A soft and fluffy banana cake filled with pockets of caramel, then topped with cream cheese icing and more gooey caramel! A winner with guests!
After seeing my bananas going brown I wanted to create a new recipe and I have always be fascinated by the poke cakes I see on the American foodie websites, this recipe for Banana Caramel Cake feeds a crowd and would work well as a dessert at a dinner party. Your guests will love the surprise when they cut into the cake and the extra caramel is revealed under the amazing cream cheese frosting. To finish it off for presentation I drizzled over the rest of the caramel for a rustic look, if you want it to look cleaner just leave off that step.
Ingredients:
- Ripe bananas: This is a great recipe for using up bananas that are past their best. The riper they are, the more banana flavour they'll add to the cake.
- Caramel condensed milk: Using canned caramel makes this recipe super easy. Simply warm it in the microwave before pouring it over the cake so it sinks into all the little holes.
- Cream cheese: The tangy cream cheese icing helps balance out the sweetness of the caramel and makes the cake extra delicious.
Step by step instructions:
Preheat oven to 180°C fan bake. Mix together butter, sugar, vanilla and eggs in a large bowl. Add banana and milk then stir again. Sift in flour and fold all ingredients together until combined. Pour into a lined cake tray and bake for 30 minutes. (Mine is 22 x 30cm).
Once the cake has cooled, poke holes into the top. Melt the caramel in the microwave for about a minute then pour over the cake. Spread the caramel to the edges. Reserve about 2 tablespoons of caramel to drizzle over the cake at the end. To make the icing make sure the cream cheese and butter is at room temperature and softened.
Use a mixer or electric beater to beat together cream cheese, butter and vanilla. Once mixed scrape down the sides and add icing sugar then beat again until the icing is soft and fluffy.
Spread the icing over the cake and drizzle over the remaining caramel. Cut the cake into slices then serve.
If you want some more delicious baking ideas check out my recipe for Date Loaf or other Sweet Treats on my website. I love baking!
Recipe FAQs:
My cake tray is 22 x 30cm.
Yes, you can leave out the caramel layer if you prefer a less sweet banana cake. You could also mix the reserved caramel into the cream cheese icing instead of drizzling it over the top.
Yes, frozen bananas will work well in this recipe. Thaw them completely first and drain off any excess liquid before mashing.
Storage:
Store the banana caramel cake in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Bring it out for a little while before serving so the icing softens slightly.
Top tips:
- Make sure the cake has cooled before adding the caramel and icing, otherwise the icing can melt.
- Don't be shy when poking holes into the cake - this gives the caramel plenty of places to soak in.
- If you want to make the cake a little less sweet, you can leave out the caramel drizzle on top.
- Make sure the butter and cream cheese are at room temperature before making the icing so it whips up smooth and fluffy.
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Banana Caramel Cake
A soft banana cake, filled with gooey caramel and topped with cream cheese icing.
Ingredients
- 100g butter, melted
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 2 eggs
- 2 bananas, mashed
- ⅔ cup milk
- 2 cups self raising flour
- 1 can Nestle caramel condensed milk (380g)
Cream cheese Icing
- 250g cream cheese
- 50g butter
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 2 cups icing sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180°C fan bake.
- Mix together butter, sugar, vanilla and eggs in a large bowl. Add banana and milk then stir again.
- Sift in flour and fold all ingredients together until combined.
- Pour into a lined cake tray and bake for 30 minutes. (Mine is 22 x 30cm)
- Once the cake has cooled, poke holes into the top. Melt the caramel in the microwave for about a minute then pour over the cake. Spread the caramel to the edges. Reserve about 2 tablespoons of caramel to drizzle over the cake at the end.
- To make the icing make sure the cream cheese and butter is at room temperature and softened.
- Use a mixer or electric beater to beat together cream cheese, butter and vanilla. Once mixed scrape down the sides and add icing sugar then beat again until the icing is soft and fluffy.
- Spread the icing over the cake and drizzle over the remaining caramel. Cut the cake into slices then serve.
Notes
- Feel free to leave the caramel layer out if you don't want the cake to be too sweet.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 428Total Fat: 19gSaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 81mgSodium: 430mgCarbohydrates: 61gFiber: 1gSugar: 42gProtein: 5g
Nutritional values are approximate. Please use your own calculations if you require a special diet.
Thank you for checking out this recipe. I hope you enjoy making and eating it! If you have any questions, queries or feedback, please feel free to leave a comment below.
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Vanya
Debra says
Is this cooked in a pyrex dish ?
How far in advance could I make this to eat xmas day?
VJ cooks says
Yes it was made in a pyrex dish! I would say you could make it the day before serving but any longer and it could dry out.
Bec says
Could I make this with regular standard flour and baking powder? Or would that affect the taste? If so, what measurements would you reccomend so it’s both “dusty” tasting?
VJ cooks says
Hi Bec, that would be fine. Use 2 cups of plain flour and 1.5 tsp of baking powder.
Bec says
Also, could I cook this in a cake tin? I have a 21 inch cake tin. Would the cooking times still be the same?
VJ cooks says
Do you mean 21 cm? I think that would be too small sorry.
Sheryl Durham says
Hi VJ
Could you mix the remaining caramel into the cream cheese icing rather than puuting on top?
Thank you :o)
VJ cooks says
Yes that would be fine!
Mandi says
I've made banana cake like this many times before but never with caramel as a poke cake what a brilliant idea. Sometimes Nestle caramel condensed milk is hard to find, can you make your own caramel & if you can, do you have a recipe for that please?
Thank you
VJ cooks says
Yes you can! Have a look at this recipe for Coconut Caramel Slice - https://vjcooks.com/coconut-caramel-slice/ - it has a step by step guide on how to make the caramel layer which would work in this caramel banana cake recipe!
Emma says
I made this cake a month ago and it was delicious. I have come back to the page to make it again so thought I'd better leave a 5 star review.
Thanks for a yummy recipe
VJ cooks says
Aww I appreciate that! Thanks Emma, so glad you enjoyed it 🙂