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Banana Cake Roll with Cream Cheese Filling

September 27, 2007 by Nicole 67 Comments

Banana Roll with Cream Cheese

Well, I don’t think I could ever get tired of banana bread. But if you’re looking to try something a little different with those overripe bananas sitting in your fruit basket, how about a banana roll? Banana sponge cake spread with a thick cream cheese filling rolled up into one yummy package — what’s not to love?

You’ve had pumpkin roll before, haven’t you? This is the same thing, except made with banana sponge cake rather than pumpkin. In fact, I just used the recipe for pumpkin roll, substituted banana for the pumpkin, took out the spices, and voila!

It was one of those experiments that could have been a total disaster but just happened to turn out very well. If you’ve been reading Pinch My Salt long, you know that most of my ‘original recipes’ are created this way!

Banana Roll

Cake:
Powdered sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup mashed banana (about 2 medium bananas)

Filling:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup powdered sugar (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease 15×10 inch jelly-roll pan (also known as half sheet pan); line with parchment or waxed paper. Grease and flour paper; set aside. Spread out a clean, thin dish towel on the counter (make sure the towel is larger than your jelly roll pan); sprinkle liberally with powdered sugar (this can be done using a mesh strainer).

2. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda.

3. In a large bowl combine eggs and sugar; beat until thickened. Add banana; beat until well mixed.

4. Stir in flour mixture into egg mixture. Spread batter evenly into prepared pan, easing it carefully to the corners with a spatula.

5. Bake in preheated 375 degree oven for 13 to 15 minutes or until center springs back when lightly touched.

6. Immediately loosen cake from edges of pan; invert cake onto the prepared towel. Remove pan; carefully peel off paper. Roll up cake in towel while hot, starting with 10-inch side. Cool completely on wire rack (will take at least an hour).

7. When cake is almost completely cooled, make the filling: beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter and vanilla extract in small mixer bowl until smooth.

8. When cake has cooled completely, unroll and spread with filling (or your favorite cream cheese frosting) then re-roll cake. Wrap rolled cake in plastic wrap then refrigerate at least one hour (overnight is best).

9. When ready to serve, unwrap cake and place on a platter. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired (sift the sugar through a small mesh strainer for a nice presentation). Cut into slices.

Related Recipes:

  • Best Banana Muffins
  • Whole Wheat Banana Bread
  • Cream Cheese Filled Banana Muffins

Around the Web:

  • Banana Loaf Cake from David Lebovitz
  • Chocolate Banana Cake from The Wednesday Chef
  • Banana Cake with Almonds (Gluten Free) from Lucullian Delights
  • Tish Boyle’s Banana Cake from Kitchenography

Filed Under: Adventures in Baking, Desserts, Vegetarian

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jason says

    September 29, 2007 at 5:28 pm

    Pumpkin Donuts?
    Reply
  2. Katie says

    September 29, 2007 at 9:49 pm

    MMMM!! Looks fantastic. Thanks for a new banana idea. I just made a pumpkin cake/bar recipe that called for cream cheese icing, and I put just a pinch each of cinnamon and nutmeg in the icing, and it was delicious. I bet that would work really well with this recipe too.
    Reply
  3. cooking4two says

    September 29, 2007 at 11:17 pm

    Beautiful! That's exactly how I get most of my original recipes too! Experimenting can be fun, unless you're starving and screw up dinner. That 20 minutes waiting on the pizza to get here takes forever ;)
    Reply
  4. Cynthia says

    September 30, 2007 at 11:27 am

    I love banana bread and am definitely going to try this. Makes for a great presentation too dosen't it?
    Reply
  5. Diane Drinkwater says

    September 30, 2007 at 2:20 pm

    Oh that looks excellent! I'm going to have to go and buy some bananas now. I adore bananas but tend to buy them in a big bunch which often means I have a few which get really ripe before I can eat them. I love mixing them mashed into cake batter - it's a great way of using them, so I'll be giving this recipe a try too!
    Reply
  6. Nicole says

    October 1, 2007 at 10:49 am

    Cindy: Well, if you make it :-) Anali: Yes, the print option is something brand new! I guess I should write a post and point it out. It's nice because it allows you to print just the post without the photos or sidebar or anything else. I'm glad you like it! Jason: You might be on to something there.... Katie: Your pumpkin bars sound great! Adding spices to the cream cheese filling is an excellent idea! I'll probably be stealing it ;-) cooking4two: Hahahaha! Yes, you're right. And where I live, there aren't many delivery options so if I screw up dinner, it's usually boxed mac n' cheese! Cynthia: Yes, that's what I love about rolled cakes! They are fairly simple to make but look really pretty! Diane: I do the same thing! I always buy too many bananas at once and then can't finish them before they are too ripe :-)
    Reply
  7. Julie says

    October 1, 2007 at 4:34 pm

    What a good invention! I've never seen a recipe for a banana roll before and I have no idea why -- it's a sensational idea. I also like the OP's idea of a nutella filling too. Tish Boyle has a recipe for a banana walnut cake that's served with a caramel mascarpone whipped cream which I think would be another great filling for this. Also, thanks for the link to my blog.
    Reply
  8. SusanV says

    October 1, 2007 at 10:38 pm

    Oh, this looks lovely! I'm already thinking of ways to veganize it. What a beautiful photo and presentation.
    Reply
  9. swirlingnotions says

    October 9, 2007 at 10:33 pm

    Wow does this look good! And it's perfect for our house. My husband is a fiend for carrot cake (primarily for the frosting) and we always have overripe bananas around because of our daughter. I'll most CERTAINLY be trying this out. Thanks!
    Reply
  10. kate says

    October 12, 2007 at 1:16 am

    o my god that looks amazing. such a good idea. and something me and my son could make (and eat) together. thanks!
    Reply
  11. Chef Tom says

    October 22, 2007 at 11:00 pm

    This sounds like a very yummy twist on Banana bread. Lucky me has a bunch of over-ripe bananas in my kitchen!
    Reply
  12. Stacey from Best Recipes says

    October 24, 2007 at 6:45 pm

    This recipe looks amazing, another one that I'll need to try out :-) Thank You!
    Reply
  13. Candy says

    October 28, 2007 at 1:58 am

    How do you roll a hot cake without it cracking? Recipe sounds wonderful, but that one instruction had me wondering.
    Reply
  14. Tony says

    October 28, 2007 at 4:14 pm

    Add walnuts to the filling 10 times better.
    Reply
  15. Nicole says

    October 29, 2007 at 3:01 pm

    Candy: This cake actually rolls surprisingly well! It's a sponge cake and they are more pliable than butter cakes. Also it's really thin! Rolling it while warm and letting it cool in the towel makes it easier to roll back up again after filling it. It really does work! Tony: I tried it with walnuts and it was really good!
    Reply
  16. ejm says

    November 14, 2007 at 3:49 pm

    I just made pumpkin cake roll for the first time last week - saw a recipe for it in this month's SAVEUR magazine - the recipe is virtually the same as the pumpkin roll cake you made. I was thinking that I would use the roll technique with whipped cream and chocolate cake (Black Forest Cake). Brilynn alerted me to this post about banana cake roll. Great idea. I bet pecans or walnuts would be a terrific addition. Have you omitted the powdered sugar from the towel? Do you think it's a necessary step for rolling and unrolling the cake? (I found the pumpkin cake to be a bit too sweet) An added bonus to the towel without sugar on it would be that it would be MUCH easier to transfer the hot cake to the towel. -Elizabeth
    Reply
  17. bri says

    November 18, 2007 at 12:59 am

    What a great idea! I love banana bread, but this is a fun way to spiff things up. I made a banana bread this week using coconut oil and it was so fragrant and delicious. I'll have to try out your method sometime. Thanks for the inspiration!
    Reply
  18. steve says

    February 21, 2008 at 2:43 pm

    i still love bannana bread, but i gotta tell you ..that looks super tastey. i'm gonna try this . thnx.
    Reply
  19. KiM says

    March 5, 2008 at 5:27 pm

    This is an amazing recipe ! I've done it over and over and its easily adaptable, esp for extra healthy! and super simple I just pick a blend of types of flours [soy & wheat] and use spenda baking blend instead of sugar, egg whites, and for the spread i use fat free cream cheese, use applesauce instead of butter, add some cinnamon and it's 105% amazing Thanks so much for this recipe! Your website is wonderful :) and I really admire you !
    Reply
  20. Chuck says

    March 11, 2008 at 7:58 pm

    Now, that looks amazingly good. Would love to give that recipe a try!
    Reply
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