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Banana Pound Cake

Banana pound cake with a golden caramelized crust and a tight, velvety crumb. Dense banana cake slices show flecks of banana with a vanilla glaze that drips down the sides.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 12 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 380
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Banana cake
  • 3 bananas ripe, mashed
  • 1 cup butter softened
  • 2 cup sugar
  • 4 eggs large
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 0.5 tsp baking soda
  • 0.5 tsp baking powder
  • 0.5 tsp salt
  • 0.5 cup sour cream
Vanilla glaze
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 tbsp milk add more milk as needed
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan
  • 1 Dutch oven

Method
 

Bake the pound cake
  1. Preheat oven to 325°F and grease and flour a large loaf pan or bundt pan. Set up the pan so the cake releases cleanly after baking.
  2. Beat butter and sugar together for 5 minutes until very light and fluffy. Stop when the mixture looks pale and airy.
  3. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Mix until each egg fully disappears before adding the next.
  4. Mix in vanilla extract and mashed bananas. The batter should look evenly speckled with banana.
  5. Alternate folding in the flour mixture and sour cream in three additions. Start with flour, then sour cream, repeating until just combined.
  6. Pour batter into the prepared pan and tap once to settle the surface. Spread to an even top so it bakes uniformly.
  7. Bake for 65–75 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean and the top is deeply golden. Look for a caramelized, browned dome before removing.
Glaze and serve
  1. Cool the cake in the pan for 20 minutes before unmolding. Letting it rest helps the crumb stay tight and cleanly slices.
  2. Whisk powdered sugar with 2–3 tablespoons milk and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract until smooth. Adjust with more milk to make a pourable glaze.
  3. Drizzle vanilla glaze over the cooled cake so it runs down the sides. Serve once the glaze sets slightly, with visible dense banana crumb in each slice.

Notes

For the densest banana pound cake crumb, mash bananas well and avoid overmixing after the flour goes in. Store covered at room temperature up to 3 days or refrigerate up to 5 days. Freeze sliced cake (well wrapped) up to 2 months, thaw overnight in the fridge. For a lighter option, swap half the butter for neutral oil, keeping the batter mixed only until combined.