Banana Cake with Peanut Butter Icing

Peanut butter and bananas is the Elvis-approved flavor combination, and this sheet cake delivers it in dessert form. The cake itself is a tender buttermilk-banana base (the kind of soft, slightly tangy crumb you’d expect from a really good banana bread, but baked thinner in a 13×9 pan so every square gets generous icing coverage).

The icing is the unusual part. Instead of standard peanut butter buttercream, you whip cream cheese with corn syrup until smooth, then fold in peanut butter. The corn syrup keeps it glossy and pourable, the cream cheese cuts the peanut butter’s richness with a bright tang, and a generous shower of chopped peanuts finishes it for crunch.

Served cold from the fridge, it’s somewhere between a banana cake and a cheesecake bar.

Pro Tips

• Use very ripe, almost-black bananas. The browner the peel, the sweeter the fruit and the deeper the banana flavor in the cake.
• Bring the eggs and buttermilk to room temperature before mixing. Cold ingredients seize the shortening and give you a streaky batter.
• Add the flour and banana mixtures alternately, beginning and ending with flour (the recipe specifies it). This prevents over-developing gluten and keeps the cake tender.
• Cool the cake completely before icing. Warm cake melts the cream cheese topping into a sloppy mess.
• Refrigerate the iced cake for at least an hour. The icing firms up and slices clean.

Variations

• Swap shortening for unsalted butter for a richer flavor (use the same amount).
• Stir ½ cup of mini chocolate chips into the batter for chocolate-banana-peanut butter flavor.
• Drizzle with melted dark chocolate over the icing before serving for a peanut butter cup–style upgrade.