Name: Buttermilk Banana Cake
Total time: 1 hour 10 minutes (plus cooling)
Yield: 8–10 servings
Ingredients: ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan; 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour; ½ tsp. baking powder; ½ tsp. baking soda; ½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt, plus more; ½ tsp. ground cardamom, plus more for sprinkling; ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar; ¾ cup (packed; 150 g) light brown sugar; 2 large eggs, room temperature; 1½ tsp. vanilla extract, divided; 2 ripe bananas, peeled, flesh finely mashed; 1¼ cups buttermilk, room temperature, divided; 1½ cups (165 g) powdered sugar; Flaky sea salt

A banana cake being sliced into pieces on a blue plate

Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food styling by Jesse Szewczyk, prop styling by Dayna Seman

Ripe bananas can become more than just banana bread, as this simple but striking cake proves. With its plush, cardamom-scented crumb and creamy, salt-sprinkled glaze, it’s an elevated spin that’s equally at home for breakfast or dessert. The cake’s instant popularity among BA staff is enough to tell me it will be a winner wherever this recipe finds you.

For thorough mashing (particularly if your bananas aren’t entirely ripe yet), place the fruit in a zip-top bag and mash with your hands to create a pulpy, baby-food-like consistency. Some small lumps are okay, but a smoother mash begets a fluffier cake. Don’t forget: It’s important to add the dry ingredients in stages to ensure even distribution and prevent overmixing, which would result in a tough outcome.