Banana Bread Bundt Cake

Is it cake? Is it banana bread? Do you honestly care?

I'd say this lands somewhere in the middle, but I'm going to call it banana bread so I feel less guilty about eating it for breakfast. It leans towards bread and is more cake-like in its shape. Are you convinced? I am.

I've been looking for a good banana bread recipe for a while. For something that has so many recipes out there, it's surprisingly hard to find a good one. They are either way too dense and often undercooked in the middle (or burnt on the outside if you want it fully cooked), or they are dry and crumbly and just all around gross.

This recipe from Ree Drummond (aka The Pioneer Woman) pulled through for me where many others have failed. It is moist but not undercooked, dense but not too dense. The crust is browned and crisp and wonderful. I will search for the perfect banana bread no more. It is here, and it is marvelous.

Banana Bread Bundt Cake
adapted from The Pioneer Woman

1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 1/2 cup, plus 2 Tbs. sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups (about 3 medium) mashed ripe bananas
4 cups, plus 2 Tbs. flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1-1/2 cup whole milk yogurt or sour cream

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and flour bundt pan.

Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating until well combined after each addition. Mix in vanilla. Add mashed bananas and beat until combined.

Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add dry ingredients and yogurt alternately to the mixing bowl, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Beat well until combined.


Pour batter into bundt pan and bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Invert on a cooling rack and allow cake to cool slightly before slicing and serving with softened butter.