With an intense banana and a rich peanut butter flavor, this Sourdough Discard Banana Snack Cake will be your new favorite way to use up overripe bananas and excess discard.
I absolutely love banana bread, but when I accumulate too many overripe bananas, I love making this peanut butter banana snack cake! It's lighter and airier than a normal banana bread with a rich flavor thanks to the addition of sourdough discard and peanut butter.
Looking for more ways to use overripe bananas? Try my recipes for Sourdough Discard Banana Bread, Sourdough Banana Nut Bread, Sourdough Banana Muffins and Sourdough Banana Cookies.
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Baking with sourdough discard
Baking powder and baking soda helps this cake rise, instead of biological leaveners (commercial yeast or sourdough). As the batter bakes, baking powder produces carbon dioxide which imparts a soft, and fluffy texture to your cake. Because you won’t be using an active sourdough starter to make this cake rise you can bake with your sourdough discard straight from the refrigerator without activating or feeding it first.
Love easy sourdough cakes? Check out my recipe for Sourdough Sweet Potato Apple Coffee Cake, Lemon Lavender Bundt Cake and Sourdough Discard Chocolate Cake.
What you need
- All-purpose flour - the low protein content of all-purpose imparts a soft, tender texture to this cake, don't substitute whole wheat or bread flour.
- Peanut butter - adds a rich flavor to the cake, I also use it in my Sourdough Discard Peanut Butter Cookies.
- Sourdough discard - both active starter and sourdough discard works for this recipe.
- Whole milk - substitute your favorite plant-based milk.
- Overripe bananas - brown bananas impart the ideal sweetness and texture for this cake, make sure yours are heavily spotted before attempting this recipe.
- 70% chocolate (optional) - I love topping my snack cake with chocolate chunks but you can substitute with nuts or dried fruit.
See recipe card for detailed ingredient information.
Step-by-step instructions
- Whisk together flour, baking soda and salt
- Cream peanut butter, butter and sugar using an electric mixer
- Add eggs in one at a time
- Stir in bananas, sourdough discard and vanilla into batter
- Fold flour mixture into batter a third at a time, alternating with milk to loosen up the batter
- Pour batter into prepared baking pan
- Sprinkle chopped chocolate over batter
- Bake cake at 350 F for 40 to 50 minutes
Recipe FAQs
Absolutely! Simply use the same proportion of freshly fed sourdough starter in the recipe. Your starter won’t add a strong tangy flavor to your muffins, but will still work.
If you don’t have a starter, but still want to try out this recipe, simply add 28 grams of all-purpose flour and 28 grams of water to your batter.
If you don’t have overripe bananas, bake unpeeled bananas in an oven preheated to 400 F for 5 to 10 minutes or until they are completely browned. This caramelizes the sugars and intensifies the flavor of the bananas, similar to overripe bananas.
There are a few reasons your cake may end up dense:
1. Your baking soda may be past its prime, make sure your baking soda is fresh before making this recipe
2. The gluten in your cake may have been over developed because the batter has been overmixed
3. You may have opened the oven door too early, this causes heat to escape rapidly which can cause your cake to sink
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Sourdough Discard Banana Snack Cake
Equipment
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Ingredients
- 156 grams all-purpose flour
- 6 grams salt
- 3 grams baking soda
- 56 grams unsalted butter softened
- 75 g peanut butter
- 250 g granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 56 g sourdough discard
- 7 g vanilla or rum
- 28 grams milk
- 227 grams overripe bananas mashed
- 60 grams chocolate chunks
Click US Customary to view volume measurements
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 F (176 C). Line an 8-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
- Whisk together flour, salt and baking soda and set aside.156 grams all-purpose flour, 6 grams salt, 3 grams baking soda
- Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, cream together the peanut butter, butter and sugar until the mixture appears light and fluffy.56 grams unsalted butter, 75 g peanut butter, 250 g granulated sugar
- Add eggs one at a time until each is fully combined.2 eggs
- Add bananas, sourdough discard and vanilla until well-incorporated.56 g sourdough discard, 227 grams overripe bananas, 7 g vanilla or rum
- Fold in half of the flour mixture with a spatula until the flour is hydrated. Add milk and the remaining flour until fully incorporated but do not overmix or your cake may turn out rubbery.28 grams milk
- Pour batter into your prepared baking pan and sprinkle chocolate chunks on top.60 grams chocolate chunks
- Bake cake for 40 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Tips
These recipes were developed and tested using grams for precise measurements. To increase your chances of success, I recommend investing in a kitchen scale. I've included rough volume estimates (in tablespoons and cups), but they might not be totally accurate.
Remember all ovens are unique, these recipes were tested in my oven which runs cooler than others. You might need to lower the temperature if your bake appears to be browning too quickly. Monitor your bake closely and make adjustments if needed.
Notes
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist or dietitian, any nutrition information provided is an estimate.
Cindy says
Hi Hannah! I just made this recipe this past weekend. I added the tiny bit of vanilla paste I had left, which was diluted w/ rum. Also subbed peanut butter for sunflower seed butter due to allergies in the house & also so my older son can take a slice to school (nut-free school). Worked out VERY well. Strange thing is some spots started to turn slightly green (NOT mold) after a couple of days likely due to the sunflower seed butter oxidizing. Otherwise, it's a HUGE hit! So soft & great w/ a cup of tea or coffee! Thank you for making this recipe! Will definitely make again!
Hannah Dela Cruz says
Hi Cindy - I am so happy the recipe turned out well for you and even with all your substitutions. I'm glad you were able to make the recipe work with those restrictions. Hmm, that's very interesting about the green spots. I do wonder if it really is the sunflower butter.
Evie says
Hi Hannah! Just made this today and kept looking for when to add the chocolate chips and how much, but I think it’s missing from the recipe.
Make It Dough says
Oh no! I usually just top with chocolate chips. Thank you for catching this! I'll be sure to edit the recipe.
mamadolson says
Hi - I made this recipe today. It's not clear when to add the peanut butter. Reading over the recipe, I thought either with the butter and sugar or with the sourdough discard. So I opted for the later. The texture looked good. It's in the oven now and I'll let you know.
Make It Dough says
So sorry about that! It was an oversight on the recipe that I just corrected. I hope you enjoyed the cake!