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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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Hi Lindsay,
I’m soooo impressed with your baking AND decorating skills!! You’re an amazing Baker.
My 32 year old daughter saw your banana Carmel cake on pinterest and asked me to make it for her this past winter. This cake is delicious!! The next time I made it I did cut down on the powdered sugar, but for the volume I used some cornstarch, it helped cut down on the sweetness. Some folks might not care for the cornstarch but for us it worked nobody knew the difference. Oh my cake didn’t come close to looking as pretty as yours but it tastes great.
You’re amazing thank you.
P. SIMS
Thanks so much Phyllis! I’m so glad you enjoyed the cake! 🙂
Hi Lindsey!!! I don’t find sour cream in my place…can I substitute with anything else??kindly help out..thank you….
You could try yogurt or using additional milk.
Hi Lindsey – I’m new and naive to baking. I like your blog. I tried your moist vanilla cupcakes and they turned out very good. I received a lots of compliments. Thanks to you. So after that I used the same recipe for baking a layer cake at 350 F. After baking for 35 mins (which is when I saw that the toothpick inserted doesn’t have any crumbs) my cake has a dome and the sides of the cake are a bit hard. Can you please suggest any tips to avoid the dome and hardening of the sides.
I also have another question – in some of your recipe’s you say add dry ingredients to wet ( caramel banana cake) and then i some other you say add wet to dry (like in almond joy layer cake ). Is there any specific reason for the difference in the method.
My cakes often have a dome, which I like because then I can level them the way I like. You could try using something like Wilton Bake Even strips though if you’d prefer not to have a dome.
It depends on the recipe. There may be a reason for some, but not others.
Hi there! I like tall cakes (5″) and torte my layers so I have 4 per cake. I made this recipe today using only 2 cake pans and will not have the height to torte. How tall are your cakes just for reference? I yielded 8c batter from the recipe – split it evenly between 2 8″ pans… and the cake layers are about 1.5″ tall each. Does this sound right?
It seems about right. I would say that when I make 3 layers, they’re each about 1 inch in height. So 1.5 inches for two layers seems right. My cakes usually end up around 3.5 to 4 inches in height once I add fillings. You might want to adjust the recipe to add another layer (either 1/3 or 1/2 of the recipe, depending on preference).
Very good cake, beautiful and easy to do, thank to you video
I just made this. I really don’t like using shortening so I used butter – salted and unsalted. I used HALF the powdered sugar and I still thought it was kind of sweet. Does the shortening make a huge difference? Did I do something wrong? There was definitely enough frosting for the cake. Having said that – I’m a novice baker so I’m sure all errors are mine. I certainly was not able to frost it as you did but I’ll work on that.
Do you think colouring the banana cake would work? I want to make a purple ombre of layers inside my cake, but don’t want to use standard vanilla cake to be able to colour it.
The cake has a bit of a yellow-brown color to it, so the purple wouldn’t be a true purple.
The cake looks so great. Can i ask what kind of shortening you use? It’s not common to use shortening i Denmark and only know Crisco.
Thanks for all of your recipes.
Crisco is the brand I use. However, you can replace it with additional butter if you prefer.
this was too yummy and loved this one…..
Cakes To Indore
Can we cut down on the powdered sugar? Ten and a half cups plus the caramel sounds way to sweet. How do you keep bananas from turning brown?
You can, you’ll just end up with less frosting. The powdered sugar adds volume. If you use salted butter with the shortening (or half salted butter and half unsalted, if you’re using all butter), it helps cut down on the sweetness. The bananas on the outside are banana chips, so they don’t brown.
Where do you get banana chips? Are they the dried chips you can find in the grocery stores or do you make those yourself? If so how do you do that ?
I buy them at the grocery store.
This cake is so gorgeous, Lindsay! The caramel drips are so perfect! I love the flavor combo here too, totally don’t blame your husband for calling dibs! 🙂
Thanks Beth! 🙂
Thanks Lin for this recipe. I Have been looking out for a perfect banana cake recipe and I this is it though I have not tried because your recipe never Fail. Please I want to know if this cake can be covered in fondant. Thank you.
I have alway’s wanted to text you and let you know, You are very talented, your baking is breathtaking!!!
Thanks Debbie!
If I wanted to substitute the butter in the recipe with oil, what would the conversion be?
my go to vanilla recipe is the Vanilla Cake recipe you have listed with the Oil. AMAZING
Any advice?
THANK YOU!
I’m so glad you like the vanilla cake! It would be hard to say how to substitute the butter for oil in this cake without testing it. It can change the recipe quite a bit.
What a great idea to add caramel! I made your ‘Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting’ and it was absolutely delicious! I have to make this cake with the caramel on the cake and in the frosting! Yum! Can’t wait! Thanks for all the amazing recipes!
My mouth has already started watering Just by looking at the images. I am definitely going to make it.