A high altitude recipe for a soft and fluffy banana layer cake, made with banana infused milk, and frosted with a rich brown butter frosting. This banana variation of my popular vanilla cake recipe will become one of your new favorite layer cakes once you try it!
You might also love these high altitude recipes for banana walnut bundt cake, bourbon banana pudding cake, and banana cream pie.
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Why You’ll Love This Cake
No Artificial Banana Flavoring. I don’t know about you, but I’m not a fan of artificial banana flavoring. So by infusing milk with ripe bananas overnight, and then making cake batter with banana milk, you get a delicious banana flavor in the cake without any weird or fake ingredients.
So Soft and Fluffy. The texture of this banana layer cake is just amazing. It’s not a cake made with layers of banana bread and frosting, like so many banana cake recipes tend to be. Today’s cake is so soft, light, fluffy, and moist!
Perfected for High Altitude. Since I develop all of my recipes for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet, mountain bakers can be assured of reliable results when baking at high altitude.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
Banana Milk
- Whole Milk. Gives the cake moisture and flavor, while the fat adds tenderness. I don’t recommend baking with low fat or skim milk.
- Vanilla Bean. In today’s recipe, I added vanilla flavor by steeping a vanilla bean overnight in the milk, along with the bananas. If you don’t have vanilla beans, you can simply add vanilla extract to the cake batter.
- Bananas. Use bananas that are very ripe and soft, with speckled brown and black spots on the peel. These will be sweeter and more flavorful than green bananas.
By infusing milk with ripe bananas, you get a natural banana flavor in the cake without any artificial flavoring. This process also allows you to get all the flavor of the bananas, while keeping the cake light and fluffy. Adding mashed bananas to cake batter would make it more dense like banana bread.
Banana Cake
- Cake Flour. Cake flour makes a very soft, light and fluffy cake, as it contains a lower percentage of protein than all-purpose flour.
- Granulated Sugar. Adds sweetness and moisture.
- Baking Powder. Leavens the cake, making it rise.
- Coarse Kosher Salt. Balances the sweetness.
- Banana Milk. Whole milk, infused overnight with ripe bananas and vanilla bean.
- Lemon Juice. Adds a touch of acidity, for a more tender cake. The lemon juice is not enough to make the cake taste like lemon.
- Melted Butter + Vegetable Oil. A combination of both butter and oil gives this vanilla cake the best flavor as well as a soft, moist texture.
- Eggs + Egg Whites. I use 2 eggs, plus 2 egg whites, in my vanilla cake, which adds structure and richness, while the extra whites make it nice and fluffy. Save the leftover 2 egg yolks for another use.
Brown Butter Frosting
- Unsalted Butter. Makes a rich, fluffy, flavorful buttercream. By browning the butter first, you’ll be toasting the milk solids until golden brown, for a richer, nuttier flavor. The browned butter is the perfect complement to this banana layer cake.
- Powdered Sugar. Sweetens and thickens the frosting.
- Meringue Powder. Adds stability and improves texture.
- Salt. Balances the sweetness. Omit the salt if using salted butter.
- Vanilla Extract. Flavor.
- Banana Milk. Adds more banana flavor to the frosting, and improves the consistency.
Instructions
Banana Milk
- Peel the bananas, discard the peel, and slice the bananas into 1/2 inch pieces. Combine the milk, vanilla bean + scraped vanilla bean seeds, and the sliced bananas in a saucepan. Over medium heat, bring the milk to a simmer. Remove from the heat.
- Pour the milk with the bananas into a lidded container, and refrigerate for 12 hours (overnight) to infuse the milk with banana flavor. After 12 hours, use a slotted spoon to remove the bananas and the vanilla bean pod from the milk.
- Let the banana milk come to room temperature for about an hour, before mixing up your cake batter. You’ll be using 1 1/2 cups of the banana milk in the cake batter, and the rest in the frosting.
TIP: After removing the bananas from the milk, you can mash the bananas and use them in your favorite banana bread recipe or in this banana walnut bundt cake.
Banana Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and lightly spray the bottoms of three 8-inch cake pans with non-stick baking spray.
- In a large bowl, sift together the cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt, then whisk to make sure everything is evenly distributed.
- In another large bowl, whisk together the banana milk (1 1/2 cups), lemon juice, melted butter, oil, eggs and egg whites until smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and whisk until combined and smooth, about 10-15 seconds. Divide the batter between the cake pans. Tap a few times against the counter to pop any large air bubbles.
- Bake the cakes for about 25-28 minutes, or until a cake tester or a toothpick comes out clean, and the tops spring back when lightly touched.
- Set the pans on a wire rack, cover them loosely with a clean kitchen towel, and cool completely before frosting. When ready to frost and assemble the cake, remove the cakes from the pans.
Brown Butter Frosting
- In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Continue to cook the butter, swirling the pan occasionally. It will hiss and spatter a bit, as the water evaporates, and the milk solids settle onto the bottom of the pan. When it’s nearly ready, a layer of foam will form on top of the butter, and if you nudge the foam aside, you’ll see nutty, golden brown milk solids on the bottom of the pan (if they turn dark brown or black, you’ve gone too far and burned the butter). The browning process might take about 5-10 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat and use a spatula to scrape all the browned milk solids off the bottom of the pan. Pour the browned butter and all the browned bits into a bowl.
- Let cool until the butter returns to a spreadable solid consistency. To speed this up, put the bowl in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours and stir the butter every 20 minutes or so until it’s firmed up but still spreadable.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cooled brown butter for 1 minute until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, combine the powdered sugar, meringue powder and salt. With the mixer on low, add the powdered sugar mixture by spoonfuls, then the vanilla. Increase the speed to medium (#4/6 on a Kitchen Aid mixer), and beat for about 5 minutes until light and fluffy, scraping the bowl several times.
- The process of browning the butter removes the water from the butter, so this buttercream will be too dry unless you add back in some liquid. So while you’re beating the buttercream, add in the remaining banana milk a tablespoon at a time, until you’re happy with the consistency for spreading onto your cake. Turn the speed down to “stir” and mix for 1 minute to pop large air bubbles. (Even with the browned bits in the butter, your buttercream will turn much paler in color as it’s whipped.)
- Remove the cooled cakes from the pan. Fill and frost the cake layers with the buttercream, then cover the cake with a thin crumb coat of frosting. Chill for 30 minutes to set the crumb coat, then frost all over with a final coat of frosting.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common questions with cake making, so that you can be successful in your own baking! I also suggest reading these comprehensive posts on making Perfect American Buttercream, How to Stack, Fill, Crumb Coat and Frost Layer Cakes and How to Use Piping Bags.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use buttermilk instead of whole milk?
Yes, you can replace the whole milk with buttermilk. Since buttermilk is more acidic than whole milk, you should also omit the lemon juice or vinegar.
What if I don’t have a vanilla bean?
If you don’t have vanilla beans, you can add 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste to the cake batter.
How do I make a smaller cake with 6-inch pans?
For a smaller, 3-layer 6-inch cake, make half the recipe.
What piping tip did you use for the frosting?
Tip 6B.
Can I use all purpose flour instead of cake flour?
You can use all purpose flour, but your banana layer cake will be lighter and fluffier if you use cake flour.
You Might Also Like
Banana Cream Pie Banana Walnut Bundt Cake Banana Pudding Cake 
Banana Bread Coffee Cake
Favorite Products
Did you love today’s recipe? Please rate the recipe and let me know in the comments what you thought! Also, be sure to follow Curly Girl Kitchen on Instagram, and tag me when you try one of my recipes so I can see all your delicious creations!
High Altitude Banana Layer Cake with Brown Butter Frosting
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Stand Mixer with Paddle Attachment
- Medium Saucepan
- 8-inch cake pans (x3)
Ingredients
Banana Milk
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 vanilla bean, split open and seeds scraped
- 3 very ripe bananas (with speckled brown/black spots on peel)
Banana Cake
- 3 ¼ cups cake flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 1 ½ cups banana milk, room temperature
- 1 tsp lemon juice or white distilled vinegar
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- 2 large egg whites (save the extra yolks for another use)
Brown Butter Frosting
- 2 cups (1 lb) unsalted butter
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp meringue powder
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4-1/3 cup banana milk, only as needed
Instructions
Banana Milk
- Peel the bananas, discard the peel, and slice the bananas into 1/2 inch pieces. Combine the milk, vanilla bean + scraped vanilla bean seeds, and the sliced bananas in a saucepan. Over medium heat, bring the milk to a simmer. Remove from the heat.
- Pour the milk with the bananas into a lidded container, and refrigerate for 12 hours (overnight) to infuse the milk with banana flavor. After 12 hours, use a slotted spoon to remove the bananas and the vanilla bean pod from the milk.TIP: You can either throw out the bananas, or mash them and use them in banana bread.
- Let the banana milk come to room temperature for about an hour, before mixing up your cake batter. You'll be using 1 1/2 cups of the banana milk in the cake batter, and the rest in the frosting.
Banana Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and lightly spray the bottoms of three 8-inch cake pans with non-stick baking spray.
- In a large bowl, sift together the cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt, then whisk to make sure everything is evenly distributed.
- In another large bowl, whisk together the banana milk (1 1/2 cups), lemon juice, melted butter, oil, eggs and egg whites until smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and whisk until combined and smooth, about 10-15 seconds. Divide the batter between the cake pans. Tap a few times against the counter to pop any large air bubbles.
- Bake the cakes for about 25-28 minutes, or until a cake tester or a toothpick comes out clean, and the tops spring back when lightly touched.
- Set the pans on a wire rack, cover them loosely with a clean kitchen towel, and cool completely before frosting. When ready to frost and assemble the cake, remove the cakes from the pans.
Brown Butter Frosting
- In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Continue to cook the butter, swirling the pan occasionally. It will hiss and spatter a bit, as the water evaporates, and the milk solids settle onto the bottom of the pan. When it's nearly ready, a layer of foam will form on top of the butter, and if you nudge the foam aside, you'll see nutty, golden brown milk solids on the bottom of the pan (if they turn dark brown or black, you've gone too far and burned the butter). The browning process might take about 5-10 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat and use a spatula to scrape all the browned milk solids off the bottom of the pan. Pour the browned butter and all the browned bits into a bowl.
- Let cool until the butter returns to a spreadable solid consistency. To speed this up, put the bowl in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours and stir the butter every 20 minutes or so until it's firmed up but still spreadable.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cooled brown butter for 1 minute until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, combine the powdered sugar, meringue powder and salt. With the mixer on low, add the powdered sugar mixture by spoonfuls, then the vanilla. Increase the speed to medium (#4/6 on a Kitchen Aid mixer), and beat for about 5 minutes until light and fluffy, scraping the bowl several times. The process of browning the butter removes the water from the butter, so this buttercream will be too dry unless you add back in some liquid. So while you're beating the buttercream, add in the remaining banana milk a tablespoon at a time, until you're happy with the consistency for spreading onto your cake. Turn the speed down to "stir" and mix for 1 minute to pop large air bubbles.
- Remove the cooled cakes from the pan. Fill and frost the cake layers with the buttercream, then cover the cake with a thin crumb coat of frosting. Chill for 30 minutes to set the crumb coat, then frost all over with a final coat of frosting.
This looks absolutely delicious! Banana anything is my favorite. Would I need to make any adjustments if my altitude is around 3500 feet or just follow your recipe exactly? Thanks so much! Melody
Melody, at 1700 feet lower than me, it’s likely that the recipe would work exactly as written for you. If you find that it doesn’t rise quite enough, then you may need to just decrease the flour by 1 tablespoon, and maybe increase the baking powder by 1/4 teaspoon, but I honestly don’t think you will need to change anything.
That’s great! I’m making this cake today. I’ll make the adjustments that you’ve suggested. I can’t wait to bite into it! Thank you!
This cake sounds/looks amazing and my family faves bananas! Thank you for sharing the recipe. But I’ve never made a cake that’s considered a “high altitude” recipe. I live in Virginia, near Washington, DC, not high altitude at all. So how do I adjust this recipe? I can’t wait to make/taste it!
Jeannie, at nearly sea level, you’ll probably need to decrease the flour by 2-3 tablespoons, and increase the baking powder by 1/2 teaspoon. I recommend reading this article for guidance: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/learn/resources/high-altitude-baking
Hi this seems great! but I’m down by the coast with an elevation of about 200-300. Should I follow the same advice you gave Melody or should I not make the cake at all, given the large altitude difference?
Alyssa, you can definitely make the cake, with a few more adjustments. At nearly sea level, you’ll probably need to decrease the flour by 2-3 tablespoons, and increase the baking powder by 1/2 teaspoon. I recommend reading this article for guidance: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/learn/resources/high-altitude-baking
I would love to make this cake but I am in Michigan. What changes need to be made to the ingredients and or baking time for my altitude.
Rae, I don’t know your exact altitude, but for low altitude or sea level, you’ll probably need to decrease the flour by 2-3 tablespoons, and increase the baking powder by 1/2 teaspoon. I recommend reading this article for guidance: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/learn/resources/high-altitude-baking
Thank you, I’ll give it a try.
I have been looking for a fluffy banana cake recipe for decades. This looks perfect. I just wanted to double check your suggestions when you live at sea level as I reside in Florida! Do I need to do anything in addition to reducing 2-3T flour and increasing baking powder by 1/2t? Does everything else remain the same in this recipe? Can’t wait to make this cake!!
Thank you
I think that’s probably all you’ll need to change. Please let me know how it goes!
I loved this cake! Baked it in Vegas, so not quite at sea level but not high high altitude either. It has nice a nice delicate banana flavor and the brown butter frosting is BOMB!
Thank you so much, I’m glad you love it!
If I wanted to do cupcakes instead of cake would I need to do anything to the recipe or just decrease the time? Thanks!
Usually cupcakes need a little extra flour at high altitude or they bake too flat, but I couldn’t say for sure on this recipe since I haven’t tested it as cupcakes.
I made the banana milk in the instant pot – cooked for 3 hours as I did not properly give myself enough time for the milk. Needed 3 cups to account for some evaporation. The milk itself tasted and smelled fantastic, I believe I gave it enough time to infuse. I’m bummed though because no one could taste the banana in the cake. It was a lot of work for no one to taste it. The frosting was fantastic.
If it was lacking in banana flavor, then it’s because it was not steeped for the recommended 12 hours, to really infuse the flavor.