This Banana Cinnamon Roll Snack Cake is soft, moist and packed with banana flavor, then topped with a buttery brown sugar cinnamon swirl and simple vanilla glaze. It has everything you love about banana bread and a gooey cinnamon roll baked into one easy snack cake!
There are few things I love more than realizing I have a bunch of overripe bananas sitting on the counter. They’re basically an excuse to bake something, and while I will never turn down a loaf of banana bread, sometimes I want to make something a little different.
Enter this Banana Cinnamon Roll Snack Cake.
The banana cake itself is incredibly soft and moist with plenty of ripe banana flavor. Before baking, the top gets dollops of buttery brown sugar and cinnamon that are gently swirled into the batter. Once it comes out of the oven, the whole thing gets drizzled with a simple vanilla glaze. The result is somewhere between banana bread, a cinnamon roll and a really good old fashioned snack cake. It’s cozy, easy to make and exactly the kind of recipe I want with a cup of coffee.
Why You’ll Love This Banana Cinnamon Roll Cake
This recipe is especially great when you have a few bananas that are way past the point anyone in the house is willing to eat. The riper and uglier the bananas, the better!
It’s also made with simple ingredients and doesn’t require a mixer. Melt the butter, mash the bananas, stir everything together and bake.
My favorite part, though, is the cinnamon roll swirl. Brown sugar, cinnamon and melted butter create little pockets of cinnamon goodness across the top of the cake. A small amount of flour helps thicken the mixture so it stays more defined as the cake bakes.
And of course, you can’t call something a cinnamon roll cake without glaze. A simple powdered sugar glaze gets drizzled over the slightly warm cake and settles into all of those cinnamon swirls.
Tips for the Best Banana Cinnamon Roll Snack Cake
Use really ripe bananas. Bananas with lots of brown spots are sweeter, softer and have much more banana flavor. You’ll need about 1 1/4 cups mashed banana, which is approximately 3 medium bananas.
Use the right pan. I baked this cake in my favorite 8×8 pan to use. The smaller pan gives you a thick, soft snack cake rather than a thinner sheet cake.
Measure the mashed banana if you can. Bananas vary quite a bit in size, so measuring the mashed banana is more accurate than simply using three.
Don’t overmix the batter. Once you add the dry ingredients, gently fold everything together just until no streaks of flour remain. Overmixing can make the cake more dense instead of soft and tender.
Keep the cinnamon swirl toward the top. Dollop the cinnamon mixture all over the surface and use a butter knife to make a few shallow swirls. You don’t want to stir it throughout the batter or drag your knife all the way to the bottom of the pan.
Don’t overbake it. Banana cake is at its best when it stays super moist. Start checking around the 30 minute mark and remove it when a toothpick inserted into the cake portion comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
How to Store It
Store the cake tightly covered at room temperature for up to 2 days. For longer storage, keep it covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. I personally love warming an individual slice for just a few seconds before eating it. The cake softens back up and the cinnamon swirl gets a little gooey again.
If you have a few ripe bananas sitting on the counter, this Banana Cinnamon Roll Snack Cake is such a fun change from the usual loaf of banana bread. The cake is incredibly soft and moist, the buttery cinnamon sugar swirl gives you that cinnamon roll flavor in every bite, and the vanilla glaze brings the whole thing together. It’s easy enough to make on a whim but definitely one of those recipes everyone will keep coming back for. Enjoy!
Banana Cinnamon Roll Snack Cake
Ingredients
For the snack cake:
- ½ cup salted butter melted, room temperature
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- ¾ cup light brown sugar packed down
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1 ¼ cups mashed ripe bananas about 3 medium bananas
- ½ cup whole milk room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp kosher salt
For the cinnamon roll swirl:
- ½ cup light brown sugar packed
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tbsp salted butter melted, room temperature
- 1 tbsp all purpose flour
For the vanilla icing:
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- 1-2 tbsp heavy cream or milk room temperature
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
For the snack cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8×8 inch baking pan with parchment paper or lightly grease it with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the melted butter, vegetable oil, brown sugar and granulated sugar until well combined. Add the eggs and whisk until smooth. Add the mashed bananas, milk and vanilla extract and whisk again until combined.
- Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, kosher salt and cinnamon. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined. Be careful not to over mix. Pour the banana cake batter into the prepared pan and spread it into an even layer.
For the cinnamon roll swirl:
- In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, melted butter, flour and salt. Stir until thoroughly combined. The mixture should be thick and spoonable rather than runny, almost like wet sand. Dollop small spoonfuls of the cinnamon mixture evenly across the surface of the banana batter.
- Using a butter knife, gently swirl the cinnamon mixture into the top portion of the batter. Make a few large, shallow swirls rather than mixing it completely into the cake. Avoid dragging the knife all the way to the bottom of the pan.
- Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the center is set and a toothpick inserted into an area of cake comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Because the cinnamon swirl stays gooey, avoid testing directly through a large pocket of cinnamon sugar. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for about 15 to 20 minutes.
For the vanilla icing:
- To make the icing, whisk together the powdered sugar, 1 1/2 tablespoons milk and vanilla until smooth. Add additional milk a little at a time until the glaze reaches your desired consistency. Drizzle the vanilla glaze over the slightly warm cake. Slice and enjoy!