Banana Snack Cake with Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting

Typically, having a bunch of overripe bananas lying around my kitchen means only one thing. Bananas Bread is acomin'! But, I decided to switch it up recently and make an easy Banana Snack Cake. And I am oh-so-glad that I did! Oh, and did I mention I topped it with a thick layer of Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting? Yeah, I did that. And now it's a thing. A permanent fixture in our lives. And we couldn't be happier it.

Making Easy Banana Cake

There are a few essential ingredients that make this banana cake really stand out above the rest. First, it has brown butter in the batter. Don't be intimidated by this if you haven't browned butter before. It's as simple as slowly melting a stick of butter in a saucepan until it achieves nutty perfection (see below in the Tips section for how-to).

Next comes the perfectly overripe bananas. They add a distinctly sweet flavor to this banana snack cake. The recipe only calls for 1/4 cup granulated sugar and 2 tablespoons brown sugar. The bananas take care of the rest of the sweetness - magic in the form of overripe fruit! And that sour cream in the batter keeps it nice and moist, just like in my Banana Bread recipe.

Topping it off with Salted Caramel Buttercream

The last, but certainly not least, essential ingredient to this Banana Cake is the amazing salted caramel buttercream frosting. Yes, I went there! The cake by itself is certainly delicious, don't get me wrong. Buttttttt... the frosting takes it over the top. Homemade salted caramel whipped into a creamy buttercream is just what this cake needs to make it your new favorite.

Tips for Making This Recipe

• Be sure your bananas are overripe for this recipe. You want yellow bananas mottled with loads of black spots. For me, it usually takes about a week for my bananas to ripen fully to this point. The overripeness adds the level sweetness to this cake that is essential to its taste. Be careful, though, that the bananas don't go past the point of no return, aka become rotten and unusable. You'll know if they have because they'll either get spots of mold on them (ewww!) or they'll become super soft and mushy inside, as felt through the peel
• Browning the butter takes just a few minutes and is worth its weight in gold! The brown butter adds an extra layer of nutty flavor that you wouldn't otherwise achieve with plain melted butter. To brown it, place butter (it can be cold from the fridge) in a saucepan over medium-low heat and swirl the butter around in the pan every minute or so. Keep a careful eye on it, as the butter can go from melted to burnt, passing right over that perfect browned phase quickly if you're not paying attention. You'll start to see brown flecks in the butter and smell a nutty aroma. That's how you know it's done!
• Allow the brown butter to cool slightly before adding it to the other ingredients. I recommend whisking together the eggs with the banana, sour cream, brown sugar and vanilla then adding in the brown butter. This way, your eggs are already incorporated and won't get scrambled when you add in the hot butter
• When making the salted caramel for the frosting, don't get concerned when the sugar begins to look clumpy and smell like it's burning. Just keep stirring it around and eventually it'll all melt into a rich amber color. Very carefully add the butter - it tends to splatter at this point! And drizzle in the cream and add in the salt. It comes together quickly, so have all your ingredients prepared next to the stovetop before you begin

Useful Kitchen Tools for This Recipe

8 x 8 inch Baking Pan

Small Offset Spatula

Parchment Paper Sheets

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If you're bananas for anything banana, be sure to check out my Bakery-Style Banana Muffins Swirled with Dulce de Leche and my Easy Peasy Deliciously Moist Banana Bread recipes!

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