Walnut Banana Cake

Whether it’s banana bread, banana cream pie or a delicious banana split, I love them all! That’s why I’m excited to showcase this moist yet fluffy Walnut Banana Cake!

Make this cake with ease using a yellow box cake mix as the base and then add wet ingredients, mashed banana and chopped walnuts for a “nuts-about-your-bananas” kind of treat! 

You can dress up your freshly baked Walnut Banana Cake with additional nuts, slices of bananas or even a rich and sticky caramel sauce. Serve it as it for a tasty afternoon treat or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream as a dessert. 

How to make Walnut Banana Cake

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spritz a 9×13 baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Mix the cake mix, cinnamon, eggs, water and oil until well combined. 
3. Beat the mashed bananas into the batter. 
4. Fold in nuts. 
5. Transfer the batter to the baking pan and spread evenly.
6. Bake 34 to 36 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center returns clean. Cool in the pan. 
7. If desired, garnish with caramel syrup, sliced bananas, and/or additional chopped walnuts.

CAN I FREEZE WALNUT BANANA CAKE?

• Absolutely! Allow your cake to cool completely before wrapping the baking pan with plastic wrap and aluminium foil. Store your cake in the freezer for up to 3 months and allow it to thaw in your refrigerator. You can serve your cake at room temperature or chilled.

• A great idea is to freeze your cake in individual slices first, then wrap them individually for freezer storage. This will allow you to take out the exact number of slices you require instead of thawing out an entire tray of cake. 

WHAT VARIATIONS CAN I MAKE TO THIS WALNUT CAKE?

• Add additional nuts to this cake of your choosing or replace the walnuts for a different nut entirely.

• If you have a nut allergy, simply omit the walnuts altogether.

• Add a cream cheese frosting to your cake instead of the suggested caramel syrup.

• Make walnut banana cupcakes instead a cake by dividing the cake batter into muffin tin cups. You will need to reduce the baking time for cupcakes though. I suggest checking on the cupcakes after baking for 20 minutes. 

• You can bake this Walnut Banana Cake in a bundt cake tin although it has the potential of losing some of its moisture this way.

• Make a layered Walnut Banana Cake by either dividing your batter or doubling it for a higher cake once fully assembled. Join the layers with some delicious cream cheese frosting. 

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WALNUT BANANA CAKE AND BREAD?

• Banana cake is made similarly to how you make any other cake with the addition of mashed banana for flavoring purposes whereas banana bread is much more dense which makes it easier to cut into bread-like slices as well as being able to toast it.  

Go Bananas for These Recipes

• Strawberry Banana Smoothie Bowl
• Banana Cream Pie Cups
• Cream Cheese Stuffed Banana Bread