The Most Delicious Strawberry Banana Milkshake Cake

Strawberry Banana Milkshake Cake – light and fluffy banana cake layers, strawberry cream filling, fresh strawberries and whipped vanilla buttercream.

Strawberry Banana Milkshake Cake

I’m so excited to share this Strawberry Banana Milkshake Cake with you! With light and fluffy banana cake layers, strawberry cream filling, fresh strawberries and bananas, and a whipped vanilla buttercream, this cake will make you feel like you’re sitting at an old-fashioned soda bar, sipping and strawberry banana milkshake!

Banana Cake

These light and fluffy banana cake layers are based off my Confetti Cake layers. I decided to go with a more subtle banana flavor, compared to a traditional banana cake (i.e. banana bread type flavor). I think you’ll love the lightness of these layers and still appreciate the banana flavor.

Banana Flavoring

To add flavor, I used instant banana pudding. If this isn’t something you can find, you can use a teaspoon of banana emulsion.

Strawberry Cream Filling

For the filling, I used the whipped raspberry filling from my Chocolate Raspberry Swiss Roll and subbed freeze dried strawberries for the raspberries. You are going to LOVE how easy this filling is to make. Just grab your blender or food processor, add the freeze dried fruit, then the heavy whipping cream (as much fat as you can find) and the granulated sugar. Pulse for a few minutes and you’ll have a thick and creamy filling. Best part – it’s stable enough to hold the cake layers!

Garnish and Filling Add-Ins

In addition to the strawberry cream filling in this Strawberry Banana Milkshake Cake, I added fresh strawberries and banana chips. I love that the banana chips hold their crunch after the cake has been frozen or sitting out a bit. I also think fresh bananas would be delicious between the layers with the strawberry slices. Just remember, though – only use fresh bananas if you’re making the cake the same day as when you serve it. Fresh bananas won’t hold up well in the freezer, if you plan to store the cake.

Vanilla Buttercream

To top this cake off, I decided to go with my vanilla buttercream, a.k.a The Best Vanilla Buttercream. This buttercream frosting is light and fluffy and doesn’t overwhelm any of the other flavors. It’s almost like adding the ice cream element to these milkshake flavors.

I then used Americolor food gel Soft Pink and Egg Yellow. Just a tad of each!

How to Make Buttercream Frosting

To get a light and fluffy homemade buttercream frosting, I have a detailed post: HOW TO MAKE THE BEST BUTTERCREAM to give you in depth instruction for making your buttercream unreal! Here’s an overview with a quick picture tutorial for making the best vanilla buttercream:

• Sift your powdered sugar
• Use slightly cold butter and mix on its own for 2 to 3 minutes
• Use heavy whipping cream
• Beat for 5 minutes
• Stir by hand

How to Cake It: How to Make Buttercream Stripes

To create the thin stripes, I used my striped scraper from Shop Cake by Courtney. I’ve written out a tutorial for stripes HERE, so make sure to check it out for all of my trips and tricks for creating this darling design.

Strawberry Banana Milkshake Cake

4.88 from 25 votes

Light and fluffy banana cake layers with strawberry cream filling and vanilla buttercream.

Servings 20

Prep Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

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Ingredients

  

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FOR THE CAKE

• 3 cups (345 g) cake flour
• 1 tablespoon (14 g) baking powder
• 1 teaspoon (6 g) salt
• 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter room temperature
• 1 3/4 cups (350 g) granulated sugar
• 1 pkg (3 oz) instant banana pudding mix
• 1/3 cup (72.6 g) vegetable oil
• 3 large whole eggs room temperature
• 3 large egg whites room temperature
• 1/4 cup (60 g) sour cream room temperature
• 1 cup (240 g) buttermilk room temperature
• 2 teaspoons (8.4 g) vanilla extract

FOR THE WHIPPED VANILLA BUTTERCREAM

• 2 cups (452 g) unsalted butter chilled (I take the butter out of the fridge 30 minutes before I make my frosting)
• 6 cups (750 g) powdered sugar measured then sifted
• 1/4 cup (60 g) heavy whipping cream
• 2 teaspoons (8.4 g) clear vanilla extract
• *This buttercream recipe makes enough to fill and cover your cake. If you want to add additional piping, you’ll want to make an extra ½ batch.

FOR THE STRAWBERRY FILLING

• 1/2 cup (15 g) freeze dried strawberries
• 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
• 2 cups (455 g) heavy whipping cream

GARNISH

• Banana chips or fresh banana slices
• Strawberry slices

Instructions

 

FOR THE CAKE

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Prepare three 8-inch or four 6-inch round cake pans with non-stick spray, parchment paper on the bottom of the pan, and another coat of spray. Set aside.
• In a medium size bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, oil, sugar and pudding mix on high until fluffy and smooth, about 5 minutes.
• Add the eggs and the egg whites, one at a time to the bowl and beat on medium until well incorporated. Add the sour cream and beat on medium speed for a minute or so. It may look curdled, don't stress.
• Turn the mixer on low and add ⅓ of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until fully incorporated. Then add half of the buttermilk and blend well, followed by another ⅓ of the flour mixture, the second half of the buttermilk and lastly, add the remaining flour mixture and mix until incorporated.
• Add the vanilla extract and beat on low until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix on low for another 30 seconds.
• Evenly distribute the cake batter among the three 8-inch or four 6-inch pans and bake for 23 to 28 minutes, until toothpick comes out with just a few moist crumbs on it.
• Remove cakes from the oven and let cool in pans for 10 minutes before inverting onto cooling racks.
• When cakes are completely cooled, I like to wrap each cake layer individually with plastic wrap and stick it in the refrigerator or freezer until I’m ready to frost. The cake will be easier to work with if it’s cooled a bit. If I’m making the cake a day or two before I actually need to frost it, I put it in the freezer to ensure freshness. If I’m frosting same-day, I’ll just put it in the refrigerator to chill until needed.

FOR THE BUTTERCREAM:

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter for about 2 minutes. This will soften the butter without it having to be warm.
• With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the sifted powdered sugar, one cup at a time, mixing a little in between each addition.
• With mixer on medium speed, add whipping cream, vanilla and salt.
• Turn the mixer to medium-high speed and beat for an additional 5 to 7 minutes. The frosting will become lighter in color and texture.
• Before spreading on your cake, spend a couple minutes mixing the buttercream by hand with a wooden spoon to push out the air pockets.

FOR THE FILLING

• In a food processor, pulse the freeze dried strawberries until they resemble a powder.
• Add the sugar and the cream and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula to incorporate the freeze dried fruit.
• Pulse the mixer for about 1 to 2 minutes. The texture should resemble Greek yogurt.

  Keep chilled until ready to use.

ASSEMBLY

• Place the first cake layer, top side up. Spread 1 cup of the strawberry filling over the cake layer as evenly as possible. Make sure to get eye level with the cake to ensure the frosting is spread evenly over the cake. Place sliced strawberries on top. If using banana slices or banana chips, also evenly lay them on the filling next to the sliced strawberries.
• Repeat these step until you get to the final cake layer, which you will lay top side down.
• Apply a thin coat of buttercream around the entire cake to lock in the crumbs. Freeze for about 10 minutes.
• After the crumb coat is set, continue frosting and decorating the cake.

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Cake

Keyword: Banana Cake, strawberry banana milkshake cake, strawberry filling, Vanilla Buttercream