Banana Cake with Salted Caramel Frosting
Enough with banana bread; even better is this Banana Cake with Salted Caramel Frosting. So delicious!
I know, I know…any cake I’m sharing with you today should be decked out with colors of the season. There should be golds and oranges and browns for the Fall holiday or I should have even taken it a step further and made it rich with red or burgundy for the Winter season.
But I couldn’t, I just couldn’t. I made this Banana Cake with Salted Caramel Frosting for me; to see if I would want to have it again for my birthday. A birthday which happens to fall pretty much right smack in the middle of both of those seasons.
My inner (and yes probably outer too) child would say, ‘It’s not FAIR!’ to have a birthday on December 10th and every single person who has a birthday between Thanksgiving and Christmas knows exactly how I feel.
Can I tell you how many times a red Christmas ornament was deemed the perfect gift for me? I would politely say, ‘Thank you’ and inside was screaming, ‘But it’s not my Christmas, it’s MY birthday!’
So I have had to take it upon myself to make it a special day. To do something that is just for me without mention of the holiday seasons and that includes a cake that would be unexpected along with a color scheme devoid of orange, red and gold.
You know those people who categorize the colors you should wear into the seasons of the year? Well, if I’ve been designated as a ‘Spring’ then Spring it is. I love the cool colors and I love pastels. It’s true…bring me purple and pink and aquamarine and I’m a happy camper.
So while I think this truly amazing cake is perfect all year round, on this day, in anticipation of celebrating on December 10th with friends who supposedly are coming to my home for a holiday party, we’ll be having this decadent and delicious Banana Cake with Salted Caramel Frosting for my birthday…think they’ll mind?
Do you have cake lovers coming to your home for Thanksgiving who turn their nose up at pumpkin pie? Or maybe it’s you? Try serving this beauty for dessert and I know everyone will be begging for seconds!
PIN IT! ‘Banana Cake with Salted Caramel Frosting’
Banana Cake with Salted Caramel Frosting
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 5 ounces unsalted butter
- 4 large eggs
- 1 ounce canola oil
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon table salt
- ¾ cup mashed overripe bananas
For the Salted Caramel Buttercream:
- ½ cup 8 Tbsp butter, softened
- 1 3-oz. package cream cheese, softened
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 16-oz. package powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons milk
- ½ cup Salted Caramel Sauce
For the Salted Caramel:
- ¼ cup water
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons corn syrup
- ⅔ cup heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare three 9-inch cake pans; rub the inside with butter and dust with flour. Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit inside and put on the bottom of the cake pan.
- Cream together the granulated sugar, light brown sugar and butter on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Slowly add the eggs, one at a time, mixing each fully before adding the next.
- With the mixer on low, slowly trickle the oil into the mixture. Once added, increase the speed to medium-high and continue to mix until the mixture thickens and begins to look like mayonnaise, scraping the sides occasionally.
- In a small bowl, combine the buttermilk and vanilla extract. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add a third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat on medium high speed for 90 seconds. Bring the speed down to low and, alternately, add the buttermilk mixture and remaining flour mixture in 4 stages, beginning with the buttermilk mixture and ending with the flour mixture. Fold in the mashed bananas. Mix only enough to incorporate the ingredients after each addition.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 25 to 35 minutes. The top of the cake should spring back slightly after a gentle tap with your finger. Allow to cool for 10 to 15 minutes before removing from the pans. Allow the cakes to cool completely before frosting.
To Make the Frosting:
- Beat first 4 ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy.
- Gradually add powdered sugar alternately with 3 Tbsp. milk, beating at low speed until blended and smooth after each addition.
- Drizzle caramel sauce into buttercream and beat on low speed to combine.
To Make the Salted Caramel: (or use a purchased product and add finishing salt to taste)
- Combine the sugar, corn syrup and 1/4 cup water in a large, deep saucepan, making sure the sugar is completely wet, but being careful not to let the sugar water coat the sides of the pan. Turn the heat to medium-high and cook for about 4 minutes.
- The cooking process is done when the sugar has reached a nice amber color. Do not stir during the cooking process. Quickly remove the sugar from the heat and add the heavy cream. The mixture will bubble vigorously; stir to combine.
- Whisk in the butter and sea salt. Allow to cool completely before use. Yield: approximately 2 cups
To assemble the cake:
- Frost the top of 1 cake round with some salted caramel buttercream. Drizzle with some prepared caramel sauce and sprinkle with some pecans. Add a second round and repeat with the buttercream, caramel sauce and pecans. Top with the remaining cake round and frost the entire cake with the buttercream and finish with more caramel sauce and pecans.
This Cake looks wonderful and planning to make it soon! Can the Salted Caramel be made the day before? Certainly hopes it can be due to time restraints! Thank you so much —
Absolutely Ruth. If you refrigerate it, just warm by gently hearing in the container you put it in by putting it in a pan with water over a burner or do it in the microwave. You might even have a bit leftover. Hope you love it like we did!
This looks amazing! I love the look of a raw frosted cake!
To think of all the years we suffered trying to make them look perfect and imperfect is now in…I love it too. Thanks Mary!
Such an amazing Torta, as we say here in Montenegro. The buttermilk provides a silky, delicate texture which is enhanced by a wonderful smooth, creamy frosting and taken to the head of the class when drizzled with the Salted Caramel. I made this for the grand celebration of the 84th birthday of my MIL. The cake was loved by all. Thank you, Barb, for sharing this wonderful recipe.
And thank you my friend; so glad you tried it and shared it with me. Sure hope your MIL loves you even more now…you spoiled her for sure!
This cake is stunning! I am super excited to attempt this cake one of these days lol. You did a beautiful job! I love your work!
Thank you Anna! A couple of readers have already made it with great results so I’m sure you will do the same…it is SO good!
Wow! Is this cake every gorgeous! And the texture looks heavenly! Birthday, holiday, every day, yes, please.
It is all those things Jamie. I’m not even the biggest fan of banana bread but cake has won me over!
Mrs KR, my youngest sister, and my father have birthdays between Thanksgiving and Christmas, so I totally know what you mean. Anyway, terrific cake! Love the frosting — and its flavor goes so nicely with banana. Thanks!
Somehow the cake ingredients disappeared…it was probably me but I know I input them! I was rushing to my neighbor kids elementary school to teach a whole bunch of 2nd graders how to make Johnny Cakes for Pioneer Day. Bet they would have preferred this cake.
For us? Between Dec 1 and Jan 4 there are 4 birthdays plus Christmas. Two brothers, me and my daughter. What were my parents thinking and why didn’t I learn from that? 🙂
Would love to have the banana cake ingredients! Can you post?
I would like the cake ingredients also!
My bad…not sure what happened but they are there now!
https://creative-culinary.com/banana-cake-salted-caramel-frosting/
Oops…not sure what happened but I thought it was there? It is now…thanks for the heads up.
https://creative-culinary.com/banana-cake-salted-caramel-frosting/
wheres the cake ingredients?
I sure thought I remembered to input them but something sure went awry. All fixed now…thanks for letting me know.
https://creative-culinary.com/banana-cake-salted-caramel-frosting/
This recipe looks great, but the ingredients for the cake are not listed. Only the Salted Caramel Buttercream ingredients are listed. Please update. I would love to try this recipe.
See what happens happens when you’re rushing to get a post done and get to the neighbor kids school on time to help them bake? My apologies…it’s there now!
https://creative-culinary.com/banana-cake-salted-caramel-frosting/