Banoffee Cake

This banoffee cake is easy to make, soft and moist, and so delicious. It’s covered in fluffy whipped cream, toffee sauce, and caramelized banana slices. The banana cake base is so easy to make, comes together in one bowl and makes the perfect moist and fluffy banana cake. To make this recipe even easier you can use premade caramel sauce, toffee sauce, or dulce de leche. 

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Why you will LOVE this recipe:

• Easy: The banana cake is so easy to make and comes together in one bowl without an electric mixer. All you need is a whisk.
• Soft and moist: The cake turns out so soft, fluffy, and moist every time!
• Toffee sauce: It's topped with the silkiest, richest toffee sauce.
• Banana: There are bananas in the cake and caramelized bananas on top.
• Whipped cream: This banoffee cake is topped with fluffy, stabilized whipped cream that's much easier to make than you may think.

What makes the best banana cake

Use overripe bananas. You want them to be spotty or black on the outside. Stock up on overripe bananas by peeling and freezing them when they get dark and spotty. 

The banoffee cake has melted butter and sour cream, helping keep it soft, moist, and flavourful. 

Optionally for even more toffee flavour, you can soak the banoffee cake with a simple toffee syrup made by whisking together milk and homemade toffee sauce. This helps make it even more moist. If you don’t like soaked cakes I’d just skip this step. 

Homemade toffee sauce

The middle of this banoffee cake is filled with toffee sauce. I thinned it out with a bit of extra cream so that it spills out when the cake is cut for some drama.

It’s really easy to make a homemade toffee sauce! All you need is granulated sugar, butter, heavy cream, salt, and vanilla. 

The butter and sugar are cooked down gently on low heat until caramelized and golden. Then heavy cream, vanilla, and salt are whisked in. Bring it back to a simmer and let it cool. 

Tips to prevent toffee sauce from crystallizing and splitting

Cook on medium-low heat and don’t crank up the heat. Low and slow is the best way to go. Changes in heat or too high heat will make the toffee separate and become chunky.

Whisk to combine the butter and sugar at the beginning. Afterwards, stir very gently with a spoon to ensure that it doesn’t burn and that it heats evenly. Stir very frequently - it needs quite a bit of babysitting to make sure it stays perfectly smooth. But otherwise it’s very simple to make!

If toffee sauce splits and/or crystallizes, don't worry. All you have to do is continue cooking until it becomes golden in colour. Be careful because it may burn easier. Add the cream and bring to a simmer, stirring to let the cream dissolve all of the crystals and lumps. Once dissolved, pour into a heat safe jar or container and cool to room temperature.

Time saving tip: You can make the toffee sauce a few days ahead and keep it in the fridge until ready to make this cake. This will save you time when you’re ready to make and assemble the cake. 

Alternatives to toffee sauce

You want all that caramel - banana flavour but don’t want to make toffee sauce. I get it - toffee can be intimidating! Here are some alternatives you could use:

Dulce de leche: It will be a bit thicker but is so delicious and the flavours work perfectly in this recipe. Bananas and dulce de leche are just meant to be! This would be my top choice when I don’t have time to make my own toffee sauce.

Caramel sauce: Use storebought or homemade caramel sauce.

Butterscotch sauce: Butterscotch is easier to make than toffee or caramel. If that's more your jam, you can check out this recipe for an easy butterscotch sauce.

Key ingredients

Full steps and ingredients in recipe card below. But read through these for all the tips you will need for success!

Heavy whipping cream: Anything 35% milkfat or higher will work really well. Don't use anything lower than this because it won't whip up.

Butter: Use good quality, unsalted butter for the best flavour. Salted butter will make the toffee sauce too salty.

Sour cream: Full fat sour cream gives the cake lots of moisture and flavour. Don't use low fat or greek yogurt, it will make the batter too wet.

Bananas: Spotty bananas will give the cake the best flavour. Use less ripe bananas for the caramelized pieces on top so they don't get all soggy.

All purpose flour: Weigh the flour to get the most accurate results. If you don’t have a scale, measure properly by stirring the bag and spooning gently into a measuring cup. Scrape the excess off the top with the flat edge off a knife without packing it into the cup.

Cream cheese: Full fat brick style cream cheese will work the best because it has the least amount of moisture. Make sure it's really soft to help it blend well. If you don't like cream cheese you can use the same amount of mascarpone cheese.

Step by step: Toffee sauce

Step 1 - Melt butter in a small, heavy bottomed saucepan. Add sugar once melted. Whisk well to combine (it will become thick and gloopy). 

Step 2 - Heat on medium-low heat, stirring gently and frequently with a spoon. If you stir too vigorously, it will split. Focus stirring on the edges and bottom of the pan to prevent burning. 

Step 3 - Keep stirring until it becomes a golden colour and smells like caramelized sugar. Carefully pour in the cream, whisking until smooth. Add vanilla and salt, whisk to combine. 

Step 4 - Bring the toffee sauce back to a simmer. Then carefully pour into a jar or heat safe container to cool. Add more cream to thin it out if needed later.

Step by step: Cake

Step 1 - Preheat oven to 355°F (180°C). Grease an 8” or 9” round baking pan with a bit of cold butter and line the bottom with parchment paper. 

Step 2 - In a large bowl, whisk together the sugars and eggs. Whisk until thickens and lightens in colour, about 30-60 seconds. 

Step 3 - Add salt and vanilla, whisk to combine. Pour in melted butter and sour cream, whisk. 

Step 4 - Mash the bananas on a plate with a fork. Measure the amount to get 1 + ¼ cup and add into the rest of the wet ingredients. Whisk to combine.

Step 5 - Sift the flour, baking soda, and baking powder right into the same bowl. Fold until no more dry streaks of flour remain. 

Step 6 - Pour batter into the greased and lined baking pan. Smooth the top and bake for 50-60 minutes - until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. 

Step 7 - Let the banoffee cake cool for 15 minutes. Run a knife or spatula around the edges to help release. Place a plate or cooling rack on top and carefully flip it over, releasing the cake. Peel parchment paper off and let cool completely. 

Step by step: Caramelized bananas

Step 1 - Slice bananas on an angle into ¾” thick slices. Roll each banana slice into brown sugar. 

Step 2 - Heat a non-stick or cast iron pan on medium-high heat. Melt the butter in the pan. Carefully place the banana pieces into the melted butter, cut side down. 

Step 3 - Cook to caramelize each side, flipping in between. Keep a close eye on them so they don’t burn. Let them cool on a plate.

Step by step: Whipped cream frosting

Step 1 - In a large bowl, combine softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Whisk or mix with a spatula until smooth. 

Step 2 -In a large chilled bowl, whisk the whipped cream until medium-stiff peaks. You can use a mixer or do this by hand. 

Step 3 - Add the cream cheese mixture to the whipped cream and whisk until stiff peaks. Top the cake immediately.

Step by step: Assembly

Step 1 - (Optional for an extra moist cake) Using a skewer, poke holes all over the cake, pushing it about halfway through the cake. This will help it absorb more liquid. Whisk 2 tablespoons of toffee sauce and 4 tablespoons of milk until smooth. Brush it over the top of the cake. Let sit for a few minutes to soak in.

Step 2 - Top with whipped cream frosting. Spread it all over the top of the cake, making a well in the middle with raised edges. 

Step 3 - Check the consistency of the toffee sauce. If you want it to be thinner, add more cream - 1 tablespoon at a time. Fill the middle of the banoffee cake with toffee sauce. Arrange cooled caramelized banana pieces on top in a semicircle pattern. Slice and serve with more toffee sauce. 

FAQ

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📖 Recipe

Banoffee Cake

Mary

This banoffee cake is easy to make, soft and moist, and so delicious. It’s covered in fluffy whipped cream, toffee sauce, and caramelized banana slices. The banana cake base is so simple, comes together in one bowl and makes the perfect moist and fluffy banana cake. To make this recipe even easier you can use pre-made caramel sauce, toffee sauce, or dulce de leche.

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe Shop Ingredients

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 50 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Course Baking, Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 8 people

Equipment

• ▢
  eight inch round baking pan (three inches high) You can use a 9" baking pan instead

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

Toffee Sauce

• ▢ ½ cup unsalted butter
• ▢ ½ cup granulated sugar
• ▢ ½ cup heavy whipping cream
• ▢ ¼ cup heavy whipping cream optional, to thin out toffee
• ▢ 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon sea salt

Banana cake

• ▢ ¾ cup brown sugar packed
• ▢ ½ cup granulated sugar
• ▢ 3 large eggs room temperature
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• ▢ 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• ▢ ⅔ cup unsalted butter melted and cooled
• ▢ 1 cup sour cream
• ▢ 1 ¼ cup bananas mashed (about 3-4 medium bananas)
• ▢ 2 ½ cups all purpose flour (300g)
• ▢ ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ 2 teaspoons baking powder

Caramelized Bananas

• ▢ 2 tablespoons butter
• ▢ 2 bananas not overly ripened
• ▢ ¼ cup brown sugar

Whipped Cream Frosting

• ▢ 4 oz cream cheese softened
• ▢ ½ cup powdered sugar
• ▢ ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 cup heavy whipping cream

Makes: 8inch8 x 8inch round

Instructions

 

Toffee sauce

• Melt butter in a small, heavy bottomed saucepan. Add sugar once melted. Whisk well to combine (it will become thicker).
  ½ cup unsalted butter, ½ cup granulated sugar
• Heat on medium-low heat, stirring gently and frequently with a spoon. If you stir too vigorously, it will split. Focus stirring on the edges and bottom of the pan to prevent burning.
• Keep stirring until it becomes a golden colour and smells like caramelized sugar. Carefully pour in the cream, whisking until smooth. Add vanilla and salt, whisk to combine.
  ½ cup heavy whipping cream, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• Bring the toffee sauce back to a simmer. Then carefully pour into a jar or heat safe container to cool. Once cooled, you can thin out the sauce with more cream if you want a thinner sauce.
  ¼ cup heavy whipping cream

Banana cake

• Preheat oven to 355°F (180°C). Grease an 8” or 9” round baking pan with a bit of cold butter and line the bottom with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the sugars and eggs. Whisk until thickens and lightens in colour, about 30-60 seconds.
  ¾ cup brown sugar, ½ cup granulated sugar, 3 large eggs
• Add salt and vanilla, whisk to combine. Pour in melted butter and sour cream, whisk.
  ¼ teaspoon sea salt, 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract, ⅔ cup unsalted butter, 1 cup sour cream
• Mash the bananas on a plate with a fork. Measure the amount to get 1 ¼ cup and add into the rest of the wet ingredients. Whisk to combine.
  1 ¼ cup bananas
• Sift the flour, baking soda, and baking powder right into the same bowl. Fold until no more dry streaks of flour remain.
  2 ½ cups all purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking soda, 2 teaspoons baking powder
• Pour batter into the greased and lined baking pan. Smooth the top and bake for 50-60 minutes - until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
• Let the cake cool for 15 minutes. Run a knife or spatula around the edges to help release. Place a plate or cooling rack on top and carefully flip it over, releasing the cake. Peel parchment paper off and let cool completely.

Caramelized Bananas

• Slice bananas on an angle into ¾” thick slices. Roll each banana slice into brown sugar.
  2 bananas, ¼ cup brown sugar
• Heat a non-stick or cast iron pan on medium-high heat. Melt the butter in the pan. Carefully place the banana pieces into the melted butter, cut side down.
  2 tablespoons butter
• Cook to caramelize each side, flipping in between. Keep a close eye on them so they don’t burn. Let them cool on a plate.

Whipped Cream Frosting

• In a large bowl, combine softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Whisk or mix with a spatula until smooth.
  4 oz cream cheese, ½ cup powdered sugar, ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• In a large chilled bowl, whisk the whipped cream until medium-stiff peaks. You can use a mixer or do this by hand.
  1 cup heavy whipping cream
• Add the cream cheese mixture to the whipped cream and whisk until stiff peaks. Top the cake immediately.

Assembly

• (Optional for an extra moist cake) Using a skewer, poke holes all over the cake, pushing it about halfway through the cake. This will help it absorb more liquid. Whisk 2 tablespoons of toffee sauce and 4 tablespoons of milk or water until smooth. Brush it over the top of the cake. Let sit for a few minutes to soak in.
• Top with whipped cream frosting. Spread it all over the top of the cake, making a well in the middle with raised edges.
• Check the consistency of the toffee sauce. If you want it to be thinner, add more cream - 1 tablespoon at a time.
• Fill the middle of the cake with toffee sauce. Arrange cooled caramelized banana pieces on top in a semicircle pattern. Slice and serve with more toffee sauce.

Video

Notes

The cake will keep well in an airtight container, refrigerated for up to 3 days.

If you don't want to make your own toffee sauce, you can use premade (store bought) dulce de leche, caramel sauce, or butterscotch sauce.

For an extra moist cake, poke holes all over the cake with a skewer, pushing it about halfway through the cake. This will help it absorb more liquid. Whisk 2 tablespoons of toffee sauce and 4 tablespoons of milk or water until smooth. Brush it over the top of the cake. Let sit for a few minutes to soak in.

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