There’s something about a “sheet cake” that has a charm of its own. It screams out good down-home cooking. When that Banana Sheet Cake is rich, moist, bursting with banana flavor and topped with a (not too sweet) cream cheese frosting, you’ll know it’s true.

Banana Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

I fell in love with this Banana Cake at my first taste. A co-worker, Laura S. used to bring this into the office and people began digging in as soon as she got there, eating it for breakfast. When I asked, Laura generously shared the recipe – and had extra copies tucked in her purse because she’d been asked so many times.

Because a sheet cake like this easily cuts into many portions, it feeds a crowd and I cannot tell you how many Church funeral luncheons and potlucks I have brought this to over the years. It does require a “special” pan but I have a few other sheet cake recipes, so you’ll put it to good use. Mine has a lid, which I love.

Banana Sheet Cake

Although this is a super easy cake, to make, there are a few things to know for success:

• The mixing method is odd – I have considered tinkering to make conform to “modern” mixing methods, but frankly, it’s such a fantastic cake that I just don’t dare. Make sure your butter is at the perfect temperature, stir your flour to lighten it before measuring and make sure to use the full amount of banana.
• The banana is critical – it has to be very speckled and almost completely brown and has to be measured just right, 1 1/2 cups, which usually comes out to about three and a half to four bananas. Fudge it a bit and your Banana Cake it will be ok, measure it just right and it will be sublime! Mash the banana very well, to an almost liquid state and use a spatula to get every bit of it.
• Be sure not to over bake this supremely moist cake. Because it’s so shallow, timing is critical. You’ll not be able to judge by color and it may brown unevenly (I turn it about halfway through.) It is done when the corners are just pulling away from the edges by a hair and when it is touched in the center, ever so gently, it slowly springs back up. As with all cakes, set your timer early and check it every few minutes until you get the timing down.

Banana Sheet Cake = original photo

Laura’s original recipe called for walnuts, which we usually just omit because they’re not really a fave. Pecans would work, too, and a reader recently suggested mini chocolate chips. We tried the chips, and like them, but really our favorite version is just plain with the frosting. That’s probably just us, though.

This recipe is really a family fave, and often requested by friends and relatives when I ask them what kind of cake they want for their birthdays! I have to laugh at that a bit because I’m always willing to make some extravagant layer cake at the drop of a hat! Try it and you’ll see why. 🙂

Banana Sheet Cake

Let’s talk about how to save money/time on Banana Sheet Cake:

• Use a coupon matching site! Every store has a group of enthusiastic Coupon Matchers. Do not discount the savings!
• Follow my 12 Strategies – You’ll see them on the upper drop-down menu of every page and how I apply them, below.
• Don’t get discouraged if your prices don’t match mine! Keep shopping at the best prices and your fridge/freezer and pantry will be stocked with sales priced ingredients.
• Read {Strategies Applied} for additional tips as well as throughout the recipe, for saving time and managing food.

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