Baked a couple of recipes over the last couple of days and they all fell short. They would be great for dense banana bread or muffins but I want a fluffy cake.

RLB's Banana cake in the Cake Bible was a bit of a disappointment. Too dense/dry.

Reverse creaming typically gives me a tender cake but banana cake is defying the method  (yeah I feel like crying and laughing right now. Tired of getting dense results).

Looks like I might have to go the creaming route () but even those I've looked up online have reviews stating they're no different from banana bread. 

ANY suggestions please to either improve RLB's recipe or another recipe.

Thank you!

P.S. Tried adding bananas to a yellow cake recipe but my leavening is off. Food scientists: how much baking soda neutralizes 1 banana? Can't seem to find this online. Thx.

one way around it is a banana filling  in a nice fluffy yellow/white  cake

but 'fluffy' and 'banana cake' are kinda opposites huh

i mean short of using banana extract that may or may not be wonky tasting--bananas are fibrous and dense people not light and fluffy folk

but i do remember having/eating a lighter banana cake at some point or other in my memory banks

but how it was done?

i had a friend who juiced bananas in his dad's juicer and he got whupped for it--hahahahaha!

bananas don't really juice do they so all that to say try a nice roasted banana filling

ok--what if you made two batters and layered the fluffy in between the banana--more fluffy than banana--a marble cake--that would work!

i would definitely use cake flour and extra fine granulated sugar though and oil not butter

i don't know about the baking soda--but i'd use baking powder too

I make fluffy banana cake all the time.

Start with any regular banana cake, creaming method, that uses 3 medium bananas.  Cut the butter and sugar in half.  Add one package (4 serving size) instant banana pudding mix and decrease flour by 1/2 cup. DO NOT change egg or banana or leavening. 

I tried a few highly recommended banana cake recipes, until finally one day I just mashed up some bananas and added them to my buttermilk cake recipe. BEST banana cake I've ever had. No muss, no fuss, just buttermilk goodness, and bananas. So aromatic too.

UPDATE:

Okay, I said I tried adding bananas to my yellow cake last night and thought the cake was off. I tried it after a couple of hours in the freezer and this is my weird result:

Edges and outer crust were super dry (I wasn't in the mood for bake-even strips so I dropped temp to 325. This may have contributed to the weird crust. I guess I'll be going back to the strips and baking at 350). 

Surprisingly the cake itself was more cake-like than bread-like. Almost what I'm going for texture-wise (I'll give it 87.5%) but I need it to be a tad less dry or dare I say more MOIST (LOLOLOL!!!!!)

I've made some adjustments (that don't involve adding extra bananas). Now I just have to get bananas and wait for them to ripen. Fingers crossed.

AI use this banana recipe all the time for cupcakes. It is a true cupcake, not muffin like. I haven't tried it as a cake but maybe it will work? http://allrecipes.com/recipe/banana-cupcakes/detail.aspx

so sorry i guess i didn't technically 'roast' them

i should have said pan fried or something like that

it's a bananas foster type filling i made same as you

i 'roasted'   or toasted or fried --i cooked my cut bananas in brown sugar and butter

i was disappointed that mine did not stay kinda crispy

they kinda meld into one bananamessaramafilling

but they did not oxidize either which was more important i guess

then i thought about what might happen to dehydrated bananas

if they would stay crunchy and that's as far as that thought got

it was in a sculptured purse cake for family

i'm sure i had some rum in there somewhere

i made a banana caramel also if memory serves

edited for clarity

i bet 'grilled' would give a great flavor boost

both of these split longwise and keep the skin on but

sandra lee grills hers cut side down & has great grill marks

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sandra-lee/grilled-bananas-foster-recipe/index.html

emeril grills his cut side up

http://grilled-banana-splits-with-hot-fudge-and-rum-caramel-sauce-recipe

Try using Hero Compounds added to your regular vanilla cake.  The Hero stuff is a lot better than traditional extracts and made from real bananas.

I make this one:  http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Banana-Upside-Down-Cake-2516 and just omit the first step of the caramelized bananas.  It is very fluffy and not at all like a banana bread texture.

I definitely don't puree mine. I mash them up with fork only. And the cake recipe I add them to does not contain egg yolks, it's a light airy white cake.

Vgcea, 

The best banana flavor comes from black, over ripe bananas because the sugar and flavor is naturally developed and the pH is the lowest - so it does not effect your leavening.  Yellow or slightly green bananas have a high pH, low flavor and low sugar.  But if you pop yellow or slightly green bananas in the oven to roast, you are forcing the pH down, developing the sugars and essentially speed ripening them by caramelizing them in the skin.  You will not get the same results if you take them out of the skin and try and cook them either in the oven or on the stove.  Same goes if you want to use fresh pumpkin, sweet potato, yams or other gourds and fruits to make a cake.  Always roast them in their natural state.

I have had GREAT success converting my regular yellow cake recipe to a banana cake - I just swap out 1/2 my buttermilk for mashed ripe bananas.  I reverse cream, and because I've lowered the pH by roasting or use bananas that are over-ripe, the pH in the banana is about the same as my buttermilk  - so I don't have to alter my leavening.  It has the texture of a fluffy cake with a tight crumb, smooth mouthfeel, and is especially tasty with some mini chocolate chips thrown in topped with Nutella SMBC.

The buttermilk is still necessary for emulsion and for tenderness, if you use too much banana you will get a heavy muffin or bread texture.

Good luck!

And I may have my pH reversed, (low vs,. high or high vs. low), but it's the same principal.

Be careful with sour cream - it might add too much fat to your cake making it dense (unless your recipe already calls for sour cream).  Can't wait to hear how it goes!