Totally irresistible peanut butter banana cake cloaked in the creamiest nutella frosting. What could be better?

I’ve been really quiet the past week because I had so much happening all at once. My great-grandmother died Monday, on Tuesday was my mother’s birthday, Wednesday was my sisters birthday, Thursday was my other sisters high school graduation, Friday was my baby cousin’s birthday and Saturday was my great-grandmother’s funeral. Talk about a full, totally emotional week.

Anyway, cake. Cake is good. It is comforting and soothing and when you are eating cake, all your problems seem to melt away for a while. Cake is the stuff happiness is made from.

I made this peanut butter banana cake with creamy Nutella frosting because it incorporates all my favorite homey flavors into one. They are classic flavors in a classic combination and I love it. Classic is good. The cake is ultra moist and has the perfect blend of peanut butter and banana topped with the best frosting you will ever have. Seriously, there is almost an entire jar of  Nutella in the frosting. It is super light and creamy. This cake is the best. As a matter of fact, hold on a moment while I enjoy another slice.

Yum.

Cake for lunch is my favorite.

You should totally make this peanut butter banana cake with creamy Nutella frosting if you need a bit of sweet comfort food. Or if you need to make a celebration cake. Or just a I-really-want-something-sweet-and-delicious cake. There really is no right or wrong here.

While trying to figure out how I wanted to take pictures of this cake, I came across my cake candelabra I had and I could not resist putting it on and lighting it up! I don’t make cakes like this often, so this was my first time using it and it made me way too happy. But I mean, come on, try and tell me this isn’t the cutest thing ever. Okay maybe it looks a little too plastic-y and I can DIY it up to make it look pretty and antique, but the concept is there!

Now that we are on the subject of how things look in the pictures, I just want to point out that this is literally the best cake frosting job I’ve ever done. I am a terrible cake frost-er, which is part of the reason I never make cakes often (or ever). I am completely proud of myself for not botching it like usual. Maybe next time I can get everything to look nice and uniform!

Some notes for you: The cake you see here was made with crunchy peanut butter because that is all I had left, but I highly (highly) recommend you use plain creamy peanut butter. I also ask that you use cake flour if you have it, but I never have cake flour on-hand, so I make my own and here’s how: Use one cup of all-purpose flour, but replace one tablespoon of flour with cornstarch.. You can adjust the creaminess and Nutella-ness of the frosting by either adding a tablespoon or two of heavy cream, adding more powdered sugar (1/2 cup at a time) and increasing or decreasing the amount of Nutella. I found the frosting was plenty creamy without heavy cream. For extra banana flavor, you can roast your bananas (skin on) at 300 degrees for 15 minutes.

Totally off-topic, but while I was taking pictures of the cake, I found these hidden gems in my china cabinet. Aren’t these little spoons so adorable?! I’m going to have to use the heck out of them now.

 

Yield: 1 cake

Peanut Butter Banana Cake with Creamy Nutella Frosting

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A soft and fluffy peanut butter banana cake with tons of creamy Nutella frosting

Prep Time 22 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 52 minutes

Ingredients

• 3 cups homemade cake flour (see notes) or store-bought cake flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/3 cup shortening
• 1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 large bananas, mashed
• 2/3 cup, plus 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup buttermilk

Nutella Frosting

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 cup Nutella

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter and flour two 9 inch cake pans.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside
3. Cream the butter and shortening together until light and fluffy. Add the sugar and mix again for another 5 minutes.
4. Add one egg at a time and mix until fully incorporated. Mix in the vanilla extract, bananas and peanut butter and mix well.
5. Alternate adding the flour and buttermilk, starting and ending with the flour. Mix until just combined.
6. Fill each cake pan about halfway. Bake for 30 - 35 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Remove the cakes and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.
7. Make the frosting by creaming the butter until nice and smooth, about 5 minutes. Add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time. Add the Nutella and mix well.
8. Frost the cakes by spreading a layer of frosting over one cake, then placing the second cake on top. Frost the top and sides of both cakes. An offset spatula is recommended, but a knife will work too.