I always have bananas at home; they’re available for everyone in the family wanting a light breakfast, a mid-day snack, or a fast grab-and-go lunch. Bananas are always on our shopping list, and although they’re often gone in a couple of days, sometimes I end up with a few overripe bananas.
I bake with bananas often — cupcakes, muffins bread, or cake, I find them a positive addition to any project — they give flavor, texture, and sweetness to baking treat, all at the same time. It’s a trade secret, bananas a great building block and part of any baker’s specialty ingredients.
When I have a few bananas just going past their peak when a few brown spots appear on their surface and the texture changes from firm to mushy, I make Banana Caramel Cake.
Did you know? Bananas get sweeter as they ripen, and they also become easier to digest. So, the next time you have a few ripe bananas at home, you know what to do; you bake a cake!
What goes into my Banana Caramel Cake?
Three large, ripe bananas, of course. They’re the soul of this cake. And in case I have to remind you, bananas are super good for you. Bananas are excellent sources of potassium but also magnesium, copper, and manganese. They have lots of fiber antioxidants too.
Butter and buttermilk play a vital role in this cake. Butter will bring everything together and add an unctuous texture while buttermilk is our only wet ingredient (eggs don’t count, do they?) and gives a pleasant tanginess to the mixture.
A whole cup of walnuts will give a crunch and beautiful aromatics to the cake, but you can use any nut you have around.
The rest of the ingredients are pretty standard, and I’m sure you already have those sitting in your kitchen, but there’s something fundamental I haven’t mentioned yet: the caramel frosting!
Here’s what you need to know about caramel, because who doesn’t love caramel?
Making caramel is a bit scary; once the mixture changes color to a golden brown, things go fast, and if you’re like me, you always have the feeling that it will burn and go bitter but don’t worry.
Sugar is an interesting thing, it softens when it reaches 235° F–240° F, in what candy makers call the Soft-Ball Stage because it turns into a soft, malleable substance (that’s how they make candy!)
Interestingly enough, if you heat the sugar in a dairy mixture like we’ll do today, the liquid changes its color around that temperature. And dairy plays a big part in the browning and the development of those nutty, malty, and buttery flavors. Dairy-based caramel is hard to burn, so just monitor that temperature, and you’ll be fine.
If you’re ready, let’s make a cake!
PrintBanana Caramel Cake
Ingredients
1/2 cup butter
1–1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs (separated)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon of buttermilk
2 cups all purpose flour
3 large bananas (mashed)
1 cup chopped walnuts
Caramel Frosting:
1–1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup butter
Instructions
- Cream butter and sugar, add egg yolks, one at a time. Beat well.
- Dissolve soda in buttermilk, add to creamed mixture alternatively with flour, beginning and ending with flour
- Stir in mashed bananas and walnuts
- Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form, fold into batter; spread onto a 13×9 baking pan lined with parchment paper.
- Bake at 350F for 30 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
For caramel frosting combine all ingredients in a saucepan, cook over medium heat, stirring frequently until mixture reaches 240F. Remove from heat and beat until spreading consistency. Spread immediately on a cooled cake.
Looking for something more traditional with your overripe bananas? Try Banana Bread.
