Banana Cinnamon Roll Pound Cake Recipe

Is there anything more comforting than a warm slice of banana bread or a gooey cinnamon roll? A combination of the two, of course. Banana bread is soft, sweet, and packed with nostalgic, homemade flavor, while cinnamon rolls are rich, buttery, and swirled with cozy spices. If you love them both, this banana cinnamon roll pound cake from Jessica Morone is the perfect mash-up recipe for you. It has the rich, buttery texture of a classic pound cake, the warm cinnamon-sugar swirl and cream cheese icing of a cinnamon roll, and the sweet banana flavor that makes any baked good extra comforting. 

Every bite of this cake is soft, moist, and packed with cozy spices, making it a perfect treat for breakfast, dessert, or an afternoon snack. The tender banana cake pairs beautifully with the gooey cinnamon filling, and the decadent cream cheese icing drizzled on top adds the perfect finishing touch. Plus, it's an easy recipe to make with simple ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen. The best part is that it stays incredibly moist for days, so you can enjoy a slice (or two) all week long.

The first thing you want to do for this recipe is to grab all the ingredients. You will be making three things for this recipe; a cake batter, cinnamon swirl, and a frosting. For the cake batter you will need to grab some unsalted butter, granulated sugar, eggs, ripe bananas, sour cream, vanilla extract, all-purpose flour, salt and baking powder. For the cinnamon swirl you will need brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and some more all-purpose flour and unsalted butter. Finally for the icing you will need some cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, milk, vanilla extract and more unsalted butter. 

Preheat the oven to 325 F.

Thoroughly grease a 12-cup Bundt cake pan with nonstick cooking spray.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until fluffy.

Add the eggs, mashed bananas, sour cream, and vanilla extract and beat until smooth.

Beat in the flour, salt, and baking powder until combined, make sure you don't overbeat the batter. Set aside.

In a small bowl combine the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and melted butter until well combined and smooth.

Spread ⅓ of the batter evenly into the prepared Bundt pan.

Add half of the cinnamon swirl mix to the batter and use a fork or butter knife to swirl the mixture throughout the batter. Repeat with the remaining ⅓ batter and ½ cinnamon swirl mixture, topping everything with the remaining ⅓ batter.

Bake in the preheated oven for 80-90 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Let the cake cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then invert it onto a cooling rack and let cool completely.

Meanwhile, beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth.

Add in the confectioners' sugar, milk, and vanilla extract and beat until combined.

Drizzle the icing over the cooled cake. Serve at room temperature.

Though this recipe has quite a few delicious elements to bring together, it's actually more straightforward than it looks. However, we do have a few tips to ensure you achieve the best results. For the best banana cinnamon roll pound cake, start with ripe bananas or even slightly overripe bananas, which are deep yellow with plenty of brown spots. Overripe bananas add moisture and natural sweetness, making the cake tender and flavorful. To keep the cake from sticking, grease your pan thoroughly, or use baking spray with flour for an extra layer of protection. If using a Bundt pan, make sure you don't miss any intricate crevices with the spray. 

When you add the cinnamon swirl filling, be sure you don't overmix it or you'll lose the beautiful marbled effect. For an extra moist cake, use room-temperature butter, eggs, and sour cream, which help create a smooth batter that bakes evenly. A toothpick inserted into the finished cake should come out with a few moist crumbs, not with wet batter clinging to it, but not without any crumbs at all. To prevent breakage, let the cake cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes before inverting it onto a wire rack. If you follow these tips, you'll have a perfectly moist, flavorful cake every time.

There are plenty of ways to switch up your banana cinnamon roll pound cake while keeping its rich, comforting flavors. For a slightly different taste and texture, swap sour cream for Greek yogurt or buttermilk, both of which will add moisture but with a bit more tang. Replace the granulated sugar with brown sugar for a deeper, caramel-like sweetness. If you want a nuttier flavor, try using brown butter instead of regular butter. 

Adding chopped pecans or walnuts to the cinnamon swirl will give the cake an extra crunch, and you can mix in mini chocolate chips for a banana-chocolate twist. If you're feeling adventurous, replace cinnamon with chai spice or add espresso powder to enhance the flavors of the cake. For a pan variation, try baking this recipe in two 9x5-inch loaf pans for a more classic banana bread shape, or use a 9x13-inch cake pan for easy slicing, just make sure to check your cake for doneness sooner as the cake won't take as long to bake in these pans.