Cardamom Banana Cake with Coconut Frosting

Do I really need to write a post about this Cardamom Banana Cake with Coconut Frosting? I mean, LOOK AT IT. A picture’s worth a thousand words, so I’m just gonna peace out for the rest of this post…

KIDDING! Just kidding. I’ve been blogging for almost a whole year now; I know how all this works. I have to entice you to make this dessert through words and photos.

Really, the best advertisement for this Cardamom Banana Cake is the fact that I brought it into work and my boss pronounced it “the best cake I have ever, ever, EVER had.”

Praise, indeed! My office sees a lot of cakes — the publishing industry is rife with bakers — and there’s some pretty stiff competition. So, if this recipe scrambled to the top o’ the heap, you best believe you should be making this for your next gathering.

Or, y’know, for a quiet Friday night on your own. #NoJudgement

A little backstory: My grandmother made the best banana bread. I will forever be searching for a banana bread that tastes just like the one she used to bake. I’ve even tried the recipe for it I found in her recipe box, but it still wasn’t the same. I’m pretty sure that amazing bread is lost to me forever.

I figured I could sit around and cry about it (which I do, sometimes. It was REALLY good.), or I could suck it up and make my own version. Something so completely different from her standard, wholesome, traditional banana bread that it would forever rewrite what “banana bread” means to me.

Enter, Cardamom Banana Cake with Coconut Frosting.

I was inspired by my recent Quick Look Books post about Vacation Destination reads. It’s summertime, and I wanted something exotic to vicariously transport me to lush, tropical locales where there’s nothing to do but sip frozen drinks and soak up the sun.

Or, eat cake. I’ll actually take cake over alcoholic beverages any day. 

I took a traditional banana bread recipe and added heaping teaspoons of ground cardamom, which just screams “exotic” to me. It’s a warm and fragrant sprice, vaguely cinnamon-y but a little more peppery. Most people are familiar with it in chai tea or lattes, but I happen to love it best in savory Indian dishes. I can’t deny that it’s also delicious in baked goods, though, so I decided to throw it into the batter with some cinnamon and vanilla extract for a deeply flavorful cake. I also seem to be on a chocolate chip kick lately (especially the minis — they’re just so cute!), so I added some of those to the batter, too.

To emphasize my tropical theme, I slathered the finished cake with fluffy coconut frosting. I love this frosting so much, and I look for any excuse to eat it that I can. However, instead of simply being a vehicle for the frosting, this Cardamom Banana Cake perfectly compliments the creamy, rich icing that’s overflowing with refreshing coconut flavor. One bite, and you’d swear you’re on a beach somewhere, drinking a pina colada.

Speaking of pina coladas — when I was in Grenada a few years ago, I discovered that every pina colada down there is served with a generous sprinkling of nutmeg on its frothy, white top. I love nutmeg around the holidays, but I had never thought to pair it with coconut before. It was amazing. 

Now, sweet coconut and rich nutmeg is one of my favorite flavor combos, and it always takes me right back to being on that beautiful Grenadian beach. So, to really hammer home the “vacation destination” inspiration for this cake, I sprinkled some ground nutmeg over the coconut frosting just before serving. It totally amps up the fusion of the many exotic flavors, and it also makes the cake look extra pretty. 

This Cardamom Banana Cake with Coconut Frosting makes a LARGE cake. I baked it in a 9×13 pan, and it easily can feed 16-20 people, if not more. It’s incredibly moist and tender, but it’s a filling cake, so you’ll want to cut your slices small. That means more cake for more people, and that’s never a bad thing.

Serve yourself a slice of this decadent cake while dreaming of your next vacation spot — or, while reading about it.

Cardamom Banana Cake with Coconut Frosting

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 50 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 5 minutes mins

Servings 1 9x13 cake

Ingredients

  

CAKE INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 3 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3 tsp ground cardamom
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable/canola oil
• 2 1/4 cups white sugar
• 3 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups mashed bananas (3-5 large bananas)
• 1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

COCONUT FROSTING INGREDIENTS

• 2 tbsp coconut milk
• 1 tsp coconut extract
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch of table salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/4 cup cream of coconut
• 3 cups confectioner's sugar
• ground nutmeg (to taste)

Instructions

 

PREP INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat your oven to 325F.
• Spray a 9x13 cake pan with baking spray, then line the bottom with parchment paper.

BAKING INSTRUCTIONS

• Whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and cardamom in a medium bowl. Set aside.
• Use a whisk to beat together the eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar in a large bowl until all ingredients are thoroughly combined, and the mixture has thickened and turned pale yellow.
• Gradually add the flour mixture into the wet ingredients. Stir together with a spatula or wooden spoon using swift strokes until all ingredients are just combined. Do not overmix. The batter will be thick, almost like cookie dough.
• Stir in the mashed bananas until thoroughly blended into the batter. Then, fold in the chocolate chips.
• Pour cake batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 325F for 50-55 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
• Let cake cool 15-20 minutes in the pan, then turn onto wire rack to cool completely. Cake should be completely cool before adding frosting.

Coconut Frosting

• Whisk the coconut milk, extracts, and salt together until the salt dissolves.
• Use a handmixer or stand mixer to whip together the butter and cream of coconut in a large bowl until smooth.
• Reduce the speed and slowly add the powdered sugar. Beat mixture until smooth, about 2-5 minutes.
• Beat in the extract mixture, then increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 4 to 8 minutes. You want as much air in the frosting as possible.
• Spread coconut frosting over cooled cardamom banana cake, then sprinkle with ground nutmeg as desired.

Notes

The coconut frosting recipe is lightly adapted from The Coincidence of Coconut Cake : https://www.tipsonlifeandlove.com/recipes-2/grandma-luellas-coconut-cake-recipe