This Banana Cake for a Crowd is a lovely option when you need to bake something generous enough to share with family and friends. Made with ripe bananas, butter, sugar, eggs and flour, it is a simple homemade cake with a soft, moist texture and plenty of banana flavour.
Whether you are baking for a birthday, a school event or a family gathering, this recipe is ideal when you need to serve a larger group without making several separate cakes.
A simple banana cake for feeding a crowd
Every now and then I need to cater for large groups and when this is the case I love making cakes, the bigger the better! But the flavour has to be good and of course it has to use easy ingredients otherwise it will not get made in our house.
So this recipe perfectly marries all of those things together! And the baking techniques in this recipe are so easy. I used my food mixer but this can absolutely be made by hand.
What ingredients do you need to make this banana cake?
One of the things I love about this Banana Cake for a Crowd is that it uses simple, everyday baking ingredients that you are likely to already have in your pantry. You will need plenty of ripe bananas for that lovely banana flavour, along with a few basic ingredients to create a soft, moist cake that is perfect for sharing.
- Butter
- White sugar
- Eggs
- Over-ripe bananas
- Plain white flour
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Milk
For the chocolate icing:
- Butter
- Icing sugar
- Cocoa powder
- Vanilla
- Milk
You can find the full quantities and instructions in the recipe card below.
What size baking tin should I use for this banana cake?
I made today’s cake in a large roasting dish (approx. 25cm by 30cm) so you can do this or make two small cakes, or even use it for a muffin base!
When baking a large cake you can risk having the cake a little drier than you might like at the edges. So be sure to check early and often to ensure you bake it only until a skewer or knife comes out clean and remove from the oven.
Choosing the perfect icing for your banana cake
Then comes the icing. I asked on my Facebook page what icing I should choose for this cake and overwhelmingly the answer was CHOCOLATE! By a country mile this was the most popular choice, but lemon, cream cheese icing, vanilla or even golden syrup icing were suggested. So any of those would be lovely on here too.
See below for links to my various icing ideas as you can never have too many icing recipes at your fingertips! I have a basic chocolate icing, but today I made a more luxurious icing and it certainly worked well with this cake.
- Fluffy Lemon Icing
- Butter Cream Icing
- Cream Cheese Frosting – Two Varieties
- Basic Chocolate Icing
- Basic Vanilla Icing
How ripe should bananas be for banana cake?
As with most recipes needing bananas the riper the better! So the perfect banana is the one left in your bowl too long and has gone soft on the inside and brown on the outside.
Often I chuck these in the freezer until the next time I need them. This recipe calls for 4 large over-ripe bananas so plan ahead – or like me make it on a week the kids decide they don’t want bananas for afternoon tea!
Troubleshooting common banana cake problems
Banana cakes can vary depending on the ingredients used, the ripeness of your bananas and even how your oven bakes. Sometimes a cake may turn out a little drier, denser or not rise quite as much as you expected. If this happens, don’t worry, there are often simple reasons behind it. I have put together a handy Cake Troubleshooting Guide covering some of the most common baking problems, what might have caused them and helpful tips to get better results next time.
Looking for another banana cake recipe?
I have other Banana cake recipes on this blog but today wanted one that was super simple to share with you and this one hits the spot!
While you are here you may wish to check out my Grandma’s Banana Cake and also my “You Just Have to Make it” Banana Cake which is fabulous, moist and a little bit crazy!
More delicious banana recipes to try
If you have a few extra ripe bananas sitting in the fruit bowl, there are plenty of other lovely ways to use them! I have lots of banana recipes on my Just A Mum’s Kitchen website. Be sure to have a browse and find something new to try next time you have bananas to use up.
Here are some of my favourites:
Banana Cake for a Crowd recipe
Banana Cake for a Crowd!
This Banana Cake for a Crowd is a soft, moist homemade banana cake that is easy to prepare and perfect for feeding a larger group.
Ingredients
- 300g Butter - Melted
- 2 Cups White Sugar, 220 grams
- 4 Eggs
- 2 Cups Overripe Mashed Bananas (approx. 4 bananas)
- 4 Cups Plain White Flour, 600 grams
- 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
- 2 teaspoons Baking Soda
- 6 Tablespoons Milk
Chocolate Icing
- 100 grams butter
- 3 Cups Icing Sugar, 420 grams
- 2/3 Cup Cocoa Powder, 66 grams
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- 6-8 Tablespoons Milk - add slowly until desired consistency - may need more so test as you go
Instructions
- Preheat Oven to 180C
- Grease & Line a Roasting Dish sized cake pan
- Melt the butter and add to a large bowl - I used my food mixer
- Add the sugar, eggs and mashed banana to the butter and mix until well combined
- Add the flour and baking powder and mix again until just combined.
- Heat the milk until hot and add the baking soda - it will double in size so use a mug for this
- Pour this mixture into the main bowl and beat slowly to combine then increase your mixer to higher speed and combine for two minutes (or if by hand mix hard!!)
- Pour into prepared dish and bake for 45-55 minutes - until a knife or skewer comes out clean at the centre.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool before icing.
- Soften the butter and beat well in a medium bowl for 2-3 minutes (I used food mixer)
- Add half the icing sugar, half the cocoa, all of the vanilla and slowly mix in and add half the milk until completely combined (*NOTE Slow so you don't end up in a cloud of icing sugar & cocoa!!)
- Slowly add the second half of the icing sugar and cocoa and mix well, continue to beat adding the remaining milk until desired consistency is achieved. You will find you may need to add up to 13 tablespoons of milk depending on the weather and the products you use. This is fine, continue to add milk until you get a rich creamy icing full of chocolate flavour!
- Generously spread over the cooled Banana Cake and serve!
- Enjoy!
Nutrition Information
Yield 35 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 243Total Fat 10gSaturated Fat 6gUnsaturated Fat 4gCholesterol 46mgSodium 183mgCarbohydrates 36gFiber 1gSugar 23gProtein 3g
JustAMumNZ.com, occasionally offers nutritional information for recipes contained on this site. This information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although justamumnz.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
I really hope you love this Banana Cake for a Crowd as much as we do. It is such a simple, delicious cake to make when you have a large group to feed, or you could make two cakes so you can freeze one for a later date. I know you will come back to this recipe whenever you need a generous homemade cake to share. Enjoy!
If you give this recipe a go, I’d love to hear how it turned out for you in the comments. You can also leave a ⭐ rating in the recipe card above, it really helps others find and enjoy this recipe too.
You can also find me over on Facebook and Instagram for more baking and cooking inspiration, or join my newsletter to receive my latest recipes straight to your inbox.
Happy baking,
Anna x
Robyn says
A big tick ✅ thank you. Will be keeping this nannie cake recipe for the family special
Leonie says
I wonder if you could make this gluten free?
justamumnz says
I haven’t tested it myself but many of my recipes work well using a good gluten free flour that’s designed to be a straight swap with regular flour.
Rejieli Navualiku says
I have used this recipe so many times …coz all the ingredients are all balanced and tastes 👍 👌 👍
Anna From Just A Mum says
I’m pleased you liked it!
Ana Williams says
I only use this banana cake recipe now 😊
Tharine Roelofse says
How should I adjust the receipt if I have a 24 x 13.5 x 6.5 cm dish?
Alison Lynch says
Looking to make this recipe.
Just wondering if it’s plain flour flour r self raising. Also what measurement for cake tin
justamumnz says
Plain white flour and my roasting dish is approximately 25x35cm
Lee says
Hi there this recipe look just what I am after. Will this stand up to carving and fondant?
justamumnz says
Yes it’s quite a firm cake ☺️
Diane Lewis says
I have made this cake a couple of times now & it is yummy. This time I added a chopped block of caramilk chocolate as I thought it would go well with the banana & it is delicious. Made a cream cheese topping for it too.
justamumnz says
Oh wow that would have been amazing!
Alan says
I made this yesterday and it came out perfectly. Thank you. I had 2 1/2 cups of banana, so I made 1.25 times the recipe. I added chocolate chunks and fudge pieces to the mixture and I made my own chocolate buttercream icing, topped with triple chocolate curls and the remaining choc chunks and fudge pieces. Absolutely delicious! Thanks again!
justamumnz says
Wow that sounds amazing!!!! So glad you enjoyed the recipe ?
Kelly says
I’m glad this popped up in my fb feed today as I need something for kindy bake sale.
justamumnz says
Oh perfect!! I hope the bake sale goes well. Anna xx
Susan says
Thanks
made this cake for Hubby’s birthday and it came out really great.
I used margarine, didn’t melt it before and forgot to add the flour before The hot milk/baking soda.
But in all, it came out really good.
Susan says
Thanks
made this cake for Hubby’s birthday and it came out really great.
I used margarine, didn’t melt it before an forgot to add the flour before The hot milk/baking soda.
But in all, it came out really good.
justamumnz says
Great Susan! I’m so pleased it went well ?
leeola wardlaw says
I just love this recipe xx also I usually mix the icing then re-heat it in the microwave give it a mix and let it cool before icing the cake this gives a very yummy fudgy flavouring xxx
justamumnz says
Ooh yum!!!
sherrie says
I’ve made this twice now for my family and they simply adore it. It even outshines my own never fail and sure to please cake. It’s moist and cooks beautifully and I think you don’t really need to ice this unless of course your making it for little children. Great recipe and feeds the masses. Just what you need when your filling the cake tins!!!
justamumnz says
I am so pleased you like it Sherrie! It is wonderful to have a cake that is so simple but goes so far. Thank you so much for letting me know 😀
sherrie says
I’ve made this twice now and my family simply love this cake. More so than my famous recipe handed down from my mum. It’s beautiful and moist and I find that it really doesn’t need to be iced at all….unless of course if I’m making this for little children and they love the extra sugar kick with sprinkles lol.
D says
I made this moist gorgeous moreish cake and not many crumbs! when eatiing .my child liked and now relatives want for christmas busy busy.Have to make this again was huge by the way and takes ages.its well worth it .if it doesn’t smell sweet bananery its definitely not ready
justamumnz says
Glad you like it! ?