Decadent Banana Pound Cake: Moist, Flavorful & Easy Homemade Recipe
Decadent Banana Pound Cake: Moist, Flavorful & Easy Homemade Recipe
[Home Baking Recipe] The Ultimate Banana Pound Cake / Banana Bread Recipe
Do you always have ripe bananas sitting in your fruit bowl, waiting to be used? 🍌 This recipe is for a wonderfully moist and flavorful Banana Pound Cake that’s perfect for using up those overripe bananas! It’s a delightful twist on banana bread, offering a different kind of soft, comforting texture. Inspired by a recipe from YouTube’s ‘American Style Mom’, we’ve tweaked it to create what we consider a ‘life-changing’ recipe! It’s incredibly simple, making it a fantastic choice for beginner bakers. Share this easy banana bread recipe with your friends and family!
Basic Ingredients- 230g All-purpose flour
- 150g Granulated sugar
- 1 tsp Baking powder
- 1/4 tsp Baking soda
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Ground cinnamon
- 113g Unsalted butter, melted
- 2 Eggs, room temperature
- 2 Ripe bananas, mashed
- 2 Tbsp Plain yogurt
- A handful of walnuts, roughly chopped (optional)
Cooking Instructions
Step 1
Let’s start by combining all the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour (230g), granulated sugar (150g), baking powder (1 tsp), baking soda (1/4 tsp), salt (1/4 tsp), and ground cinnamon (1 tsp). Whisking them together beforehand ensures even distribution and prevents lumps later on.
Step 2
Next, prepare the wet ingredients. Take 2 ripe bananas and mash them thoroughly with a fork until smooth. If you have vanilla extract, adding 2 tsp at this stage will enhance the banana aroma beautifully – but it’s perfectly fine to skip if you don’t have it! Stir in 2 tablespoons of plain yogurt. The yogurt adds extra moisture and tenderness to the cake.
Step 3
Now, let’s combine the wet components. To the mashed banana and yogurt mixture, add the melted unsalted butter (113g) and the 2 room-temperature eggs. Whisk everything together until well combined and smooth. Make sure your eggs are at room temperature; cold eggs can cause the butter to separate.
Step 4
Time to bring everything together! Sift the dry ingredients (from step 1) over the wet ingredients (from step 2). Sifting helps to aerate the flour and prevent any clumps, leading to a lighter cake texture. Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients using a spatula until just combined. Be careful not to overmix; stop as soon as you no longer see streaks of flour. Overmixing can result in a tough cake.
Step 5
Prepare your baking vessel. You can use a standard loaf pan, a rectangular pound cake pan, or even oven-safe bowls. Don’t fill the pan too full – the cake will rise as it bakes. Aim to fill it about two-thirds of the way. At this point, you can choose to gently fold in chopped walnuts into the batter, or sprinkle them on top after pouring the batter into the pan. The added crunch of walnuts is a lovely addition!
Step 6
Let’s get baking! If you’re using an air fryer, we found that 170°C (around 340°F) for approximately 27 minutes works wonderfully. Baking times can vary slightly depending on your specific air fryer model, so it’s always a good idea to perform a toothpick test: insert a toothpick into the center of the cake, and if it comes out clean, it’s done! This method yields a delightful ‘crispy outside, moist inside’ texture with a beautiful golden-brown crust.
Step 7
If you’re using a conventional oven, bake at 180°C (around 350°F) for about 50 minutes. Here’s a comparison between air fryer and oven baking: the air fryer tends to dry out the cake slightly more, resulting in a crisper exterior. An oven, on the other hand, often produces a more uniformly soft and moist crumb. Both methods are delicious, so choose the one that suits your equipment best!
Step 8
Once baked, carefully remove the banana pound cake from its pan and place it on a wire rack to cool completely. The aroma as you take the first bite is heavenly – a burst of banana flavor fills your mouth, complemented by that perfect contrast of a slightly crisp exterior and a tender, moist interior. It’s so simple to make, you should definitely give it a try!
Step 9
This photo shows a larger cake baked in a mini oven. At the time, we didn’t have a traditional loaf pan, so we used a deep, oval ceramic dish. While unconventional, it gave the cake a unique and charming shape!
Step 10
Here’s a look at the cross-section after slicing. You can see the moist crumb beautifully studded with pieces of delicious walnut. The sweetness of the banana and the nuttiness of the walnuts create a wonderfully complex flavor profile. Enjoy a slice with your favorite coffee or tea for a perfect treat!
