Banana Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting
These Banana Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting are the best of both worlds if you love banana bread and cake.These bars are soft, moist, and full of banana flavor. They are topped with rich, tangy cream cheese frosting, which makes them the best treat ever. They make a great breakfast, dessert, or sweet snack in the afternoon. Let’s start baking!
Utensils Needed
- Bowls for mixing
- Whisk
- Spatula
- Baking pan that is 9 by 9 inches
- Hand mixer (for icing)
Ingredients
To make the banana bars:
- 2 ripe bananas, mashed
- ½ cup of melted unsalted butter
- ¾ cup of brown sugar
- ¼ cup of sugar in granules
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp of vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups of flour for all purposes
- 1 tsp of baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon of salt
- ½ cup of sour cream or Greek yogurt
For the frosting with cream cheese:
- 4 ounces of softened cream cheese
- ¼ cup of softened, unsalted butter
- 1 cup of sugar in powder form
- ½ tsp of vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon of milk (if you need it to make it thicker)
For toppings (optional but tasty!):
- Chopped walnuts
- A little bit of honey
Preparation Steps
- Mash the ripe bananas in a bowl until they are smooth.
- Add the eggs, vanilla extract, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and melted butter to the mix. Blend until smooth.
- In a different bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together with a whisk.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture slowly, then stir in the sour cream until everything is mixed together.
- Grease a 9×9-inch baking pan.
- Put the batter in a greased 9×9-inch pan and bake it for 25 to 30 minutes at 350°F (175°C).
- Before adding frosting, let the bars cool all the way down.
- Mix the cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract together until they are smooth and creamy.
- Spread the frosting on the cooled banana bars, cut them up, and enjoy!
Tips and Tricks
- Use bananas that are too ripe to make them taste better and sweeter.
- Put the frosting in the fridge before spreading it out to make it thicker.
- Don’t mix the batter too much; just stir it until it’s all mixed together for soft bars.
- Before putting frosting on the bars, let them cool all the way down.
- Add chopped nuts or a drizzle of caramel to make them even better!
Storage
- You can keep it in the fridge for up to five days.
- For the best taste, let it come to room temperature before serving.
That’s all there is to it: your Banana Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting are done! They are soft, sweet, and full of banana flavor, and the frosting on top is just the right amount of tangy. Give them a try, snap a picture, and tell me how they turned out.Have fun! 🍌🧁✨