It’s finally time for sheet cakes to shine! My Banana Split Cake is perfection as the most delicious banana split cake you’ve ever seen! With soft banana cake, banana buttercream, strawberry buttercream, rainbow sprinkles, a chocolate ganache, and darling maraschino cherries on top, my Banana Split cake is sure to be an instant hit for any celebration!

Sheet cake vs. Stacked cake

Y’all know I love a good stacked cake. I even teach classes where we stack cakes, and have cookbooks filled with stacked cakes. They’re gorgeous, have a real special element, and are just all around really fun to make for me. However, I know that stacking cakes isn’t the easiest process. So I thought it would be fun to try to share different ways to decorate a sheet cake with our familiar cake flavors as the star! For the next couple weeks, I’ll be sharing different ways to decorate the sheet cake version of some of my popular cake recipes.

This recipe is from my cookbook, Cake Confidence. You can see the directions to stack and decorate the cake in my book.

How to make stacked cake recipes into a sheet cake

As with all my cake recipes, you can make my stacked cakes into a sheet cake by using a different baking vessel (9×13 instead of my usual 3 6″ rounds in this case), and then paying attention to the baking time. The baking time for this one is just about the same as the stacked version. For this cake, I used my Caraway 9×13 pan from this baking set, but you can use any 9×13 just as well.

Steps for decorating the most delicious banana split cake

The steps are easy when broken down, so let’s get to it!

  1. Cool your cake. Make sure it’s cold or else your buttercream will melt! I put mine in the freezer for a few minutes to make sure it’s cooled all the way before I begin.
  2. Spread on the banana buttercream. I used my handy angled icing spatula for this step. Make sure to spread it clear to the edges! Nice and flat – you can also use a cake scraper for this step if you need to.
  3. Use the cake comb to make the scallop pattern. I used the scallop cake comb from this cake comb set.
  4. Drizzle on the chocolate ganache. Back and forth from one edge to the other.
  5. Sprinkle on the rainbow cake sprinkles around the outside edges.
  6. Swirl on the strawberry buttercream with the Wilton 1M piping tip.
  7. Place on a single cherry on top of the swirls.

Two buttercreams!

Yes, there are two for this recipe. One is my banana buttercream, and one is my strawberry buttercream. You can swirl them together, spread them together, or do it separately like I have. It’s up to you!

How to serve this cake?

I got 24 servings out of this one, but you can get less with bigger slices, too. I chilled the cake and then used a knife and spatula to get the slices out of the sheet pan. The first slice is always a little rough, but the others will be nice and straight.

Where do I find banana extract?

I found mine at my local grocery store pretty easily, but you can also find it online here. It has more of a candy-like taste, so if you want a more natural banana flavor, you can leave it out of the cake, but will need to find an alternative flavor addition for the buttercream.

Can I add nuts?

Yes! You can add anything on top that you would for your typical banana split dessert. No, there’s no ice cream on this cake, but dang, a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream would go great with this!

Here’s a video of the process:

I love to see your Baking with Blondie creations! If you make one of my cakes, I’d love to see it! Make sure to tag me @bakingwithblondie or #bakingwithblondie on social media so I can join in on all the fun. 🙂

xo, Happy Baking!

Mandy

Get the Recipe: The Most Delicious Banana Split Sheet Cake

Banana cake layers in a sheet pan, banana & strawberry buttercream, chocolate ganache drizzle, sprinkles, and cherries on top!
Servings: 24 square slices
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Ingredients
 

Banana Cake

  • 4 egg whites, room temperature
  • 3/4 cup buttermilk
  • 2/3 cup sour cream
  • 1 Tablespoon vanilla
  • 1 teaspoon banana extract, *optional
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup ripe mashed bananas (about 2 bananas)
  • 1 15.25oz White Cake Mix (Duncan Hines)

Small Batch Banana Buttercream

  • 2 sticks (or 1 cup) unsalted butter
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1/2 teaspoon banana extract
  • 1/8 cup heavy cream
  • 4-5 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 drop yellow gel coloring

Small Batch Strawberry Buttercream

  • 2 sticks (or 1 cup) unsalted butter
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1 teaspoons strawberry emulsion
  • 1/2 cup freeze dried strawberry powder (1/2 cup AFTER the food processor)
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 4-5 cups powdered sugar

Ganache Drizzle

  • 1 cup chocolate candy melts
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream

Extras

  • 1 cup rainbow sprinkles
  • 1 cup stem-on maraschino cherries

Equipment

  • 1 Wilton 1M piping tip
  • 1 squeeze/ganache bottle
  • 1 scalloped decorative cake comb/scraper

Instructions
 

For the Banana Sheet Cake

  • Preheat the oven to 325 degrees convection bake, then prep a 9×13 pan with a swipe of shortening and dust of flour. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl, hand-whisk together all the ingredients for the cake except for the cake mix. Sift in the cake mix, gently stir until it's combined, then pour the batter into the prepared cake pan. Bake for 25-27 minutes. Cool on a cooling rack in the pan or flip out onto the cooling rack if you're frosting the sides of the cake.

For the Banana Buttercream

  • With the paddle on a stand mixer, whip up the butter until it's light and fluffy, then add in the salt, vanilla, banana extract, and heavy cream and mix again.
  • Add in the powdered sugar, then whip up again on high speed for 2 minutes until it's light and fluffy. Add in more heavy cream (1 Tablespoon) if needed. Add in the gel coloring to make it yellow.
    Use a wooden spoon to hand-beat out the air bubbles to make a smooth and silky buttercream.

For the Strawberry Buttercream

  • With the paddle on a stand mixer, whip up the butter until it's light and fluffy, then add in the salt, vanilla, strawberry extract, strawberry powder, and heavy cream and mix again.
  • Add in the powdered sugar, then whip up again on high speed for 2 minutes until it's light and fluffy. Add in more heavy cream (1 Tablespoon) if needed.
    Use a wooden spoon to hand-beat out the air bubbles to make a smooth and silky buttercream.
    Add the buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a 1M piping tip.

For the ganache

  • Add the chocolate and heavy cream together in a microwave safe bowl. Heat in the microwave for 30 seconds and stir. Heat for 10 minutes and stir again. Repeat until the chocolate is smooth and melty. Add to a squeeze bottle for the chocolate drizzle.

Assembly

  • With an offset icing spatula, spread out the banana buttercream in a flat layer on the cooled sheet cake. Use a scalloped cake scraper to make the pattern on the buttercream surface.
    Drizzle on the chocolate ganache across the cake then add on the sprinkles around the outside rim of the cake.
  • Swirl on strawberry buttercream on the outside edges, and place on a maraschino cherry. Enjoy!

Notes

Recipe source: Cake Confidence, Mandy Merriman (me)
Author: Mandy Merriman – Baking with Blondie