Bananas Foster Cake Recipe

Banana Cake. It’s one of my all time favorites.  When I was a kid, my Mom would make banana cake whenever we had over ripe bananas. She used my grandmother’s recipe, and it always turned out perfectly.  As I got older, my favorite thing was a slice of banana cake with a cup of coffee for breakfast. Mmmmm. Perfection!  Long ago, this famous banana cake even gave my husband the courage to ask me out…one last time. Yeah…he’d asked me out many times before, and I always said no. I liked that he was my best friend, and well…I  just didn’t want to risk ruining that. That day was different though. The sweet perfection of the banana cake combined with a beautiful summer evening on the back porch of my parents house in the hills of East Tennessee made something finally click, and I agreed to go out with him.  Best decision I EVER made!

Needless to say, Banana Cake is kinda a big deal in our family.  When I opened my own cake business, I started tinkering with that old recipe and putting my own twist on things. My new upgraded version which I dubbed, Bananas Foster Cake, soon became one of my BEST sellers. Just a few weeks ago when Caking Kid 1 was practicing for possibly competing on a baking show, he wanted to do some tinkering of his own with the family recipe.  Let me tell you….that boy came up with something AMAZING.  I was truly impressed!

Just look at this cake and try not to drool!

Layers of moist Banana Cake, homemade salted caramel, rum banana filling, caramel buttercream and a sprinkling of toasted pecans!!  YUMMMO!!!

You know you need a slice….

The moral of the story is… the right Banana Cake could get you the man or woman of your dreams, and if that doesn’t work, at least you’ll have a delicious breakfast in the morning.  Either way is a win!

Oh, and not to be outdone by her brother’s tasty creation, Caking Kid 2 decided to show off by piping beautiful swirls on some Banana Cupcakes!

Print Recipe

Bananas Foster Cake

Course

Cakes, Dessert

Prep Time

45-60 mins

Cook Time

30-40 mins until done

Servings

9x2 inch rounds

Ingredients

Banana Cake

• 1 Cup unsalted Butter softened
• 2 1/2 Cups granulated sugar
• 3 Large eggs
• 3 Cups All Purpose Flour
• 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1 1/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1 Teaspoon Salt
• 1/2 Cup Whole Milk
• 1 1/2 Cups Mashed Ripened Bananas about 4-5 Bananas
• 2 Teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract

Caramel Sauce

• 2 Cups granulated sugar
• 1 Cup Butter
• 1 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream
• 1-2 Teaspoons Salt Optional

Caramel Buttercream (Adapted from Lauren Kitchen's Buttercream Recipe)

• 4.2 Ounces Pasteurized Egg Whites
• 1.5 Pounds Powdered Sugar
• 2 Pounds unsalted Butter
• 1/8-1/4 cup Caramel Sauce
• 1 Tablespoon Pure Vanilla Extract

Rum Banana Filling

• 4 Ripened Bananas sliced
• 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
• 4 Tablespoons Butter
• 2-3 Tablespoons Good Quality Rum Add more or less to taste

Garnish

• 1/2 Cup Toasted Pecans Optional

Course Cakes, Dessert Prep Time 45-60 mins Cook Time 30-40 mins until done Servings 9x2 inch rounds Ingredients Banana Cake 1 Cup unsalted Butter softened 2 1/2 Cups granulated sugar 3 Large eggs 3 Cups All Purpose Flour 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder 1 1/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda 1 Teaspoon Salt 1/2 Cup Whole Milk 1 1/2 Cups Mashed Ripened Bananas about 4-5 Bananas 2 Teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract Caramel Sauce 2 Cups granulated sugar 1 Cup Butter 1 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream 1-2 Teaspoons Salt Optional Caramel Buttercream (Adapted from Lauren Kitchen's Buttercream Recipe) 4.2 Ounces Pasteurized Egg Whites 1.5 Pounds Powdered Sugar 2 Pounds unsalted Butter 1/8-1/4 cup Caramel Sauce 1 Tablespoon Pure Vanilla Extract Rum Banana Filling 4 Ripened Bananas sliced 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar 4 Tablespoons Butter 2-3 Tablespoons Good Quality Rum Add more or less to taste Garnish 1/2 Cup Toasted Pecans Optional

Instructions

For the Cake

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and Line bottoms of 2, 9x2 inch round cake pans and set aside.
2. In a medium sized bowl combine all dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda) and lightly whisk to combine. This will take the place of sifting in this recipe. Set aside bowl.
3. In the bowl of your stand mixer with whisk attachment or large mixing bowl with hand mixer, cream together butter and sugar. Next add the eggs one at a time and mix well after each addition.
4. In a separate bowl combine the wet ingredients- mashed bananas, milk and vanilla. (If you want to kick it up a notch, add a tablespoon of rum INSTEAD of the vanilla)
5. With the mixer on low speed, begin adding the dry ingredients (about a scant cup at a time) and then adda little of the wet ingredients. Alternate these additions until all combined making sure to end with the dry ingredients. Scrape down the bowl to make sure it is well combined. Then evenly divide the batter between the two pans and bake for 30-40 mins or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
6. Allow cakes to cool for about 10 minutes in pans, then remove from pans and finish cooling on wire cooling wracks until completely cool.

For the Caramel Sauce

1. If you've never made Caramel before make sure you have all of your ingredients ready before you start. Sugar is fickle and has a mind of it's own. It can go from perfection to failure in just a matter of seconds, so it's crucial to have everything ready. Okay? Good! Now, let's make this deliciousness...
2. In a 3 quart saucepan, add the sugar and 2 tablespoons of water. Cook this mixture over medium heat until all the sugar is dissolved. It will begin to bubble up and turn a light caramel caramel color in about 3-5 mins. You can remove it from the heat at this point, or cook it a bit longer for a deeper caramel flavor. Just keep a close eye on it because it can go from perfect to bad in just a matter of seconds. Once you have it to your preferred amber color, remove it from the heat and SLOWLY whisk in heavy cream. It will bubble up, so be careful while adding it and keep whisking. Next add in the butter and stir until all combined. Lastly add in your vanilla and salt if you are making salted caramel. Cool to room temp. Try not to eat it all...it is really delicious on the cake and you'll want it on there!

For the Caramel Buttercream

1. In the bowl of your stand mixer add your egg whites and powdered sugar. Using your paddle attachment, beat on medium speed for 5 minutes to dissolve all of the powdered sugar.
2. Next with mixer on medium speed, add the softened butter in small batches until all incorporated. Scrape down your bowl
3. Add your vanilla and 1/4 cup cooled caramel sauce. This buttercream has a very mild caramel flavor. If you add to much it will make the buttercream too soft.

For Rum Banana Filling

1. Slice your bananas. In a large pan, add the butter and brown sugar and cook over medium heat until melted. Add your bananas and cook for about 2-3 minutes. Lastly add your rum. Now is the time to get fancy and flambé these beauties if you want to or just cook down the alcohol slowly over low heat. Cool the mixture to room temp.

Assembling the Cake

1. Take your completely cooled cake layers and torte each one in half so that you now have 4 layers of moist banana cake.
2. Take a layer of cake and spoon on some of your caramel sauce. If you don't plan to ice the sides of your cake let it drip over. Other wise add enough to soak into the cake a bit.
3. Next add a good layer of buttercream, followed by a layer of your rum banana mixture. Now add some more caramel over that for good measure.
4. Repeat the layering process until you have the cake fully assembled. Ice the top of your cake (and the sides if you don't like the "naked" cake look). If your caramel isn't a good pouring consistency anymore, heat it just a bit so that you can drizzle it over the sides and top of your cake. Garnish the top and/or sides with toasted pecans (optional).