Banana Cinnamon Roll Snack Cake
This Banana Cinnamon Roll Snack Cake is soft, moist and packed with ripe banana flavor, topped with a buttery brown sugar cinnamon swirl and finished with a simple vanilla glaze. It’s the perfect easy recipe for using up ripe bananas when you want something a little more exciting than banana bread!
Servings: 9 servings
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 8x8 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!