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 the banana cake layers
Course cake, Dessert
Cuisine Cake
Author Molly Murphy
Ingredients
For the banana cake layers
3cupsall-purpose flour
2teaspoonsbaking powder
1teaspoonbaking soda
1teaspoonsalt
1cupunsalted butter room temperature
1Tablespoonvegetable oil
1 ½cupsgranulated sugar
4large eggs room temperature
1cupbuttermilk room temperature
1teaspoonvanilla extract
½teaspoonbanana extract
3medium-sized ripened bananas mashed
For the caramel sauce
1cupgranulated sugar
¼cupwater
3Tablespoonslight corn syrup
¾cupheavy cream
¼teaspoonsbanana extract
1teaspoonsalt
For the brown butter frosting
1cupunsalted butter.Browning butter loses about 25% of liquid
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.