White Chocolate Banana Cake

Banana bread fans, it’s time to level up.

This layer cake takes everything you love about ripe banana flavor and wraps it in a tender, buttermilk-soft crumb with grated white chocolate melting through every slice. The banana isn’t playing second fiddle here. It’s in the cake AND in the frosting.

That frosting is something else: mashed banana, melted white chocolate, a splash of lemon juice to cut the sweetness, and powdered sugar whipped until light. Pile it between two layers, crown the whole thing with white chocolate curls, and try not to eat it before dinner.

Baking Tips

• The riper the bananas, the better. Dark, spotty, almost-too-far-gone bananas give the strongest flavor and the most moisture.
• Grate the white chocolate on a box grater. The fine shreds melt into the batter and create little pockets of creamy sweetness.
• Alternate the dry ingredients and buttermilk in three additions, starting and ending with the flour. This keeps the batter tender.
• The lemon juice in the frosting is crucial. Without it, the banana frosting tastes flat. That little bit of acid brightens everything.