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This Caramel Banana Layer Cake is elegant and delicious! Moist banana cake layers covered in caramel sauce & frosted with more caramel frosting. Two of my favorite things in one awesome cake!
Looking for more banana cake recipes? Try this Banana Cream Layer Cake.
Caramel Banana Layer Cake
You may or may not know this already, but the hubs and I started dating back when we were 17 – babies! Our first date was to a movie – “The Road to Perdition”. I couldn’t tell you at all what the movie was about and I don’t think he could either. We were both sitting there the whole time wondering if and when he’d hold my hand. It took him until the very last 5 minutes of the movie, but he did it!
Many of our dates after that involved food. While he doesn’t have a sweet tooth like I do and seems to have way more self-control, back in those days he ate A LOT. He played competitive tennis all the time and had to replenish. He was a growing boy after all! 😉
I think the day I fell in love with him though was the day we realized we both had a very real and true love for all things banana. Not everyone is a true banana lover. You know, the kind that picks out the banana runts, the banana popsicles, the banana taffy taffy. It was like I’d met my match. 😉
Possibly the Best Banana Layer Cake Ever
So naturally when I made this cake, the hubs declared it his. He takes many of the desserts I make to work and when I offered this one, he very clearly stated that it was his cake and his cake only. Clearly he is still the same man I fell in love with 15 years ago. 🙂
And I can’t blamed him for wanting this cake all to himself. If I weren’t in the process of trying to eat healthy, it would have been all mine.
The cake layers are made with mashed bananas to give it that wonderful banana flavor. It’s super moist and SO good! They are then covered with a layer of my favorite homemade caramel sauce.
Along with the caramel sauce, the cake is filled and frosted with caramel frosting. It’s a wonderful combination! The moist and fluffy banana cake is perfect with all of the caramel. It’s a fabulous cake for all us banana lovers out there!
Watch How To Make It
You might also like these banana recipes:
Easy Banana Bread
Bananas Foster Cheesecake
Mini Banana Pudding Cheesecakes
Banana Mocha Ice Cream Cake
Banana Split Layer Cake
Banana Cream Pie Cupcakes
Caramel Banana Layer Cake
- Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: 12-14 Slices
- Category: Cake
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
Moist banana cake layers covered in caramel sauce & frosted with more caramel frosting! This awesome Caramel Banana Layer cake is a must try banana dessert.
Ingredients
BANANA CAKE
- 1 1/2 cups (310g) sugar
- 3/4 cup (168g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup (173g) sour cream
- 3 tbsp (45ml) vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs
- 1 large egg white
- 2 1/2 cups (325g) all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup (240ml) mashed bananas (2–3 medium sized bananas)
ADDITIONAL
- Caramel Sauce*
- Banana chips
CARAMEL FROSTING
- 1 1/2 cups (336g) salted butter, room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups (237g) shortening
- 10 1/2 cups (1208g) powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 7 tbsp caramel sauce (above), room temperature
- 3 tbsp water
Instructions
1. Grease three 8 inch round cake pans and preheat oven to 350°F (176°C).
2. Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Do not skimp on this step. Cream the butter for the full 3-4 minutes.
3. Add vanilla, sour cream and vegetable oil and mix until well combined.
4. Add eggs and egg white in two batches, mixing until well combined.
5. Combine dry ingredients in another bowl. Add half of the dry ingredients to the batter and mix until well combined.
6. Add the mashed bananas and mix until well combined.
7. Add remaining dry ingredients and mix until well combined.
8. Divid batter evenly between the cake pans and bake 24-26 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out with a few crumbs.
9. Remove cakes from oven and allow to cool for 3-4 minutes, then remove to cooling rack to cool completely.
WHEN THE CAKES ARE COOL, MAKE THE FROSTING:
1. Beat the butter and shortening together until smooth.
2. Slowly add about half of the powdered sugar, mixing until smooth.
3. Add the vanilla extract and the caramel sauce and mix until smooth.
4. Slowly add the remaining powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
5. Add the water (or additional caramel sauce), as needed, and mix until smooth.
TO LAYER AND FROST THE CAKE:
1. Use a large serrated knife to remove the domes from the tops of the cake layers so that they are flat.
2. Place the first layer of cake on your serving plate or on a cardboard cake circle.
3. Add 5-6 tablespoons of caramel sauce to the top of the cake layer and spread evenly over the cake.
4. Add about 1 cup of frosting on top of the caramel sauce and spread into an even layer.
5. Add the second layer of cake on top of the frosting.
6. Add another 5-6 tablespoons of caramel sauce to the top of the cake layer and spread evenly over the cake. Add another cup of frosting on top of the caramel sauce and spread into an even layer.
7. Top the cake with the remaining layer of cake.
8. Frost the outside of the cake with the remaining frosting. For help getting a smooth finish, refer to my tutorial on how to frost a smooth cake with buttercream.
TO FINISH OFF THE CAKE:
1. Place banana chips around the bottom edge of the cake.
2. Use the remaining caramel sauce to drizzle around the edges of the cake.
3. Use the remaining frosting to pipe swirls of frosting around the top edge of the cake. I used Ateco tip 844.
4. Place a few banana chips around the top of the cake.
5. Because of the caramel sauce, you may want to refrigerate this cake. I recommend storing it in an air-tight container. Cake is best served at room temperature. Cake is best for 2-3 days.
* I made a full batch of the caramel sauce linked to above for this recipe and had just enough to use it in the frosting, on the cake layers and to drizzle around the cake. Feel free to use another caramel sauce, if you prefer. I’d recommend something that is soft enough at room temperature that you can scoop it, but firm enough that it would stay in place on a spoon.
Notes
When adding the caramel sauce to the frosting, it’s best if the caramel is at room temperature so that you can accurately see what the consistency of the frosting is as you’re making it.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Slice
- Calories: 1099
- Sugar: 113.6 g
- Sodium: 367.8 mg
- Fat: 61.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 136.8 g
- Protein: 5.7 g
- Cholesterol: 132.2 mg
Enjoy!
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Hello! This recipe is amazing! I’m wondering if everything would be the same for a 6” cake?
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! It depends on how big you want your 6 inch cake to be. I’d probably cut the recipe in half for a cake that is about 3 1/2 to 4 inches tall.
S it necessary to use sour cream?
I would highly recommend it in order to get the result I did, but you could try substituting it.
This may be the lightest and fluffiest cake I’ve ever made. The texture was outstanding. I followed the recipe exactly. The banana flavor was on the lighter side, I wonder if I could add more banana and maybe omit the oil, without making the cake much heavier?
I’m glad you enjoyed it! I’m not sure if I’ve tried that particular substitution but you could certainly give it a shot.
Going to make this for my mum on mothers day, however, I am reluctant on adding soured cream as I don’t want it to have a sour taste, is this a problem or can you not taste it at all? Many thanks🥰 (in the UK all we have is ‘soured cream’, something you put on nachos, is that the same thing you are using ?)
It sounds like the same thing and I don’t think it gives the cake a sour taste. It’s very commonly used in baked goods for adding extra moisture. If you really want to avoid it, you could try replacing it with milk.
Hi Lindsay
I need to make 3x2inch layers for a wedding cake.
How much should I increase the measurements to make this much batter.
Many thanks
So you need 3 cake layers that are 2 inches tall? What size cake?
Hi Lindsay
I’m sorry I should have told you I will be using an 8inch
pan.
Thank you
Lindy
So this recipe makes 3 cake layers that are roughly one inch in height. So I might double it if you want them 2 inches tall.
I’m excited to make this recipe! Just curious if the butter is supposed to be room temperature for the frosting.
Thanks!
Yes, it should be. Recipe has been updated. Thanks!
I made it. Im not gonna lie, I didnt even try to smooth the frosting. It has a wonderful banana flavor, much like banana bread. The frosting with the carmel was all just too much sweetness for us but the flavor of the cake was wonderful. I have a picture but no way to attach it.
Would cream cheese substitute well for the shortening in the icing?
You could try cream cheese, but additional butter would work as well.
Hi my dads 50th bday is coming up and he wants to try a bunch of different cakes but in smaller forms so i was wondering if this cake could be made into cupcakes
Yes, this should be fine as cupcakes.
Hi Lindsay, I’m a bit of a novice to cake making too ????, just have a question re making the layer cake, -do you have to make separate cakes for the layers or could you make 1 whole cake & cut it into 3rds etc?
Thanks!
You’ll want to bake them as separate layers or it will take too long to bake and not rise properly, giving you a very dense cake.