layer cake meets Nutella frosting, and it’s exactly as good as it sounds. Moist, banana-packed layers, swirls of chocolate-hazelnut frosting, and no excuses for going back for seconds.

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Here’s Why This Banana Layer Cake Recipe Works

Banana bonanza: Four whole bananas mean this cake is seriously moist and packed with real banana flavor. (Looking for a simpler option? Try this banana sheet cake.

Creamy backup: Sour cream adds tang and keeps the crumb extra tender without being dense.

Mixing method: Blending butter into the flour first gives you an ultra-soft texture that holds together beautifully.

That frosting, though: Nutella buttercream is lush, silky, and the perfect not-too-sweet partner for banana cake. It is also great with biscoff buttercream.

If you’re after a quick banana fix, try my banana mug cake. Single serving, no mixer, and ready in minutes.

Storing Leftovers

Refrigerate: Store any leftover cake covered in the fridge for up to 5 days. The flavors get even better after a day.

Freeze: You can freeze the whole banana layer cake or just individual slices. Wrap well and freeze for up to 3 months.

Two Layer Banana Cake

This banana layer cake nails it on flavor, texture, and frosting. It’s easy enough for a weeknight and elegant enough for a party.

Want to switch it up? Swap the nutella frosting for chocolate cream cheese frosting or peanut butter cream cheese frosting.

Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Cook Time: 30 minutes mins

Total Time: 45 minutes mins

4.72 from 7 votes

Banana Layer Cake with Nutella Buttercream

By Dahn Boquist

Banana cake and Nutella buttercream are two flavors that are just meant to be together. This is a tall, double-layer cake that easily serves 20 people. Use two 9-inch round cake pans or 8-inch square pans.

If you make this recipe, please leave a star rating and comment.

Servings: 20 servings

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Ingredients 

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• ▢ 4 bananas, 2 cups mashed
• ▢ ⅔ cup sour cream, 150 grams
• ▢ 4 large eggs, room temperature
• ▢ 1 ⅔ cups granulated sugar, 334 grams
• ▢ 2 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• ▢ 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour, 420 grams
• ▢ 2 teaspoons baking soda
• ▢ 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 ½ cups butter, softened (3 sticks)

Nutella buttercream

• ▢ 1 ¼ cups butter, softened (20 tablespoons)
• ▢ 1 ¼ cups Nutella
• ▢ 4 cups powdered sugar, 452 grams
• ▢ ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 20 grams
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 3 to 8 tablespoons heavy cream

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Instructions 

Banana Layer Cake

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease two 9-inch cake pans and line them with parchment paper. 
• Mash the bananas in a mixing bowl. Stir in the sour cream, eggs, sugar, and vanilla extract. (Optionally, you could puree all these ingredients in a food processor).
• In a separate mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Whisk the ingredients to blend them well. 
• With the mixer on low speed, add the butter to the flour mixture. Blend on medium speed until the mixture looks like damp sand. Add a third of the banana mixture and blend on medium-high speed for 2 to 3 minutes until the batter is smooth. Scrape down the bowl and add the remaining banana mixture in two more batches, beating well between additions. 
• Scrape the batter into the prepared pans and bake 35 to 45 minutes or until the cake springs back when pressed lightly in the center. 
• Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes then run a thin metal spatula around the edges to loosen the cake and invert it on a wire rack to cool completely. 

Nutella Buttercream

• Place the butter in a large mixing bowl and beat on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy. Add the Nutella and beat until combined.
• Add the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, and salt. Beat on slow speed until just combined then increase the speed to medium and beat 3 to 5 minutes until smooth and creamy. If it looks too thick you can slowly add the cream 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time until you reach your desired consistency. Make sure you beat the cream in well and scrape down the sides of the bowl. 

Assemble and Frost

• Place one cake layer on a platter. Cover the top with a thick layer of frosting then top with the second cake layer. Cover the top and sides of the cake with more buttercream. There is enough buttercream to pipe decorative swirls. If you don’t pipe any decorations you will probably have some buttercream leftover.

Notes

• Mash the bananas as smoothly as possible. 
• Have the ingredients at room temperature for best results. A quick way to get the eggs to room temperature is to place them in a bowl of warm water for 3 to 5 minutes. 
• Use fresh baking powder and baking soda. Baking soda especially will lose strength if it is stored too long or if it accumulates moisture.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 serving, Calories: 981kcal, Carbohydrates: 106g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 61g, Saturated Fat: 42g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 15g, Trans Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 162mg, Sodium: 653mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 92g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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