Best Banana Cream Cake

Ingredients

Banana Cake

• 1 cup mashed over-ripe bananas, about 2 large bananas
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 ⅛ cups granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ½ cup sour cream, or plain greek yogurt
• 4 oz applesauce
• 1 cup whole milk

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

• ¾ cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 12 oz (1 1/2 packages) cream cheese, softened
• 5 ½ cups powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon salt

Direction

1. Preheat oven to 275°F (135°C). Grease and flour three 8-inch round cake pans, set aside.
2. In a small bowl, mix mashed bananas with lemon juice, set aside. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt, set aside.
3. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla, sour cream and applesauce. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the milk. Fold in the banana mixture.
4. Divide batter (about 2 1/2 cup batter in each pan) into prepared pans. Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
5. Place the cake pans right into the freezer after taking them out of the oven. Be careful what you set the cake pans on as they can melt something like plastic. Let cakes cool completely before frosting, this takes about 30-40 minutes in the freezer! (You can also let them cool at room temperature on the counter. However, popping them into the freezer stops the cooking process much faster and keeps this cake super moist!)
6. For the frosting: In a large bowl, cream butter and cream cheese until smooth. Beat in powdered sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and salt on low speed until combined, then on high until frosting is smooth.
7. Assemble the 3 layers with a thick layer of frosting in between each layer and frost the cake as desired. Sprinkle on a little cinnamon around the outside and store in the fridge until ready to serve.