Creating your easy and delicious banana cake is straightforward with the following steps. Just follow along, and you’ll have a beautiful cake in no time!

1. Preheat Your Oven: Start by preheating your oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour a 9-inch round cake pan.
2. Mash the Bananas: In a mixing bowl, mash the ripe bananas until smooth. Set aside.
3. Cream Butter and Sugar: In a separate bowl, beat the softened butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. This should take about 3-4 minutes.
4. Add Eggs and Vanilla: Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Then stir in the vanilla extract.
5. Mix Dry Ingredients: In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
6. Combine Wet and Dry Mixtures: Gradually add the dry ingredients to the creamed butter mixture, alternating with the buttermilk. Mix just until combined.
7. Fold in Bananas: Gently fold in the mashed bananas until evenly distributed throughout the batter. If desired, add nuts or chocolate chips at this point.
8. Pour Batter into Pan: Transfer the batter into your prepared cake pan, smoothing the top evenly.
9. Bake: Bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
10. Cool Cake: Once baked, remove the cake from the oven and let it cool in the pan for about 10-15 minutes before transferring it to a wire rack to cool completely.

Following these steps will lead you to a cake that not only looks beautiful but also tastes incredible!