A delicious Banana Cake with Nutella Frosting. You’ll love the pairing of moist banana cake with a nutty, creamy frosting in this easy recipe.
Are you as obsessed with Nutella as we are? These Nutella Stuffed Donut Holes are another must-try dessert!
Why Make Nutella Frosting
We simply couldn’t resist pairing this banana cake with the chocolate-hazelnut flavors in Nutella. Along with tasting out-of-this-world, delicious the creamy Nutella makes the frosting so soft and spreadable.
Once you taste this frosting you’ll want to add it on anything and everything. Go nuts! Spread it on graham crackers, on cake and especially on these Ferrero Rocher Cupcakes.
Or just eat it with a spoon. It’s THAT good.
If you have the chance, don’t want to miss out on the perfection that is this banana cake with Nutella frosting. It’s pure banana chocolate paradise.
Ingredient Notes
- Nutella – This is a spread made of hazelnuts and chocolate. It’s readily available at most grocery stores or you can get in online.
- Bananas – Naturally, banana cake calls for bananas. We used three full bananas for this recipe. The riper the bananas the sweeter and moister the cake will be.
- Butter – You will need unsalted butter for both the cake and the frosting. Don’t have unsalted? Use salted butter instead and reduce or omit the added kosher salt in the recipe.
- Vanilla extract – A teaspoon of vanilla extract adds a creamy, fragrant dimension of flavor.
- Milk – This gets beaten with the Nutella, butter and powdered sugar to thin the frosting to a spreadable consistency. We used skim milk but any milk will work.
Tips and Tricks
- Assembly: After frosting the first layer of cake, top it with the second layer. Spread a little frosting on top to form a crumb layer. Then chill the cake for 10 minutes before spreading on the remaining frosting. This method helps the top of the cake look smoother than adding all the frosting at once.
- Cake size: This recipe is for a 2-layer cake baked in 9 inch round pans. You can also make it as a sheet cake in a 9×13 baking pan you like. A sheet cake will take longer to bake than two cake layers.
- Frosting: If you want a thinner frosting, add more milk a tablespoon at a time until you get the consistency you like. Our chocolate sour cream frosting is a delicious substitute! Or give our chocolate cream cheese frosting a try on this cake.
- Storing: Banana Cake with Nutella Frosting can be stored at room temperature. Keep it covered and enjoy within 5 days.
Recipe FAQs
When you use an electric mixer, there’s no need to mash the bananas in a separate bowl first. Just toss them right into the bowl and let your mixer do the work! So easy.
I haven’t tested this recipe in cupcake form but I’m sure it would be delicious! Because cupcakes are smaller, you would need to reduce the baking time. The batter should make enough for about 2 dozen cupcakes.
Yes, you can freeze the cake layers after baking. Let them cool, then double wrap in foil or freezer bags. Let thaw, assemble and frost!
I don’t recommend freezing the Nutella frosting or the frosted cake. Nutella changes consistency after freezing and thawing which would alter the taste and texture of the frosted cake.
More Easy Banana Recipes
- Banana Nutella Bread: clearly I love this combo!
- Banana Split Cheesecake: this is seriously good stuff, and it’s no bake too!
- Banana Muffins with Cinnamon Glaze: a delicious start to your day!
- Zucchini Bread
- Banana Cookies
- Banana Bread Recipe
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Banana Cake with Nutella Frosting
Ingredients
For the cake:
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 medium bananas
- 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
For the frosting:
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup Nutella chocolate hazelnut spread
- ¼ cup milk
- 4 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- For the cake, grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degree F.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add in egg, vanilla, and bananas (you can mash them first, but I toss them in and it does the work). Add in flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Beat for a couple minutes until fully blended.
- Pour batter evenly between the two cake pans. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and cool in pans for about 10 minutes. Flip onto a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
- For the frosting, beat butter for two minutes. Add in nutella, powdered sugar and milk. Beat an additional 3-5 minutes. scraping down the sides of the bowl periodically.
- To assemble the cake, lay one layer of cooled cake on a cake plate. Spoon frosting over middle layer generously. Top with second layer of cake. Spoon and spread frosting over cake to create a thin crumb layer. Refrigerate for about 10 minutes. Using a spatula, continue frosting the cake with the remaining frosting. If desired, reserve some frosting and place in a pastry bag with tip to decorate. ENJOY.
Notes
Nutrition
Bananas, chocolate and hazelnut come together in one sweet, moist cake. This Banana Nutella Cake is perfect for the Nutella addicts in your life!
Thanks for giving me a new way to enjoy banana and Nutella! This frosting!! Drool! Also, have you really met someone who HATES Nutella?? Wow, I guess there’s a first time for everything!
This cake looks amazing! Nutella and anything is a good combination but you just make it look even more gorgeous!
This cake is so gorgeous, Aimee! I definitely want a slice or five 🙂
That frosting looks so creamy!
Gorgeous cake, Aimee! And I’m with you on the freezing. So easy and it works great! My only thing is that I love the taste of frozen cake (weird, I know) so I kind of have a hard time waiting for it to defrost.
By the way, your piping rocks. And your daughter rocks for putting Nutella on her gift list!
Ha! I’m sure I would love a slice of frozen cake too!!
Nutella is a love in my family too. Your daughter had a great idea putting it on her Christmas list!
Your oldest is my kind of girl! Love Nutella and the combination with banana cake sounds mighty delicious! I am so glad to know freezing the cake works so well. One day, I will have to try because sometimes it’s hard to time baking/cooling cake and making the frosting in a day when you need to be in/out of the house!
What a gorgeous cake!!! The soft and fluffy cake and then that Nutella frosting..OMG! I wish I could be the bowl-licker 🙂 What a beauty!!
I am addicted to Nutella. It is not allowed in the house unless I plan to use it right away for a recipe. Otherwise, I’d eat the whole jar! Much like how I’d eat this whole cake because you combined two of my favorite things. Bananas and Nutella, swoon!
My husband is always putting empty jars into the pantry. I get so mad at him for that exact reason. I would want my own jar too. Just to know I would have some. Now this cake is amazing. You should go to one of the warehouse stores and get one of those massive jars.
I’m such a Nutella addict. I’ll only buy it if I’m using it for a recipe, otherwise I’ll just sit there with a spoon eating it! This cake is so perfect! Bananas and Nutella are such a winning combination together!
This looks so crazy good!! I love banana and nutella together so much!!! And I’m cracking up at all the empty jars you threw away before getting to make this frosting…I’ve had to do that before too 🙂
Oh yum that looks awesome! Bananas + nutella are a perfect combo 🙂
Aimee, this looks so good! And the fact that it has Nutella in it – bonus! Do you know, I have never frozen a cake before? I have to try that! Thanks for the suggestion! Pinned!
I am speechless over this cake! I can’t find words because I am too busy likcking my screen!
bahahaaaaa I LOVE that your daughter wanted her own jar of Nutella!
This cake is beaaautiful and looks so completely and totally delicious! that frosting totally makes it!
Who are these so called Nutella haters? I know of no such thing. That’s crazy town. They don’t deserve cake. I’ll take their slices.
Love the look of the nutella frosting! We’re always putting nutella on bananas, so I know this cake would be a hit at my house!
This cake is SO PRETTY!! And how did I NOT know that you can freeze cake? Clearly I need to make more cakes in my life.
Like this one. Bananas, chocolate and hazelnut? YOU CAN’T GO WRONG! Pinned!
Oh yes, you can totally freeze cake layers!!! Actually, I freeze cakes after baking and frosting too occasionally. Just to get the goodies off the counter 🙂
Wait. Did you say that there are people who don’t like Nutella? I never knew they existed! I honestly don’t think I can be friends with them. On second thought, maybe I can so I can eat this cake by myself. Hahaha!
I know!! My mom actually doesn’t like it…she doesn’t like hazelnuts.