When life hands you 8 bananas
I’ve been hoarding overripe bananas in my freezer for months. So in an attempt to start the new year a little bit cleaner, I decided to finally put them to use.
This is my go-to banana bread recipe. It works perfectly for this cake, but it’s completely adaptable as a loaf with whatever you want to add to it (nuts, crushed pineapple, etc.).
Sweet + Sweet + Salty
After trying to recreate Dominique Ansel’s Banoffee recipe (a future post I’m sure!), I discovered that bananas and dulce de leche is one of my faaaavorite flavor combinations. But it definitely lends itself to the sweeter side. The salt in the buttercream definitely balances the whole cake, and if you have it on hand, a few flakes of fleur de sel would taste fantastic sprinkled on top.
Banana Cake with Salted Dulce de Leche Buttercream
Ingredients
for the cake
- 4 ripe bananas
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 2 Tbsp bourbon
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
for the buttercream
- 1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup confectioner's sugar
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
Instructions
for the cake
-
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Smash the ripe bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the melted butter until combined. Mix in the sugar, egg, vanilla, almond extract, and bourbon, then the spices. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour and mix to combine.
-
Butter a 8"x8" pan. Lay overhanging parchment paper in the pan (this will help you to remove the cake later). Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 45 minutes. After baking, cool in pan.
for the buttercream
-
Place the sweetened condensed milk can on its side in a large pot. Fill the pot with room-temperature water, making sure the water level is at least 2 inches above the can. Set pot over high heat and allow to come to a simmer. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Using a pair of tongs, remove the can from the water and set on a wire rack to cool to room temperature (DO NOT OPEN the can while it's hot).
-
Using an electric mixture with a wire whisk attachment, whip the softened butter on medium speed. Slowly add the confectioner's sugar and salt. Add the entire can of cooled dulce de leche.
assembly
-
frost the cooled cake heavily, and top with walnuts!
Recipe Notes
- When making the dulce de leche, I always cook at least two cans. Unopened cans of dulce de leche can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 months. Dulce de leche can be tranferred to an airtight container and refrigerated for up to 3 weeks.
- The banana cake can be baked as a banana bread! Just use a loaf pan and bake for 50 minutes.
- You can add any type of nut to the banana cake batter as well!
Leave a Reply