This delicious carrot banana loaf cake is easy to make. This cake is filled with crushed pineapple for another layer of sweetness then topped with a luscious cream cheese frosting and roasted nuts. Step-by-step photos teach out how to make this carrot pineapple banana bread.

Carrot Pineapple Banana Loaf Cake, that's a mouthful, but a damn good mouthful if I do say so myself. Truly this was a hit. So freaking moist and delicious. Wow.
I have a bit of a banana bread obsession, you may have noticed with my Peaches & Cream Banana Bread or my Strawberry Banana Bread or my Bananas Foster Banana Bread.
While I would love to call this banana bread, which it is, it is ultimately more like a loaf cake. As much as I want to convince myself this is a perfect breakfast I just can't. So afternoon snack or dessert works for me 😉
As Easter approaches, I start to question what desserts to make. An event where I can make multiple desserts and no one can complain. Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, Sunday night dinner, any excuse for an array of desserts. Last Easter I made some of these recipes here Carrot Layer Cake and Coffee Cheesecake with Chocolate Ganache. A family favorite is this Easter Cake Recipe- Neopolitan marble cake!
Back to this beaut.
Being that it is a loaf cake/ banana bread it is super easy to make. In a large bowl mix together the wet ingredients and sugar and then fold in the dry ingredients. BAM. Of course, the hardest part is waiting for the loaf to cool to then be smothered in cream cheese frosting.
Let's get to the recipe.
Ingredients
The ingredient list looks long, but don't let that scare you. This recipe is easy and quick, you will love it! You'll need:
- Unsalted Butter. Luckily you only need melted butter so no need to wait for it to soften to room temprature.
- Sugar. I like to use a combination of both white granulated sugar and warm brown sugar.
- Large Eggs. Your eggs need to be at room temperature so they evenly incorporate into the batter. To do this quickly place the eggs in a bowl of warm water for 5 mintues before cracking them!
- Vanilla Extract. I couldn't live without this baby, make sure you use the real stuff, no imitation please!
- Bananas. You need ripe bananas. The browner, spottier, banana has ripened and has more sugar in it. When my bananas go spotty I put them in the freezer and just thaw a couple hours before I want to bake something. Or if you didn't plan ahead and you only have yellow bananas you can place them on a rack on a pan and bake the whole banana, peel included, for 10 minutes at 350F/180C. Allow to cool before using.
- Crushed Pineapple. You could use fresh pineapple but I use canned just make sure to drain it.
- Grated Carrots. I normally buy organic carrots so I wash and scrub the carrots and do not bother peeling them before I grate them. But if you prefer to peel them go right ahead!
- Spices. Now for the gorgeous warm flavor you normally find with a carrot cake you'll need; ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground cloves, and ground nutmeg.
- Flour. Just regular all-purpose flour is needed, but it is critical that your flour is measured properly. Too much or too little flour can drastically effect the cake.
- Baking Soda. This chemical leavening agent will help the batter rise properly.
- Salt. This key ingredient helps balance out the sweetness as well as brighten all the other ingredients flavor profiles.
- Greek Yogurt. I have used both Greek yogurt and sour cream to lighten up the batter and add moisture. Again this should be at room temperature to properly combine with the rest of the batter.
Now you could leave this as is or you could add a frosting, I always choose to frost!
- Cream Cheese. The classic flavor combination with carrot desserts. Make sure the cream cheese is at room temperature.
- Butter. This needs to be at room temperature too, I suggest getting the cream cheese and butter out when you start making the cake, then it has plenty of time to come to room temperature.
- Confectioners Sugar. Also known as powdered sugar, this will thicken and sweeten the frosting.
- Buttermilk Powder. This is the key to a tangy and delicious frosting. Trust me, this makes a huge difference in the flavor!
- Vanilla Extract. You could also use vanilla bean paste.
- Heavy Whipping Cream. This makes the frosting extra creamy and delicious!
- Pinch of Salt. Just to balance out the sweetness of a frosting.
Now to top the cake adding some toasted nuts adds gorgeous contrasting texture. To easily toast some pecans or walnuts place them on a sheet tray spread out and bake for 10 minutes at 300F, let cool completely before adding to the frosting.
Another banana bread I love is this apple banana bread recipe.
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350F/180C and heavily grease a 9X5 baking loaf pan.
In a large bowl whisk together the melted butter, sugars, vanilla, and eggs until combined.
Mix in bananas, pineapple, and carrots. I use a potato masher right in the bowl to mash the banana.
Fold in spices, flour, baking soda, and salt mixing until just combined.
Gently fold the Greek yogurt into the batter.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 55-70 minutes, stick a knife in the middle to test for the wet batter, you don't want any wet batter, just moist crumbs.
Let the cake cool on the wire rack completely or overnight
In the bowl of an electric stand mixer or a large bowl with a handheld electric mixer beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add in butter and beat for another minute.
Add powdered sugar, buttermilk powder, vanilla bean paste, heavy cream, and salt. Beat on low at first then once powdered sugar is combined beat on high for 3 minutes.
Spread on top of cooled cake and sprinkle with nuts.
Store any leftovers of the cake in a cool space or fridge, in an air-tight container.
We all adore this cake!
More carrot recipes
If carrots are your jam then you gotta try these.
My roasted carrots are the perfect weeknight dinner, trust me once you've had roasted carrots you won't go back. So much delicious flavor!
This carrot layer cake is a favorite amongst my friends for birthday parties!
It also satisfies your carrot cake craving which everyone has around Easter!
I hope you enjoy this gorgeous Carrot Pineapple Banana Loaf Cake as much as I did!
★★★★★ Please let me know if you make this recipe by leaving a star rating and comment below!
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Carrot Pineapple Banana Loaf Cake
This delicious carrot banana loaf cake is easy to make. This cake is filled with crushed pineapple for another layer of sweetness then topped with a luscious cream cheese frosting and roasted nuts. Step-by-step photos teach out how to make this carrot pineapple banana bread.
- Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
- Yield: 10-12 Slices 1x
Ingredients
Carrot Pineapple Banana Loaf Cake
- 4oz (½ Cup) Unsalted Butter, melted
- 100 grams (½ Cup) Brown Sugar
- 100 grams (½ Cup) Granulated Sugar
- 2 Large Eggs, at room temp.
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 2 Medium Bananas smashed
- 3.5oz Crushed Pineapple, drained
- 130 grams (¾ cup) Grated Carrots, roughly 2 medium carrots
- 1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- ½ Teaspoon Ground Ginger
- ¼ Teaspoon Ground Cloves
- ¼ Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
- 160 grams (1 ½ Cups) All-Purpose Flour
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ Teaspoon Salt
- 3oz Greek Yogurt
Frosting
- 4oz Cream Cheese, at room temp.
- 2.5oz Butter, at room temp.
- 4oz (1 Cup) Powdered Sugar
- 0.60oz (1 ½ Tablespoons) Buttermilk Powder
- ½ Teaspoon Vanilla Extract/ Paste
- 1 Teaspoon Heavy Cream
- Pinch of Salt
- 2oz Chopped Toasted Pecans/ Walnuts (pre-toast them in the oven for 10 minutes & cool completely)
Instructions
Carrot Pineapple Banana Loaf Cake
- Preheat oven to 350F/180C and heavily grease a 9X5 baking loaf pan.
- In a large bowl combine melted butter and sugars. Mix in vanilla and eggs until combined. Mix in bananas, pineapple, and carrots.
- Fold in spices, flour, baking soda and salt mixing until just combined. Gently fold the Greek yogurt into the batter.
- Pour into prepared pan and bake for 55-70 minutes, stick a knife in the middle to test for wet batter, you don't want any wet batter, just moist crumbs. Let cool on wire rack completely or overnight
Frosting
- In the bowl of an electric mixer beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add in butter and beat for another minute. Add powdered sugar, buttermilk powder, vanilla bean paste, heavy cream, and salt. Beat on low at first then once powdered sugar is combined beat on high for 3 minutes.
- Spread on top of cooled cake and sprinkle with nuts. Store in a cool space or fridge.
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 70
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: quick bread, breakfast, dessert, banana bread recipe, cream cheese frosting, roasted nuts, carrot pineapple recipes
Banana Bread Recipe adapted from my Pineapple Banana Bread
Frosting Recipe adapted from Carrot Layer Cake
Msgemh says
Excellent bread. Used cut up apples in place of carrots. Added 1/2 c. nuts. Did not make frosting. Baked for 60 minutes. Extremely moist.
★★★★★
Elizabeth Waterson says
Thank you Msgemh for reporting back, so pleased you enjoyed the recipe!!
Annie says
Turned out great!! I used seared fresh pineapple to bring out the sweetness in the pineapple, 3 carrots, and added 1/2 cup of walnuts to the batter. Super moist & flavorful. I even made the cream cheese frosting but left out the cream as I didn’t have any. The hardest part was waiting for it to cool as it is so delicious!!
★★★★★
Elizabeth Waterson says
Oh my goodness the seared pineapple sounds amazing!!! Thank you so much for coming back to review the recipe Annie, I am seriously so grateful, it makes my day and helps other readers. Take care during these trying times. XX Liz
Shruthi says
I just baked this cake and it's so flavorful! I had carrots, banana and some left over pineapples, so made it. Didn't make the frosting, added half a cup of walnuts and reduced the granulated sugar to only 70 grams. However, the batter was quite runny and the bread came out too moist. I didn't bake it longer as the top was browning a lot. It is my fault as I think I should have used greek yogurt, instead of the homemade yogurt will was way too liquidy. Otherwise, the bread smells and tastes nice! 🙂
★★★★★
Heidi says
I liked the cake. I thought it would be more banana but it was more carrot cake, which was fine! I used a standard cream cheese frosting, but whichever you use, it really makes the cake better. Good combo of flavors.
★★★★
Elizabeth Waterson says
Thank you so much for coming back to review the recipe Heidi, I truly appreciate it!! Glad you enjoyed the cake! I hope you have a lovely Christmas. XX Liz
Brenda says
This was so yummy! I used 6T of maple syrup instead of granulated sugar & did not use buttermilk powder in frosting. Whipped frosting for an extra minute or so and it was super light and fluffy! Very good! I sliced and froze some individual pieces to enjoy later.
★★★★★
Elizabeth Waterson says
So pleased you enjoyed the recipe, Brenda! Thank you so much for coming back to leave a star rating and review I truly appreciate it! Freezing some slices is a great idea!! XX Liz
Cheryl Schlegel says
I love that you included weight measurements! I only have a large can of crushed pineapple, so do you have an idea of how much I should use after draining it? Thanks!
Elizabeth Waterson says
Hi Cheryl sorry for the confusion, use a total of 3.5oz of drained pineapple. So I would take 4.5-5.5 ounce pineapple drain it to get around 3.5ounces, just discard add more if you need to. Please let me know if you try it or if you have any further questions. XX Liz
Maryanne Woodard says
How much buttermilk powder?
Elizabeth Waterson says
Hi Maryanne, sorry for the delay it is 1 1/2 tablespoons worth of milk powder. Please let me know if you have any further quetiosn or if you try the recipe! XX Liz
Sanj says
This was Delicious!!! Any idea of what I could substitute for eggs? Some vegetarians in my family eat dairy but not eggs.
Elizabeth Waterson says
So glad you enjoyed it Sanj! you could try using a flax egg here is a recipe for it. I have personally never done it but I have read of many people using flag eggs for banana bread. Please let me know if I can answer any other questions or if you try it with flax eggs! May I ask a huge favor, please? Would you leave a star rating next time you make the recipe, the star ratings are picked up by Google and help my blog and other readers. I would be so grateful! XX Liz
Tammy says
This was terrible to be honest. The flavors were good, but it came out so moist, I had to cut it into pieces and recook it just to get the density and it was still too moist. I am a pretty good cook so I'm told. I won't be making this again.
★
Elizabeth Waterson says
Hi Tammy, so sorry you didn't enjoy the cake. Sounds like it did not fully cook. We love this cake, wish you could have enjoyed it. Take care XX Liz
Mae says
Hello there is it OK not to use buttermilk powder as I can't find here in Australia?
Many thanks
Elizabeth Waterson says
Hi Mae, yes you can skip it. It just creates a little more tang to it. Please let me know if you try the recipe what you think! XX Liz