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Banana Bread Snack Cake

Banana bread snack cake baked in an 8x8 pan with a moist, dense crumb and golden edges. Finish with brown butter cream cheese frosting in swooped waves for a classic banana-bar style dessert.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings: 16 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 310
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Banana bread snack cake
  • 2 bananas Ripe, mashed.
  • 0.5 cup butter Melted.
  • 0.75 cup sugar Granulated.
  • 2 eggs Large.
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 0.5 tsp baking soda
  • 0.5 tsp cinnamon
  • 0.25 tsp salt
For the brown butter frosting
  • 0.25 cup butter Browned.
  • 1.5 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 tbsp heavy cream
  • 0.5 tsp vanilla extract

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan
  • 1 Dutch oven

Method
 

Bake the banana snack cake
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F and grease an 8x8 square pan. Make sure the pan is fully coated so the golden edges release cleanly.
  2. Whisk melted butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla into mashed bananas until smooth. Stop when no streaks remain for a dense, moist batter.
  3. Fold in all-purpose flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt until just combined. Mix only until you don’t see dry flour.
  4. Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 25–30 minutes. Bake until the top is golden and a toothpick comes out clean.
Brown butter frosting and finish
  1. Brown the butter in a saucepan over medium heat until golden and nutty. When it smells toasted and turns amber, remove from heat.
  2. Cool browned butter for 5 minutes, then whisk in powdered sugar, heavy cream, and vanilla extract until smooth. Keep mixing until the frosting falls in a thick ribbon.
  3. Frost the completely cooled cake and slice into squares. Spread in swoops so the wave pattern shows across the golden top.

Notes

For the best dense crumb, mash bananas thoroughly and mix the batter just until the flour disappears—overmixing can make the cake tougher. Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days; for best texture, let slices sit at room temperature for 10–15 minutes before eating. Freezing is OK for unfrosted cake squares (up to 2 months), then thaw and frost. If you want a lighter option, use light cream and reduce powdered sugar slightly to keep the frosting spreadable.