Caramel and banana just go together. Add a little brown butter, and its the perfect trio! My Banana Caramel Cake with Brown Butter Frosting is now high on my list. So get those ripened bananas ready, or go buy some bananas so they can get ripe and let’s get baking!
This Banana Caramel Cake With Brown Butter Frosting has strong banana cake layers, with a banana caramel sauce, and then filled and covered in a brown butter buttercream. (Which is probably my favorite part of the cake…)
For more summer or banana recipes check these out below!
Banana Biscoff Cake Biscoff Banana Bread The Most Enjoyable Light Lemon Cake
Why this recipe is good
- Easy to make-If you’re new to making a layer cake, this is a great cake to start with. There aren’t too many elements and the elements that are present are easy to make!
- Strong banana layers-This cake has a delicious banana bread taste that comes from mashed up fresh bananas mixed with a tiny bit of banana extract. These cake layers scream BANANA.
- Banana caramel sauce– I subbed the vanilla extract for some banana extract and it’s a duo that will forever be stuck in my head.
- Brown Butter Frosting– this brown butter frosting compliments the banana flavor. It gives a nutty aroma without nuts!
- Layered cake-This is a three layer 8 inch cake, but if you have 4, 6 inch pans, that will also work.
- The perfect dessert for any occasion-Whether this is a dessert for a special family get together, or just a week night treat, your family and friends will love this in their lives.
Ingredient list
Here are some of the ingredients that you will need, for the full list, check out the recipe card below.
- Unsalted butter-This recipe uses a lot of butter. In fact, each element of this cake has butter in it. When making the cake layers, make sure to pull your butter out ahead of time, so it is at room temperature when you use it. This is so important!!
- Ripened banana-It really isn’t a huge deal if your bananas aren’t fully ripened, but it will make your cake a lot more moist, if they are! I use medium sized bananas for this recipe.
- Large eggs-The eggs need to be pulled out 2-4 hours before you make your batter, so they can be at room temperature.
- Banana Extract– I use banana extract that you can find in the baking isle.
- Buttermilk-This recipe uses a lot more buttermilk than most of my other recipes. Make sure to pull it out of the fridge at least 2 hours before you start baking the cake batter.
- Powdered sugar-You need to sift the powdered sugar when you make your vanilla buttercream. I promise it’s worth it! It will make your frosting so much smoother.
Substitutions
Although I don’t recommend substitutions, if you are ever in a pinch, here are a few things you can use as substitutions:
Vanilla extract-You can always use vanilla flavor or imitation vanilla.
Banana extract-If you can’t find this, you can just substitute with vanilla extract.
Buttermilk-You can use whole milk and lemon. For every cup of milk, add one Tablespoon of lemon juice. Let the mixture sit for 15 minutes before using.
Step by step instructions- cake
STEP 1: Beat the butter, sugar, and oil. Beat these three ingredients on high for 5 minutes to get a light and fluffy texture. This creates air pockets in your cake that also helps it rise. I recommend beating for 2 minutes, then scraping down the sides and beating for the remaining 3 minutes.
STEP 2: Beat the eggs. Beating the eggs after each addition is considered the “creaming method.” You’ll want to scrape down the bowl after each egg to really ensure that they are creamed into the butter and sugar.
STEP 3: Add the extracts. After adding the eggs, add the vanilla and banana extract.
Step 4: Add in the dry ingredients and buttermilk. Alternate these ingredients and mix on low.
Step 5: Fold in the mashed bananas. I make sure that the bananas are really mashed up before adding them to the cake batter.
Step 6: Bake the cake. Bake the cake layers low and slow for 23-33 minutes, mine took about 30
Step by step caramel
Step 1: Mix the water, sugar, and corn syrup. In a medium sized sauce pan, stir together the water, sugar, and the corn syrup.
Step 2: Cook the mixture. On medium heat, bring the sugar to a boil. The bubbles will start off fast and small, but once it starts caramelizing, the bubbles will slow down and become a little bigger. Do not touch or stir the mixture. That will cause crystallization.
Step 3: Let it boil. Let it boil until the mixture becomes caramelized and looks golden brown/auburn color. This does take a few minutes, but once it starts turning brown, it’s easy to burn it, so keep an eye on it.
Step 4: Heat the cream. Put the cream in the microwave for 1 minute.
Step 5: Add the cream. Once the caramel is ready for the cream, turn off the heat on the sugar mixture and add the warm cream. Mix the caramel mixture until evenly combined.
Step 6: Add the rest of the ingredients. Add the banana extract and salt. Stir to combine. Let it come to room temperature before using on your cake.
Step by step- the brown butter frosting
Step 1: Cook the butter. In a medium sized sauce pan, melt the butter on medium heat. Keep stirring the butter until it starts to foam and the milk deposits on the bottom separate. Stir until the butter starts to brown and you hear crackling noises. Take off heat. Pour in a glass bowl, and let it completely come to room temperature.
Step 2: beat both butters. In a bowl of a standard mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, place the room temperature browned butter, the cold stick of butter, and beat on medium high speed for 2-4 minutes. If there are chunks of butter, don’t stress, they will eventually get beaten out.
Step 3: add the rest of ingredients. After you beat the butters, add the sifted powder sugar, vanilla, cream and salt. Mix on low just until combined, once all combined beat on high for at least 2 minutes.
Step 4: Beat the air pockets out. Beat by hand with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to get all the air pockets out.
Expert Baking Tips
-Make sure that your ingredients for the cake are room temperature. This will help your cakes rise properly in the oven.
-You can make everything ahead of time and assemble on the day that you are ready to serve it.
-SIFT your powdered sugar. This is a step you seriously don’t want to skip. It helps keep your buttercream smooth and SILKY.
-Use high quality cake pans. My favorite and trusted brand is FAT DADDIO’S. You can find them here!
FAQ
Can I make this into a sheet cake?
Yes this can be turned into a sheet cake, four 6 inch cake pans, or a 9×13 (if you do a 9×13, it will need to bake for 40-45 minutes).
Can these be made into cupcakes?
YES! You just need to reduce the baking time to 23-27 minutes.
Should I make the caramel ahead of time?
Yes. Make the caramel and the brown butter after you bake your cake layers.
Storing and freezing
If I am dividing my Banana Carmel Cake with Brown Butter Frosting making into multiple days, I bake my cake layers, cool them, and wrap them with plastic wrap and store them in the fridge or the freezer. This helps reduce crumbs and makes it so the layers don’t slide around when decorating. They can be stored in the fridge for 3-5 days.
Freezing
If you want to make the entire cake ahead of time, you can freeze the decorated cake by simply chilling it and then wrapping it with plastic wrap. If you want to store it for longer than a few days, put a layer of aluminum foil over the plastic wrap. It can be stored like this in the freezer for up to 6 months. Once you are ready to serve the cake, pull it out of the freezer and place it in the fridge to thaw (this will help decrease condensation).
Here are more recipes you are going to want to try:
Blueberry Crisp Cake, S’more Cake, Cinnamon Roll Cake
Recipe
Banana Caramel Cake With Brown Butter Frosting
Ingredients
For the banana cake layers
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 1 cup buttermilk room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon banana extract
- 3 medium-sized ripened bananas mashed
For the caramel sauce
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup water
- 3 Tablespoons light corn syrup
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- ¼ teaspoons banana extract
- 1 teaspoon salt
For the brown butter frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter. Browning butter loses about 25% of liquid
- ¼ cup unsalted butter cold
- 5-6 cups of powder sugar
- ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
For the banana bread cake
- Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Spray 3, 8 inch cake pans with cooking spray, line with parchment paper, and spray again. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In another medium sized bowl, mash the bananas with a fork until they are completely mashed.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, oil, and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With a rubber spatula, scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- With the speed turned down to medium, add the eggs, one at a time, mixing until each egg is fully incorporated before adding the next (about 30 seconds for each addition). Add the vanilla and banana extract and mix on low.
- With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients, alternating with the buttermilk into the creamed butter mixture, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. I do it in the three parts. Mix until just incorporated and remove bowl from stand mixer.
- With a rubber spatula, fold in the mashed bananas until fully incorporated. Make sure to scrape down the bottom of the bowl.
- Divide the batter evenly between the three pans, using a kitchen scale for the best accuracy. I had about 22 ounces in each one.
- Carefully smooth the batter with a small offset spatula and bake until a toothpick comes out clean, or with only a few crumbs on it, about 28-32 minutes depending on your oven
- Let pans cool on wire rack for 10 minutes, then transfer the cakes out of the cake pans and onto cooling racks. Let them cool completely.
For the caramel
- In a medium sized sauce pan, stir together the water, sugar, and corn syrup.
- On medium heat, bring the sugar to a boil. Do not stir. The bubbles will start off fast and small, but once it starts caramelizing, the bubbles will slow down and become a little bigger. Do not touch or stir the mixture. That will cause crystallization.
- Let the mixture boil until it becomes caramelized and looks golden brown. This does take a few minutes, but once it starts turning brown, it’s easy to burn it, so keep an eye on it.
- Put the cream in the microwave for 1 minute.
- Once the caramel is an amber brown, turn off the heat, add the warm cream, and let the mixture steam, and then stir. Be careful not to burn yourself
- Pour the mixture into a bowl. Add the banana extract and salt. Mix until combined.
Brown butter frosting
- In a medium sized sauce pan, melt the butter on medium heat. Keep stirring the butter until it starts to foam and the milk deposits on the bottom separate. Stir until the butter starts to brown and you hear crackling noises. Take off heat. Pour in a glass bowl, and let it completely come to room temperature.
- In a bowl of a standard mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, place the room temperature browned butter, the cold stick of butter, and beat on medium high speed for 2-4 minutes. If there are chunks of butter, don’t stress, they will eventually get beaten out.
- After you beat the butters, add the sifted powder sugar, vanilla, cream and salt. Mix on low just until combined, once all combined beat on high for at least 2 minutes.
- Beat by hand with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to get all the air pockets out.
Assembly
- In a middle of the cake board, place a small dollop of buttercream to act as glue. Place your first cake layer, top side up, on the cake board. Spread about a cup of buttercream and drizzle of the caramel sauce.
- Place your next cake layer top side down onto the caramel and repeat the last step.
- Repeat the last step again, with the cake layer top side down.
- Crumb coat the cake with the brown butter frosting and chill for 15 minutes.
- Frost the cake with the remaining brown sugar buttercream. Add the caramel drip if you want, and serve the extra caramel on the side. The cake is BEST served at room temperature. I highly recommend it.
Cristina says
Hi! Which size are the pans? Looks delicius! Thank you!!
Molly Murphy says
Hi i use 3 8 inch pans!
Shay says
Is it strong enough to stack? I’m working on a two tier cake and they want banana.
Molly Murphy says
Yes! As long as the cake layers are firm or frozen as you stack them!!!