Dessert Jan 5, 2025
Note: My take on a banoffee cake. 8-16 servings, we did 10.
Cake was made the night before assembling, to give it more than enough time to cool.
I did not flambé the bananas foster, I read the it doesn't really affect the taste and is mostly for show. Instead, I brûlée-ed some of the cooked bananas to go on top of the cake. It's optional, but I'd do it again... I mean, I have the kitchen torch.
Cake Ingredients:
1½ cups (345g) Mashed Bananas (3-4)
3 cups (375g) Cake Flour 1 teaspoon Baking Powder 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
½ teaspoon Ground Cardamon
½ teaspoon Table Salt
¾ cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) Unsalted Butter
1 cup (200g) Granulated Sugar
½ cup (100g) Brown Sugar
3 Eggs
2 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
1½ cups Buttermilk
Cake Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line the bottom of two 9-inch circular cake pans with parchment paper
Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cardamon, and salt together. Set aside.
In a small bowl, mash the bananas and set aside.
Using a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on high speed until smooth and creamy. Add both sugars and beat on high speed for 2 minutes until creamed together. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.
Add the eggs and the vanilla. Beat on medium-high speed until combined, then beat in the mashed bananas. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed.
With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with the buttermilk and mixing each addition just until incorporated. Do not overmix. The batter will be slightly thick and a few lumps is OK.
Pour half of the batter into each of the prepared pans. Bake until the center reaches a temperature around 200°- 210°F (93° - 98°C), about for 45–50 minutes. Baking times vary, so keep an eye on yours. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If you find the top of the cake is browning too quickly in the oven, loosely cover it with aluminum foil.
Cool for a few hours on a wire rack, cut the rounded tops off to level the cakes, and then wrap in plastic wrap.
Banana Filling Ingredients:
3 Bananas
45g Unsalted Butter
¾ cup (144g) Light Brown Sugar
½ teaspoon Cardamon
2¼ Ounces Amaretto
2¼ Ounces Rum
Banana Filling Directions:
Cut each banana in half length-wise and then slice thinly on a mandoline.
Combine butter, sugar, and cardamon in a pan
As the butter melts over medium heat, add the amaretto and rum and stir to combine
Stir the sauce to ensure that all of the alcohol cooks out
Cook the bananas slices in batches, cooking until they begin to soften (about 1-2 minutes)
Pour the sauce into a liquid measuring rum and reserve for the ermine frosting
Cover one of the cakes with banana slices
Optional Brûléed Banana Topping Directions:
Pour some granulated sugar onto a plate and replenish as needed
Working one slice at a time, coat each side of the banana with sugar and then use a cooking torch to caramelize the sugar on each side
Set on a wire rack to cool and harden
Ermine Frosting Ingredients:
6 Tablespoons (72g) Granulated Sugar
6 Tablespoons (45g) Cake Flour
~1 cup (227g) Whole Milk
18 tablespoons (216g) Unsalted Butter
3 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
Ermine Frosting Directions:
In a medium saucepan, add the reserved banana sauce (noting its measurement), sugar and flour.
Add as much milk as needed to make the banana sauce and milk equal to 1½ cups total (I had ¾ a cup of sauce, so I added ¾ a cup of milk) and cook over medium heat. Whisk constantly until the mixture comes to a boil and has thickened to a pudding-like consistency.
Remove from the heat and transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the beater attachment. Beat at medium-high speed until it's below 80°F (27°C), about 10 to 15 minutes.
Reduce the speed to low and, with the mixer running, add the butter a few tablespoons at a time. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed, to make sure the butter is thoroughly incorporated.
Once all the butter has been mixed in, add the vanilla [And maybe 2 tablespoons peanut butter - creamy, not natura,l which is very oily. Or use natural and have added another tablespoon of flour earlier.]
Increase the mixer speed to high. Beat the frosting for 4 to 6 minutes, until it’s light and fluffy.
If the frosting feels dense, curdled, or greasy, it’s too cold. Gently warm the mixture by setting the bowl over a pan of steaming-hot water for a few minutes (just until you see the edges begin to soften/melt), then re-whip until smooth. If the frosting feels soupy or loose, it’s too warm. Chill for 15 to 20 minutes in the refrigerator before re-whipping.
Final Notes:
Last year I imagined the peanut brittle would go really well in a banana cake. But we didn't set any brittle aside and we were out of town to celebrate my birthday, so it could not be made. The cake lived up to the year of hype I had built up around it! It was really good!
Could have used a little more peanut flavor to highlight the peanut brittle flavor more and not just using it for a crunchy texture (which was very nice). Maybe add a little peanut butter to the frosting.
As the cake sat out for a few days, the crushed brittle lost it's crunch, so I crushed another small piece to top off each night's serving. I used maybe 10 pieces of peanut brittle total: 6 initially and then one piece a night for four nights.
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