This Banana Snack Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting is perfect for times when you want a piece of cake, but not all the calories. It’s easy to make, moist and full of banana bread flavor!
This recipe and photos have been updated since the original post on 8/21/2015
Move over banana bread, this Banana Snack Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting is where it’s at when you’ve got over-ripe bananas! As much as I love banana bread, this snack cake was a nice way to change things up. Unlike traditional cake, this one isn’t loaded with so much sugar that you hit your limit for the week in one sitting. It’s just sweet enough to satisfy your sweet tooth without giving you a stomach ache.
Ingredients Needed For Banana Snack Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
- Whole wheat flour
- Cinnamon
- Baking powder and baking soda
- Very ripe bananas
- Maple syrup
- Olive oil or melted coconut oil
- Plain Greek yogurt
- Eggs
- Cream cheese
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Walnuts or pecans (optional)
What is a Snack Cake?
A snack cake also termed a snacking cake sometimes, is a one layer cake with minimal or no icing. This Pumpkin Chocolate Chunk Cake is an example of a snack cake without any frosting. I highly recommend making it this fall. It’s typically baked in an 8×8 round or square baking pan. It’s essentially a small sheet cake.
Snacking cakes are casual and something you might bake on a Tuesday afternoon versus one you would bake for a special occasion. You also don’t need any special equipment such as an electric stand mixer to make them. A large mixing bowl, whisk and rubber spatula will do the trick.
How To Make Banana Snack Cake
- In a large mixing bowl, mash the bananas with a potato masher or a fork. Whisk in the maple syrup, oil, yogurt, vanilla and eggs until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients in with the banana mixture and stir everything together with a rubber spatula until combined.
- Pour the batter into a greased 8×8 or 9×9 metal baking pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then finish cooling on a wire rack.
- Use a stand or hand mixer to beat the cream cheese, cinnamon, powdered sugar and vanilla together until smooth and fluffy. Spread it evenly over the cooled cake and top with toasted chopped walnuts or pecans if desired.
As you can see, it’s extremely easy to make. Honestly, not much different than making muffins with the exception of the cream cheese frosting. As far as cake goes, it’s also on the healthier side. Obviously it’s still dessert, but it isn’t the 600 calories or more per slice version. This banana snack cake is perfect to make when you’re in the mood for a piece of cake, but don’t want to put a lot of effort into making it!
Banana Snack Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Banana Snack Cake
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup mashed bananas
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup plain non fat Greek yogurt
- 2 eggs
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
- 4 ounces low fat cream cheese, softened
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Pinch of salt
- 3 tablespoons chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. and spray an 8x8 or 9x9 inch baking pan with cooking spray. Line the bottom with a piece of parchment paper.
- In a large bowl whisk together the dry ingredients. In a small bowl whisk together the mashed bananas, egg, Greek yogurt, maple syrup, and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix together with a rubber spatula until just combined.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared baking pan and bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cake on a wire cooling rack for 10 minutes in the pan before removing it from the pan to cool completely.
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
- In the bowl of an electric mixer with the whisk attachment or with a handheld mixer, whisk together all of the frosting ingredients until they are smooth and fluffy.
- Spread the frosting on top of the cooled banana snack cake. Top with chopped toasted pecans or walnuts if desired.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
9Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 257Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 49mgSodium: 256mgCarbohydrates: 34gFiber: 2gSugar: 20gProtein: 7g
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I must have done something wrong., because mine turned out kinda rubbery in texture, very weird.
Hi Terri,
I’m sorry to hear the cake didn’t turn out well for you. As a rule of thumb, if the texture is rubbery or gummy, it’s often the result of overmixing the batter. Be sure to only mix the wet and dry together until you don’t see any streaks of flour.
This looks delicious!
Thanks Sabrina!
oh my goodness!! at a loss, my oven’s dead and I can’t cook this!!!! it’s the 1st thing i’ll bake when my oven is brought back to life: can’t wait. yummy
Thank you! I hope you love the cake as much as I do!
This looks SO good, Danae! I have a big bunch of ripe bananas on my counter and I can’t wait to use them up with this cake. I love all the healthier ingredients in here!
Thanks Kelly! I love when I can make a delicious cake I can feel better about eating!
Now I know what to do with my ripe bananas. I could snack on this cake all day!
Thanks Ashley! I found myself cutting off little pieces all day long!
Yay for the weekend and for snack cakes made with bananas and yogurt! Love this yummy looking cake! We always have bananas on hand, so I’m always looking for ways to use them up!
Thanks Jocelyn! Have a great weekend!
I did not know what a snack cake was till today! And, this is a beauty! THIS cake could make ANY day better! And with oats and yogurt and bananas in it – it’s good enough for breakfast right? Heck – I think eating this Monday morning might just make Monday not so bad! :)
Thanks Shashi! This could totally be breakfast if you ask me!
Oh girl. You just solved my afternoon dilemma of wanting a snack but dessert and trying to keep it sorta healthy all in one! Gotta make this!
Glad I could help Meg! Hope you love it as much as I did!
My family would absolutely love this!
Anything baked and made with bananas goes quick in our house!