You’ll love this amazing Banana Bundt Cake with a surprise cream cheese filling in the center. The cake is soft and moist, with a little crunch from the walnuts, the tangy cream cheese filling adds another layer of flavor and texture. I promise you’ll want a second slice.
If you love banana bread but want something a little fancier than a simple loaf cake, this banana bundt cake is just what you need to make. It is like banana bread baked in a bundt pan but even better because of the delicious cheesecake center!
This cake is inspired by my friend Marie’s Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake with Cheesecake Filling, which has been on my list to make for a while but I never got around to it. So now it has become a banana bundt cake with cheesecake filling instead, because I had a bunch of brown bananas sitting around.
Table of Contents
Why you should make this recipe
- This easy banana cake is ready to serve as soon as you flip it out of the pan, no decorating is needed except for a little dusting of powdered sugar.
- The cheesecake filling in the middle gives it additional flavor and texture without requiring any frosting or glaze
- It is made with both oil and butter to keep the cake moist while still having that buttery flavorful taste.
- It truly is the best ever banana cake you’ll make without all the fuss of layering and frosting.
Ingredients and substitutions
The following instructions, step-by-step photos, and tips are here to help you visualize how to make the recipe. You can always skip straight to the printable recipe card at the end of this post.
Banana cake ingredients
- Banana – super ripe bananas are the star ingredient in this recipe. Fresh or previously frozen ripe bananas will work here.
- Butter – I used unsalted butter but you can substitute salted butter, just make sure to reduce the amount of salt in the batter by half.
- Oil – You might wonder why I use both oil and butter in this recipe. Oil tends to help make baked goods more moist. Since this cake will be baked for quite a long time, I like to add oil to ensure the cake stays moist.
- Egg – since it is a lot of cake, I used 3 large eggs to bind it all together.
- Vanilla – pure vanilla extract is added to compliment the banana flavor and to give the cake more complexity.
- Brown sugar – brown sugar adds depth and extra moisture from the molasses. Also bananas and brown sugar go well together. Dark or light brown sugar will both work. But if you don’t have brown sugar, you can substitute granulated sugar.
- Flour – I use all purpose flour. If you want to make this gluten free, try Bob’s Red Mill or King Arthur gluten free flour. Readers have successfully substituted gluten free flour in some other recipes. However, I have not tried it with this particular recipe.
- Leavening agents – I use both baking soda and baking powder. The baking soda will be activated by the acidity in the brown sugar, so if you’re not using brown sugar in this recipe, replace baking soda with baking powder.
- Salt – I always use kosher salt in all my recipes. For table salt, use about half to two thirds as much.
- Walnuts – walnuts add crunch to the cake. You can also use pecans. I always toast the nuts before using them in recipes to bring out their flavor.
- Cinnamon – cinnamon goes well with banana, though you can omit it if you want just pure banana flavor, or feel free to adjust the amount to your liking.
Cheesecake filling ingredients
- Cream cheese – this is the main ingredient in the cheesecake filling. A different type of soft cheese, like mascarpone, will work as a substitute but I like the tang that cream cheese adds.
- Granulated sugar – just â…“ cup is used to sweeten the cheesecake filling, you could also use brown sugar if that’s what you have on hand.
- Egg – just 1 egg is used to set the filing.
- Vanilla – adds flavor. Don’t skip it!
- Cinnamon – also adds flavor and compliments the cinnamon in the cake itself. You can omit cinnamon if you wish.
How to make banana bundt cake
The following instructions, step-by-step photos, and tips are here to help you visualize how to make the recipe. You can always skip straight to the printable recipe card at the end of this post.
Make cheesecake filling
Beat the softened cream cheese with sugar until creamy and smooth. Then, add egg, vanilla, cinnamon and beat again until thoroughly combined and smooth. Set aside in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Tip: If you forgot to let the cream cheese come to room temperature before making the cheesecake filling or if it doesn’t cream easily, you could warm it up briefly in the microwave for 10 – 15 seconds to help soften it.
Make banana bundt cake batter
Peel the bananas and place them in a large mixing bowl. Mash the bananas with a potato masher. Measure 1 ½ cup if you didn’t weigh your bananas.
Add the melted butter, oil, eggs, vanilla extract and beat until smooth. Then add brown sugar and beat to combine.
In another mixing bowl, mix together the dry ingredients and add it to the wet ingredients. Mix until just combined with a large whisk or spatula. Fold in the chopped walnuts.
Assemble and bake
Grease and flour a bundt pan generously. Spoon half of the cake batter into the prepared bundt pan, distribute it evenly. Spoon in the cheesecake filling in an even layer, try to avoid the sides of the pan.
Add the remaining cake batter on top. Try to cover all the cheesecake filling. Bake for about 50 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean with just a few crumbs attached.
Tip: When checking the cake for doneness, make sure you’re checking off to the side so you are actually poking the cake and not the cheesecake filling.
Variations
I love this cake just the way it is but if you want to change up the flavor, try these ideas:
- Switch out the walnuts for pecans or macadamias.
- Don’t like nuts? Fold in chocolate chips or butterscotch chips.
- Add both nuts and chips of your choice, just keep the total to 1 cup.
- Mix in fresh blueberries instead of nuts.
FAQs
I brush the bundt pan with melted butter and then sprinkle it with flour using a small sieve. This will prevent the cake from sticking to the pan especially in the nooks and crannies of the bundt pan. You could also use baking spray with flour.
After years of flipping the bundt pan over and letting the cake flop onto a wire rack heavily, I figured out that placing a wire rack on top of the bundt pan, then flipping the whole contraption over is much safer! 😂 The bundt cake would slide out of the pan on top of the wire rack. Now simply lift the cake pan out of the way.Â
But it is best if you don’t try to remove the cake while it is still hot. Let it cool in the pan and set completely. As it cools, it should also pull away from the sides of the pan making it easier to remove as well.
Volume wise, I think a 9×13 baking pan is large enough for this banana bundt cake recipe. However, the cake will be thinner and you’ll end up with a very thin cheesecake filling in the middle. Alternately you could just dollop the cheesecake filling and swirl it on top of the batter.
Storage
Room temperature: You can keep the cake at room temperature the day you bake it and overnight if you’re still letting it cool after baking. But it is best to keep it refrigerated beyond 1 day.
Refrigerator: Since this banana bundt cake is filled with a cream cheese filling, it is best to keep the cake and any leftovers refrigerated. It will last 3-5 days.
Freezer: This bundt cake also freezes really well. You can freeze it whole or in slices. Either way, wrap it well in plastic and foil, then store in a freezer safe bag for up to 6 months. Thaw the cake in the fridge overnight or at room temperature for several hours before serving.
You can serve this cake at room temperature but I love it best when served slightly warm. Heat a slice of cake in the microwave for 15 – 30 seconds to take the chill off and warm it just a bit, whether your cake is coming from the refrigerator or frozen and thawed.
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📖 Recipe card
Banana Bundt Cake
Equipment
- Bundt Pan
Ingredients
Cheesecake Filling
- 12 oz cream cheese (room temperature, 1 ½ package, 340 g)
- â…“ cup granulated sugar (67 g)
- 1 large eggs (room temperature)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
Banana Cake
- 2 ¼ cup all-purpose flour (290 g)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 3 large eggs
- 1 ½ cup mashed bananas (very ripe, 370 g, about 3 – 3 ½ bananas)
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 4 oz unsalted butter (melted and cooled, 1 stick, ½ cup, 113 g)
- ¼ cup oil (olive, canola or vegetable oil, 50 g)
- 1 cup brown sugar (200 g)
- 1 cup chopped walnuts (106 g, toasted & roughly chopped)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Spray your bundt pan with nonstick spray or brush with melted butter, flour it generously especially if the bundt pan has a lot of decorative features. Tap out the excess flour and set aside.
- Toast the walnuts in a skillet over medium heat until fragrant and lightly brown, about 3 – 5 minutes. Set aside to cool, then roughly chop or break them up into smaller pieces with your hands.
- Make the cheesecake filling: Using an electric hand mixer or a sturdy spatula, beat the softened cream cheese with sugar until creamy and smooth. Add egg, vanilla, cinnamon, and beat until combined. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Make the banana cake batter: Mash the bananas in a bowl using a potato masher. Measure 1 ½ cup of mashed bananas and transfer it into a large mixing bowl. If you weigh your bananas, you can just mash it directly in the mixing bowl and skip the cup measurement.
- Add the melted butter, oil, eggs, vanilla extract, and beat until smooth. Add brown sugar and beat to combine.
- In another mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon, stir in the kosher salt and mix until evenly distributed.
- Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined with a large whisk or spatula. Fold in the chopped walnuts.
- Spoon half of the cake batter into the prepared bundt pan, distribute it evenly. Spoon in the cheesecake filling in an even layer, try to avoid the sides of the pan. Add the remaining cake batter on top.
- Bake for about 50 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean with just a few crumbs attached.
- Set the bundt pan on a wire rack to cool completely before removing the cake. The cake should pull away from the sides as it cools.
Notes
- When checking cake for doneness, make sure you’re checking off to the side so you are actually poking the cake and not the cheesecake filling.
- If the cream cheese is still cold and doesn’t cream easily, you could warm it up briefly in the microwave for 10 – 15 seconds to help soften it.
- You could substitute walnuts with pecans.
Nutrition
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Made this recipe today as I had just the right amount of very ripe bananas sitting around. It turned out great! Everyone loved it. The only thing I changed was I used brown butter which I also had around and reduced the sugar to about 125g as the bananas were very ripe and I tend to like my desserts not too sweet. Will definitely make again. I also believe that the base recipe for the banana cake can be used very versatilely.
Thanks for trying the recipe, Nicole!