Banana Snack Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

4 from 6 votes

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 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! 

Overhead photo of Banana Snack Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting topped with chopped walnuts. A corner piece has been cut out of the cake.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. 

Square edge piece of the Banana Snack Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting topped with chopped walnuts.

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)

Overhead photo of Banana Snack Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting on top of parchment paper. A corner piece has been cut out of the cake.

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. 

Overhead photo of a square slice of the Banana Snack Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting on a white round plate. A piece is cut out of the slice and on a fork.

How To Make Banana Snack Cake

  1. 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. 
  2. Add the dry ingredients in with the banana mixture and stir everything together with a rubber spatula until combined. 
  3. 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. 
  4. 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.

A square slice of the Banana Snack Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting topped with chopped walnuts on a white round plate. A piece is cut out of the slice and on a fork.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 Pinterest Collage

4 from 6 votes

Banana Snack Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

By Danae Halliday
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Total: 40 minutes
Servings: 9 -12 servings
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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 350ยฐ 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

Serving: 1gCalories: 257kcalCarbohydrates: 34gProtein: 7gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 49mgSodium: 256mgFiber: 2gSugar: 20g

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

Tried this? Leave a comment below!

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18 Comments

  1. Terri Thomas says:

    I must have done something wrong., because mine turned out kinda rubbery in texture, very weird.

    1. Danae says:

      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.

  2. Sabrina says:

    This looks delicious!

    1. Danae says:

      Thanks Sabrina!

  3. maude says:

    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

    1. Danae says:

      Thank you! I hope you love the cake as much as I do!

  4. Kelly - Life Made Sweeter says:

    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!

    1. Danae says:

      Thanks Kelly! I love when I can make a delicious cake I can feel better about eating!

  5. Ashley | Spoonful of Flavor says:

    Now I know what to do with my ripe bananas. I could snack on this cake all day!

    1. Danae says:

      Thanks Ashley! I found myself cutting off little pieces all day long!

  6. Jocelyn @BruCrew Life says:

    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!

    1. Danae says:

      Thanks Jocelyn! Have a great weekend!

  7. Shashi at RunninSrilankan says:

    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! :)

    1. Danae says:

      Thanks Shashi! This could totally be breakfast if you ask me!

  8. Meg @ With Salt and Wit says:

    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!

    1. Danae says:

      Glad I could help Meg! Hope you love it as much as I did!

  9. Rachel @ Baked by Rachel says:

    My family would absolutely love this!

    1. Danae says:

      Anything baked and made with bananas goes quick in our house!