Fiesta Banana Cake

A white cake mix gets a serious upgrade with mashed bananas and sour cream stirred right into the batter. The result is moister and more flavorful than the box recipe alone could ever produce.

Sour cream adds tangy richness and fat that keeps the crumb incredibly tender. The baking soda mixed into the mashed bananas helps them react with the sour cream’s acidity, giving the cake extra lift and a lighter texture than you’d expect from such a dense, wet batter.

Chopped nuts folded in at the end add crunch throughout every slice. This bakes into two round layers, ready for your favorite frosting.

Kitchen Tips

• Use very ripe bananas, the ones with dark brown spots all over. They’re sweeter, mushier, and have more banana flavor than yellow ones.
• Don’t overmix after adding the banana mixture. Beat for the 1 ½ minutes specified and stop. Overbeating makes cake tough.
• Line the pans with waxed paper as directed. Banana cake sticks stubbornly, and the paper ensures clean release.
• Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto racks. Leaving them too long makes the bottoms soggy from trapped steam.

Variations

• Frost with cream cheese frosting for a classic banana cake pairing.
• Add chocolate chips along with the nuts for a banana-chocolate combo.
• Use pecans or walnuts for the chopped nuts, depending on your preference.