Banoffee Layer Cake; a sweet and salty creation made with brown sugar banana cake, salted caramel sauce, vanilla cream cheese frosting and toasted pecans!
Every day I grow stronger in my belief that cakes should not be frosted on the outside. A really important issue, I know.
Christina Tosi, of Momofuku Milk Bar fame, first instilled this in me. Even as a lover of icings and frostings of any kind, smothering the outside of a lovingly layered cake just feels wrong now.
To go to all the effort of layering your creations of cake, frosting, soaks and crumbs, to then hide it all behind an infuriatingly un-perfect shell of extra frosting seems counter-intuitive. There is nothing more loathsome when decorating a cake than having to get that mechanical, flawless, blemish-free buttercream exterior.
Also, I’m just exceptionally lazy when it comes to decorating cakes. I’m a baker, not an artist.
THIS CAKE THOUGH. This Banoffee Layer Cake is so much more than just a “Banoffee Layer Cake.”
It’s three layers of soft brown sugar banana cake, a silk sheet of salted caramel sauce, sweet but tangy vanilla cream cheese frosting, toasty pecans and dark chocolate shavings. It’s pure filth, in the best way.
You’ve got fluffy, you’ve got creamy, you’ve got crunchy, you’ve got sweet, you’ve got salty, you’ve got it all.
The cake pictured has been baked and layered up Momofuku Milk Bar style. This method bakes the cake in a wide baking tray before stamping it out and layering everything up inside an acetate-lined cake ring. BUT. Obviously most people don’t have the time, patience or equipment to faff around with this method so I’ve included instructions to bake this into a bangin 2-layer regular sandwich cake as well.
Also, feel free to skip making your own salted caramel sauce. Shops like Lidl have great ready made jars of the stuff to save you some time and effort!
To make this absurdly delicious Banoffee Layer Cake, simply follow the recipe below!
Banoffee Layer Cake
Notes
BE A MAVERICK: feel free to replace the pecans with hazelnuts, or to replace the dark chocolate with white chocolate to change up the flavour!
Ingredients
For the brown sugar banana cake:
- 200g soft unsalted butter or margarine
- 150g soft dark brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 ripe bananas
- 220g self-raising flour
- Pinch of salt (unless using salted butter/margarine)
For the toasted pecans:
- 100g pecans
For the salted caramel:
- 200g caster sugar
- 100g soft butter
- 100ml double cream
- ½ tsp sea salt
For the cream cheese frosting:
- 200g soft unsalted butter
- 75g full fat cream cheese
- 500g icing sugar
- Juice of ½ a lemon or 1 tsp vinegar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Dark chocolate (optional, to decorate)
Instructions
For the brown sugar banana cake:
- Preheat your oven – 180 C / 160 C fan / 350 F / gas mark 4.
- Grease and line a 25cm x 31cm (10in x 12in) baking tray or roasting tin. (If not assembling using a cake ring and acetate like I did, simply bake the cake in two round 18cm (7in) cake tins.)
- In a large bowl, beat together the butter/margarine and sugar until fluffy. This should take 2-3 minutes.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating well between each.
- Mash the banana into a smooth-ish puree and stir it into the bowl.
- Gently stir in the flour and salt (if using) until just combined into a smooth cake mix.
- Pour the cake mix into your prepared tray and smooth it out.
- Bake for 20-30 minutes until risen, golden and firm to the touch. A skewer inserted into the centre of the cake should be removed cleanly once it is baked.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
For the toasted pecans:
- Just as you put your tray of cake batter into the oven, scatter the pecans on a small tray and bake them for 8-10 minutes until you can start to smell their lovely toasty aroma.
- Once cooled, chop them into smaller chunks.
For the salted caramel:
- Pour the sugar into a small saucepan and add just enough cold water to cover it.
- Place the pan over a medium heat and allow the sugar to dissolve and bubble until it reaches a rich golden brown. This can take 5-10 minutes. (Don’t stir it as it may crystallise!)
- When golden brown, add your butter and stir thoroughly until it has all melted.
- Stir in the cream and salt until you have a smooth golden salted caramel sauce.
- Allow to cool completely.
For the cream cheese frosting:
- In a large bowl, beat together all the frosting ingredients until you have a smooth, creamy frosting. This should take no more than 10 minutes.
To assemble:
- Once the cake is cool and you have made the frosting, it’s time to assemble!
- (If not assembling using a cake ring and acetate: simply spread salted caramel and frosting between the two cooled layers of cake with a scattering of pecan chunks and some dark chocolate shavings, and repeat the same on top!)
- Use your cake ring (adjusted to 15cm if it is adjustable) to cut out two circles of cake. Gather up the scraps as this will form the bottom layer of your cake.
- Clean and dry the cake ring and place it either on a board, baking tray or the plate you want to serve it on.
- Line the ring with a strip of 7.5cm x 50cm acetate.
- Put the cake scraps inside the ring and use your hand to press them down into a flat even layer. Any leftover scraps are perfect for snacking on while you finish assembling!
- Spread a thin layer of salted caramel sauce over the flat cake layer.
- Spread one-fifth of your frosting on top.
- Scatter over one-third of the toasted pecan chunks and some dark chocolate shavings, pressing them down gently into the frosting.
- Spread another fifth of the frosting carefully over the pecan chunks.
- Repeat the entire assembly process again for the second and third layer. You should have used up all of your pecans and frosting.
- Place the cake in the fridge to chill for 2-3 hours until the frosting is firm.
- Gently remove the cake ring and peel off the acetate.
- Slice up and enjoy!
Where do you buy a cake ring and acetate from please?
Hi Steph! I got mine from Amazon.
Cake ring, for example: https://amzn.to/3wo6MUN
Acetate roll, for example: https://amzn.to/39J9qea