Vanilla Wafer Banana Cake – A Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Vanilla Wafer Banana Cake is a moist banana cake with cream cheese icing. Instead of flour, this banana cake uses crushed up vanilla wafers.  This banana cake became an instant hit at our house, and it will at yours too!

Vanilla Wafer Banana Cake

We consider it a successful day when one of us comes home with a recipe to try. Barbara was the speaker at a woman’s luncheon, and the hostess served the most delicious banana cake. It turns out that the hostess won champion prize in 4-H as a young girl this recipe. So, of course, Barbara asked for the recipe and the hostess happily shared.

A unique part of this recipe is that instead of flour, the cake features ground up vanilla wafer cookies.

To get the vanilla wafers the right consistency, Barbara used her food processor, but you could also put the vanilla wafers into a zip lock bag and crush them with a rolling pin or food mallet.

Banana Cake with Vanilla Wafers

The texture of this particular banana cake is extremely moist, and the flavor is off the hook with that added pleasant flavor from the vanilla wafers.

As if that’s not enough, the homemade cream cheese icing is the icing on the cake….literally and figuratively.

The banana cake is very rich and decadent.  Cut yourself a small piece or wash it down with a big glass of milk!

Moist Banana Cake Ingredient List

Butter, softened

Granulated Sugar

Large Eggs

Banana, mashed

Vanilla Wafers, crushed

Pecans, chopped

Cream Cheese Icing Ingredients

Butter, softened

Cream cheese, softened

Powdered Sugar

Vanilla Extract

How to Make Vanilla Wafer Banana Cake

Step by Step Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 13 x 9 inch baking dish.
2. Finely crush the vanilla wafers and finely chop pecans.
3. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar, then add eggs and mashed bananas. Blend until smooth. A stand mixer or electric mixer works best for this step.
4. Add crushed vanilla wafers and pecans, and mix until incorporated.
5. Pour cake batter into 9 x 13-inch greased and floured cake pan.
6. Bake for 38 – 45 minutes and let cool before icing.

Storage Instructions

Cover tightly with plastic wrap or a tight-fitting lid. Store in the fridge.

Full recipe steps and ingredient amounts for banana cake with vanilla wafers is in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

How to Make Cream Cheese Icing for Banana Cake

Step by Step Instructions

1.  In a large bowl, cream together softened butter, powdered sugar, softened cream cheese and vanilla until smooth.
2. Spread cream cheese frosting over cooled banana cake using a flat edged spatula.
3. Refrigerate banana cake to store for later.

Does banana cake with cream cheese frosting need to be refrigerated?

Yes, it absolutely does for two particular reasons.  Any recipe that is topped with a cream cheese icing needs to be stored in the refrigerator since cream cheese is a perishable food product.

Secondly, banana bread tends to be very moist which is the perfect environment for mold to grow.

Store banana cake with cream cheese frosting in the refrigerator, but feel free to remove it from the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for 10 – 20 minutes to allow the icing to soften before consuming.

Recipe FAQs

• Grease and flour your 13 x 9 inch baking dish or line with waxed paper to make it easier to serve. I really like the Pam cooking spray with flour.
• Process vanilla wafers in a food processor to make crumbs or use a zip lock bag and a rolling pin.
• Let the banana cake cool completely before icing with cream cheese frosting.
• The butter and cream cheese should be a room temperature before making icing to prevent clumps.
• This is a moist banana cake; be sure to store it in the refrigerator.
• Check out our Amazon Store for our favorite pantry essentials and kitchen items.

Recipe Varations

• Chopped walnuts could be used instead of chopped pecans, if needed.
• Instead of cream cheese icing, top with Cool Whip or homemade whipped cream.
• Substitute graham crackers for vanilla wafers, if desired.
• Top with sliced bananas before serving, if desired.

What is the difference between vanilla wafers and Nilla wafers?

There’s really no significant difference between Vanilla Wafers and Nilla Wafers. Nilla Wafers are a name brand of vanilla wafer cookies, but there are many generic vanilla wafer cookies. Some brands use real vanilla, and others use artificial vanilla flavoring. Check the ingredient list to be sure.

Are vanilla wafers supposed to be soft?

No, vanilla wafers are intended to be a crunchy cookie. If you’ve opened the box, and the are soft, then the cookies have attached moisture from another food, which has changed the texture. Be sure to store the cookies in an airtight container to prevent this from happening.

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