Banana cake is so comforting, nostalgic, and is always such a crowd-pleaser! My version has a secret ingredient – miso paste – the savory depth of white miso paste adds a subtle umami that plays beautifully with the natural sweetness of ripe bananas. Top that off with my amazing brown butter cream cheese frosting, and you’ve got a cake that’s familiar yet totally elevated.
I absolutely love banana bread and do have about six different versions on the blog at this point. I’ve also made a loaf of miso banana bread before and it was undoubtedly delicious. However, I wanted to change it up a little bit, make it extra special, so when we hosted a little BBQ a couple months ago, I skipped my trusty brown butter banana bread recipe and opted for this new miso banana cake with cream cheese frosting. And boy, was it a hit!
Trang’s Recipe Highlights
- FLAVOR: Sweet banana meets savory miso, balanced by nutty brown butter and tangy cream cheese.
- TEXTURE: Extremely moist and tender crumb with a creamy frosting.
- EASE: Definitely an easier cake to make since it is more of a banana sheet cake rather than a layered cake. The cake batter can be made entirely by hand with a whisk and a single mixing bowl – fuss-free baking at its best. The brown butter frosting whips up like a dream in just 5 minutes! Brown butter may seem intimidating but is actually very easy to make, just follow my guide on how to make brown butter.
Ingredients you’ll need
If you want to skip ahead, the complete list of ingredients with quantities and step-by-step instructions are in the recipe card, as always.
You’ll need 9 ingredients, pictured below, for the miso banana cake. Read on for some notes and tips regarding the key ingredients.
Freeze your leftover brown bananas
Ripe bananas are always best for baking, of course! I used frozen bananas in this banana cake recipe (as pictured) because I always seem to end up with a bunch going brown all at once. To prevent food waste, I freeze them – and it’s one of my favorite tricks. It means I can make banana cake, banana bread, banana muffins or even banana cookies at a moment’s notice. That said, if you have fresh, spotty brown bananas on hand, those will work beautifully too!
What type of miso to use
There are many different types of miso available at Japanese or other Asian grocery stores, ranging from white (shiro) miso to red (aka) miso. For desserts, I prefer white miso, which has a milder, sweeter flavor that works beautifully in baked goods.
In this miso banana cake, I used a premium white miso with lower sodium content (290 mg per tablespoon). It’s not too salty, so I can add a generous amount to boost the umami without overwhelming the cake. This is different from the white miso I use in my miso chocolate chip cookies, which has a higher salt content (840 mg per tablespoon) – perfect for recipes where I want that salty-sweet contrast to shine.
Interestingly, both recipes use the same amount of miso, but the effect is quite different thanks to the sodium level. If interested, you can learn more about miso from one of my favorite blogs, Just One Cookbook.
Oil versus butter
I love using brown butter in all my banana bread recipes but for this banana cake, I opted to use oil to ensure its soft and moist texture. Plus I’m already using brown butter frosting on top so I didn’t want to overdo it.
As for the brown butter cream cheese frosting recipe, you’ll need just 4 ingredients to make it, see pic below.
Other frosting options
For whatever reason you don’t want to use the most amazing brown butter cream cheese frosting, you can always opt for a regular cream cheese frosting instead.
I also love banana and cookie butter flavor combo, so this Biscoff frosting is a perfect frosting substitution.
You can use this peanut butter frosting to create a classic flavor combo of banana and peanut butter!
Another classic flavor combo is banana and chocolate, while I have a few different chocolate frostings on the blog, I recommend this super easy 2-ingredient chocolate ganache, it spreads on perfectly for a rustic style cake.
And if you want even more umami, try this amazing miso caramel frosting – my new favorite frosting!
Hungry for more?
Miso Banana Cake Recipe
Equipment
- 8" or 9” Square Baking Pan
Ingredients
Miso banana cake
- 1 ⅓ cup mashed banana, 320 g
- 3 tablespoon white miso paste, 50 g
- 3 oz vegetable or canola oil, 89 ml, 77 g
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¾ cup brown sugar, packed, 150 g
- 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour, 230 g
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- Melted butter or baking spray for pan
Brown butter cream cheese frosting
- 4 oz unsalted butter, 113 g
- 8 oz cream cheese, 227 g, room temperature
- ¾ cup powdered sugar, 85 g
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Brown butter for the frosting – Place the butter in a light colored saucepan over medium heat. Once the butter melts, it will become foamy. When the foam subsides, you will see clear bubbles, start whisking continuously at this point to keep the milk solids from burning. When the butter is caramel in color and smells nutty, remove from heat.4 oz unsalted butter
- Strain the brown butter – Line a fine mesh sieve with a piece of cheesecloth and strain the brown butter through it into your stand mixer bowl, pressing and squeezing with a spatula to get every drop of brown butter from the cheesecloth without getting the milk solids into the liquid. Set aside to cool until it re-solidifies (a few hours). TIP: straining out the milk solids ensures a smooth frosting.
- Preheat the oven – Set the oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350°F.
- Prepare the baking pan – Brush your baking pan with melted butter or nonstick baking spray and set aside.Melted butter or baking spray for pan
- Prepare wet ingredients for the banana cake – Mash the bananas with a potato masher in a large mixing bowl. Add miso paste, oil, eggs and vanilla, and beat with a whisk until thoroughly combined.1 ⅓ cup mashed banana, 3 tablespoon white miso paste, 3 oz vegetable or canola oil, 2 large eggs, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Add sugar – Add brown sugar and beat again until completely incorporated.¾ cup brown sugar
- Add dry ingredients – Sift flour, baking soda and baking powder directly into the bowl with the wet ingredients. Mix gently with a whisk or a spatula until combined and no trace of flour remains.1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder
- Bake – Transfer the cake batter to the prepared baking pan and bake in the preheated oven for approximately 37 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean with just a few crumbs attached.
- Cool – Remove the cake from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack before adding frosting.
- Make the frosting – Add softened cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla to your stand mixer bowl with the solidified brown butter. Fit it with the wire whisk. Stir to incorporate the powdered sugar. Gradually increase the mixer speed to combine all the ingredients to prevent anything from flying out of the bowl.8 oz cream cheese, ¾ cup powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Beat until fluffy – Continue beating on medium high speed until the brown butter cream cheese frosting is fluffy and creamy. Give it a taste and add more powdered sugar if a sweeter frosting is desired.
- Decorate and serve – Spread frosting evenly on top of the cooled cake with an offset spatula to cover the entire surface of the cake. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Brown your butter ahead of time: start the recipe with browning the butter since it needs a few hours to cool and re-solidify before you can use it to make the frosting.
- Thaw frozen bananas: if you’re using frozen bananas like me, make sure they thaw completely and just mash them up along with the liquid that comes out as they thaw. No need to strain.
- Choose low sodium miso paste: the white miso paste I used in this recipe has 290 mg of sodium per tablespoon. Check the nutrition label when you pick out your miso paste. The brand I used is Marukome. If your miso paste has a higher sodium level, you may need to adjust the amount to prevent the cake from being overly salty. Keep the total sodium from miso paste to around 900 – 1000 mg.
- Lining your baking pan: I didn’t line my baking pan since it is glass and has a lid for storage, so I just bake, serve and store in the same container. But if you’re using a metal baking pan or prefer to move the cake to a different serving plate, I would suggest lining it with parchment paper so you can remove the cake easily.
- Yield: this cake can serve up to 12 people or 9 for more generous portions.
- Storage: you can keep your miso banana cake in the baking container, cover, and store in the fridge for 3-5 days. Or you can freeze leftovers for up to 3 months. Let it come up to room temperature a bit before serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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