Salted Caramel Banana Toffee Cake – Super moist banana cake layers, salted caramel buttercream, toffee bits and a salted caramel drip.
This cake first came to be a couple of years ago when I decided to play around with my banana bread recipe. It really didn’t need much altering, but some delicious flavours to pair with it. The salted caramel adds that salty sweet element and the toffee bits give it a little crunch.
I have been up at the cottage for the past week hanging out with my family and taking a much needed break from the city. I decided to make this cake over the weekend and it was a huge hit all around. If you are a banana bread lover, this cake is for you!
Ingredients you will need
Aside from your baking staples, there are a few ingredients that you’ll need to make this Salted Caramel Banana Toffee Cake.
Ripe Bananas – You will want to use ripe bananas that are a little spotty and brown in this recipe. Ripe bananas are much sweeter and give this cake that amazing banana flavour.
How to ripen bananas
I recommend keeping a stash of brown bananas in your freezer ready to use whenever you need them, BUT if you need to ripen some bananas fast, here’s how.
Bake them in their peels, on a lined rimmed baking sheet at 300 degrees F until the peels turn black. This should take about 15-20 minutes. Let them cool before handling.
Salted Caramel Baking Chips – I love these Hershey’s sea salt caramel baking chips. They are soooo good in cookies, buttercream and for making salted caramel drips. In this recipe we use them in the buttercream and for the drip.
Buttermilk – I use buttermilk in pretty much all of my cake recipes. It makes for a super fluffy and light textured cake.
How to make Buttermilk
If you don’t have buttermilk, you can make your own! Add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar to 1 cup of milk and let it sit for a few minutes. Don’t be scared if it seems really clumpy after thickening! I use this trick all the time and it works really well as a substitute.
Toffee Bits – These are essential in adding that extra element of texture to this cake! We use them in between the layers of this cake and on top for decoration if you’d like!
How to make Salted Caramel Banana Toffee Cake
For the Banana Cake
First, let’s make the cake layers. Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy.
Next, add the eggs and vanilla and mix until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
In a medium bow, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet, alternating with the buttermilk.
Lastly, add in the mashed bananas and mix until everything is combined.
Divide the batter evenly among four, greased and floured, 6 inch cake pans. I like using these ones. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 40-45 minutes. Test the cakes by using a toothpick or cake tester. It should come out with just a few crumbs.
Let cakes cool in the pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, flip the pans over and let them fully cool upside down.
For the Salted Caramel Buttercream
I love using baking chips for my Salted Caramel Buttercream because it’s so much easier than making salted caramel sauce to add! However, if not added correctly, you can end up with hard chunks of salted caramel.
In order to avoid this, we are actually going to make a salted caramel ganache to add to the buttercream.
In a microwave safe dish or measuring cup, melt the salted caramel chips and cream. Microwave in 15 second increments and stir in between to avoid the mixture from seizing. Once the ganache is smooth and there are no clumps, set aside to cool a little.
Using a handheld or stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until fluffy. Then, add the ganache in with the butter and beat until smooth. Be sure to let the ganache cool a little before adding or it will melt the butter.
With the mixer on low, slowly add in the powdered sugar one cup at a time. Once all the powdered sugar is added, whip on high speed for 3-5 minutes until light and fluffy.
For the Salted Caramel Ganache Drip
This step is exactly the same as how we made the ganache for the buttercream.
In a microwave safe dish or measuring cup, melt salted caramel chips and cream. Microwave in 15 second increments and stir in between to avoid the mixture from seizing. Once the ganache is smooth and there are no clumps, set aside.
How to Assemble your cake
Level off the tops of the cake layers if needed. You can use a serrated knife or a cake leveller.
Smear a small amount of buttercream on the base of your cake plate or board. This will help hold the cake in place. Set the first cake layer down. Spread about 1/2 cup of buttercream over first layer and top with about 1/4 cup of toffee bits. Place second cake layer on top and repeat buttercream and toffee bits. Repeat with the third layer. Place the fourth layer of cake on top, top side down. This provides a nice flat surface for the top of your cake.
Cover the entire cake in buttercream, smoothing out the sides as necessary. I like using an offset spatula and an icing scraper for this step.
How to make a perfect Ganache Drip
Once the cake is evenly covered in buttercream, chill for either 10 minutes in the freezer or 20 minutes in the fridge. If your ganache is cool now, warm it up in the microwave. Do this in 10 second increments to avoid seizing. The ganache should be warm, not hot. You can test it by spooning a little bit on the inside of a glass. The ganache should drip down and hold it’s shape a little bit. If it runs straight down and seems thin, it is too hot.
Ideally, you want the cake chilled enough and the ganache warm enough so that the drip runs down the cake, but stops before it hits the bottom. As you can see, my drip kept running down to the base of the cake. I don’t really mind, but if you want your drip to stop before the bottom, make sure the cake is very chilled.
You can use a squeeze bottle or just spoon the ganache on to the cake. Put a little bit at the edge of the cake and let it drip down. Repeat this all around the cake. Pour the remaining ganache on to the centre of the top of the cake and spread evenly.
From there, decorate however you like with the remaining buttercream and toffee bits! I chose to pipe a border using a Wilton 1M piping tip and filled the centre with toffee bits.
How to cut a tall cake
This cake is pretty tall. Check out this post to see how you can cut a tall cake easily.
Can I adjust this recipe?
For a smaller cake, this recipe can be cut in half. Use two 6″ cake pans for a small, two layer cake. This cake can also be made in three 8″ cake pans using the exact recipe in this post. You might need to adjust the baking time of the cake layers though.
Salted Caramel Banana Toffee Cake
Course: DessertDifficulty: Medium12
servings1
hour45
minutes45
minutesSuper moist banana cake, layered with salted caramel buttercream and toffee bits, topped with a salted caramel ganache drip. A banana bread lover’s dream cake!
Ingredients
- Banana Cake
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs, room temperature
3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
2 cups mashed bananas
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup toffee bits
- Salted Caramel Buttercream
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, chilled
3/4 cup salted caramel baking chips
3 tablespoons heavy cream
6 cups powdered sugar
- Salted Caramel Ganache
3/4 cup salted caramel baking chips
3 tablespoons heavy cream
Directions
- Banana Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease, flour and line the bottom of four 6” cake pans with parchment paper.
- Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy.
- Next, add the eggs and vanilla and mix until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- In a medium bow, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet, alternating with the buttermilk.
- Lastly, add in the mashed bananas and mix until everything is combined.
- Divide the batter evenly among cake pans. Bake for 40-45 minutes. Test the cakes by using a toothpick or cake tester. It should come out with just a few crumbs.
- Let cakes cool in the pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, flip the pans over and let them fully cool upside down.
- Salted Caramel Buttercream
- In a microwave safe dish or measuring cup, melt salted caramel chips and heavy cream. Microwave in 15 second increments and stir in between to avoid the mixture from seizing. Once the ganache is smooth and there are no clumps, set aside to cool a little.
- Using a handheld or stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until fluffy. Add the ganache to the butter and beat until smooth. Be sure to let the ganache cool a little before adding or it will melt the butter.
- With the mixer on low, slowly add in the powdered sugar one cup at a time. Once all the powdered sugar is added, whip on high speed for 3-5 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Salted Caramel Ganache
- In a microwave safe dish or measuring cup, melt salted caramel chips and cream. Microwave in 15 second increments and stir in between to avoid the mixture from seizing. Once the ganache is smooth and there are no clumps, set aside.
- Assembly
- Level off the tops of the cake layers if needed. You can use a serrated knife or cake leveller.
- Smear a small amount of buttercream on the base of your cake plate or board. This will help hold the cake in place. Set the first cake layer down. Spread about 1/2 cup of buttercream over first layer and top with about 1/4 cup of toffee bits. Place second cake layer on top and repeat buttercream and toffee bits. Repeat with the third layer. Place the fourth layer of cake on top, top side down.
- Cover the entire cake in buttercream, smoothing out the sides as necessary.
- Once the cake is evenly covered in buttercream, chill for either 10 minutes in the freezer or 20 minutes in the fridge. If your ganache is cool now, warm it up in the microwave. Do this in 10 second increments to avoid seizing.
- You can use a squeeze bottle or just spoon the ganache on to the cake. Put a little bit at the edge of the cake and let it drip down. Repeat this all around the cake. Pour the remaining ganache on to the centre of the top of the cake and spread evenly. See detailed notes in post above for ganache drip tips.
- From there, decorate however you like with the remains buttercream and toffee bits!
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