This Banoffee Cake is a dreamy combination of banana cake and salted caramel cream cheese frosting. The banana cake is super moist and soft and the salted caramel cream cheese frosting is beyond creamy. 100% made from scratch! By the way, have you tried my apple cake with caramel frosting?
Jump to:
Photo instructions
Salted Caramel Sauce
Making homemade caramel sauce is literally just one step. Bring all ingredients in a heavy-bottomed saucepan to a simmer and cook over medium-low heat for 5-10 minutes. The ingredients you need for the caramel are butter, heavy cream, brown sugar, salt, and honey.
If the caramel splatters while cooking, you may want to wear kitchen gloves for protection. Cook caramel until it coats the back of a spoon and has thickened up.
Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. It will thicken as it cools. Remove ½ cup of caramel sauce for the frosting after cooking. The rest of the caramel is for drizzling over the cake before serving.
If the caramel sauce is too liquid after it cooled down to room temperature you can reheat it for a couple of minutes.
Banana Cake
Start with mixing eggs, brown sugar, oil, and mashed bananas in a large bowl just until combined. Use a large mixing bowl and a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment.
Then add flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon and stir to combine. The batter will be very creamy.
Transfer to a parchment paper layered 9x13" baking pan. Spread batter evenly and top with halved bananas if desired.
Bake for about 40-50 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cover loosely with parchment paper or aluminum foil after 25-30 minutes if the top browns too much. Let cool completely before you top it with frosting.
Salted Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting
Start with mixing the butter until it's smooth and creamy. Use room temperature butter for best mixing results. Mix about 1-2 minutes.
Then add the cream cheese and mix until evenly combined.
Add sifted powdered sugar and vanilla and stir until smooth and creamy.
Then add homemade salted caramel sauce. In the picture below you can see which consistency the caramel sauce should have when it's cooled.
Stir until creamy and combined.
Then spread salted caramel cream cheese frosting on top of the cooled banana cake and let cool for 1 hour before serving. Top with fresh banana slices and drizzle with remaining caramel sauce.
Expert tips for success
- You can use brick style or spreadable Philadelphia cream cheese. The recipe works either way. If using brick style cream cheese, I recommend to let it come to room temperature before combining it with the butter. Spreadable cream cheese can be used straight out of the fridge because it's already soft out of the container.
- Ripe, yellow bananas with brown spots work best in this cake. I don't recommend using already black bananas as they can add an unpleasant fermented flavor to the cake.
What to do if my caramel sauce splits?
If you notice that the butter separates from the caramel sauce, don't panic. I found here an excellent article on what to do if your caramel splits. If this happens to me (yes, it happened to me multiple times in my baking life!) I whisk vigorously and look if it incorporates again. If this doesn't help, I add 1-2 tablespoon of boiling water and stir until it's smooth and combined. Also if you accidentally added too much water and the caramel sauce is now too liquid, bring it back to a simmer for 1-2 minutes until it thickens up again.
How long does it last
You can store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. If you add halved bananas on top (optional) it will only stay fresh for 2 days.
Freezing instructions
If you want to freeze the banoffee cake, please bake it without the halved banana slices on top. After baking the banana cake, let it cool completely. Place the cake in the freezer for an hour to allow the frosting to set. Then slice and wrap in plastic wrap and place in freezer bags or containers. Freeze up to 2 months.
To thaw, unwrap and let sit on the counter for about 1-2 hours. Once it is room temperature, make the frosting and assemble the cake as described.
More easy cake recipes to try
- Raspberry Cake
- Texas Sheet Cake
- Pistachio Cake
- Pumpkin Cake
- Air Fryer Chocolate Cake
- Air Fryer Vanilla Cake
Recipe
Banoffee Cake
Ingredients
Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon honey
Banana Cake
- 4 large eggs
- ½ cup packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 cup canola or mild vegetable oil
- 1 ¾ cups mashed bananas (about 4-6 bananas)
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- Optional 4 large bananas, halved
Salted Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting
- ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup cream cheese, softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup homemade salted caramel sauce
Instructions
Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce
- In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine butter, heavy cream, brown sugar, salt, and honey and bring over medium heat to a simmer. Whisking continuously, cook for about 5-10 minutes until it has thickened up and coats the back of a spoon but is still liquid. Remove saucepan from the heat. The caramel will thicken as it cools.
- With a heatproof cup scoop out ½ cup (160g) of caramel sauce and transfer to a small bowl and let cool to room temperature (you need this for the cream cheese frosting later). Let the rest of the caramel sauce cool to room temperature until your cake is ready for serving.
Banana Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line 9x13" (23x33cm) baking pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, stir eggs, brown sugar, oil, and mashed bananas on medium speed until smooth and well combined for about 1-2 minutes.
- Stir in flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon just to combine. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Top with halved banana slices if desired. Bake for about 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick centered in the middle comes out clean. Cover after 25-30 minutes with parchment paper or aluminum foil if the top browns too quickly. Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature.
Salted Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting
- In a large mixing bowl, using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, whisk butter until very creamy, for about 1-2 minutes.
- Add cream cheese and mix until well combined and smooth. 1-2 minutes.
- Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla and mix until creamy about 1-2 minutes.Â
- Add ½ cup of the homemade salted caramel sauce and mix until creamy and smooth for another 1-2 minutes.
Assemble the cake
- Spread salted cream cheese frosting on top of the cooled banana cake. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Top with additional fresh banana slices (if desired) and drizzle with remaining caramel sauce before serving. Store in an airtight container in the fridge up to 3 days.
Video
You can find the video in the post above. If you don't see a video, please check your browser settings.
Nutrition
Ralph
Super yummy and very easy to make - even for a beginner like me!
Lori Setzer
Love the cake. The salted caramel sauce was a hit. ( it would be great on ice cream. I probably used 7 bananas total. Love the detailed recipe notes. This was very easy to make.
Sabine
Thank you so much for your feedback, Lori! I'm happy that you like it. And I agree with the caramel sauce as an ice cream topping.