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Carrot Banana Cake

Carrot banana cake with moist spiced layers and thick cream cheese frosting. This easy carrot cake bakes up tender from mashed banana and shredded carrots, then gets a smooth frosting swirl.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Servings: 12 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Carrot banana cake
  • 2 bananas Ripe, mashed.
  • 1 cup shredded carrots About 2 medium carrots.
  • 0.5 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1.5 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 0.5 tsp nutmeg
  • 0.25 tsp ginger
  • 0.5 tsp salt
  • 0.5 cup walnuts Chopped (optional).
Cream cheese frosting
  • 8 oz cream cheese Soften.
  • 0.5 cup butter Soften.
  • 2 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan
  • 2 sheet pan

Method
 

Prep and bake the cake
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease two 8-inch round pans or a 9x13 dish.
  2. Whisk the vegetable oil, brown sugar, large eggs, and vanilla extract together until smooth.
  3. Stir in the mashed bananas and shredded carrots until evenly distributed.
  4. Fold in the all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt just until combined.
  5. Fold in the chopped walnuts (optional) until the batter looks evenly speckled.
  6. Divide the batter between the pans and bake for 30–35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
Frost and finish
  1. Beat the softened cream cheese, softened butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until smooth and fluffy.
  2. Cool the cakes completely before frosting generously, then top as desired with shredded carrot and banana slices.

Notes

Pro tip: Mash the bananas thoroughly so the crumb stays moist without visible banana chunks. Store the frosted cake covered in the fridge up to 4 days; freeze unfrosted layers up to 2 months (wrap well) and frost after thawing. For a lighter option, use low-fat cream cheese and light butter to reduce richness while keeping the frosting spreadable.