Caramel Banana Cake

So I have a bit of a thing for banana cake.

But what's not to love? Moist cake, the creamy fragrance of banana and surprise crunchy nuggets of walnut. Bliss.

This version takes banana cake to a new level of decadence with the addition of caramel icing. The icing isn't sickeningly sweet, but adds a slight toffee sweetness that matches well with the banana and walnut.

With a healthy dollop of sour cream and a good splodge of butter, this cake is undeniably moist and incredibly easy. It may as well come with a satisfaction guarantee.


Caramel Banana Cake

140g butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar, tightly packed
2 eggs
1 cup mashed over-ripe banana
1 tablespoon milk
3/4 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
2/3 cup walnuts

Caramel icing
60g butter
1/2 cup brown sugar, tightly packed
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 1/2 cups icing sugar, sifted


Preheat oven to 180C.

Grease and line a 15x25cm loaf tin with baking paper.

Using an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, until well combined.

Add the mashed banana, milk, sour cream, bicarbonate of soda and half the flour. Stir gently until smooth.

Add the remaining flour and the walnuts. I squeeze handfuls of walnuts in my fist just to roughly snap them in half. If you don't like big chunks of walnut in your cake, then chop them roughly first. Fold these in gently until the mixture is smooth and incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf tin and baked at 180C for 40min to 1 hour, until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Leave in tin for 5 minutes, then transfer cake to a wire rack to cool completely. When cold, spread quickly and generously with the caramel icing.

Caramel icing: Melt butter and brown sugar in a saucepan over low heat, stirring regularly until the sugar dissolves (about 2-3 minutes). Add the sour cream and turn the heat up to high until the mixture boils. Let it boil for 3o seconds to one minute, then remove from heat and add the icing sugar. I usually don't bother sifting it but use a whisk to get all the lumps out. Let the icing cool for about 3 minutes, or until it thickens, before spreading over the cake.




Related GrabYourFork posts:
Banana bread
Banana cupcakes
Banana sour cream cake
Banoffee pie (banana caramel tart)