Salted Caramel Brown Butter Banana Cake (Printable)
Rich banana cake infused with brown butter and swirled with homemade salted caramel for a truly indulgent treat.
# What You'll Need:
→ Cake Batter
01 - 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
02 - 2 cups all-purpose flour
03 - 1 teaspoon baking soda
04 - 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
05 - 1 cup granulated sugar
06 - 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
07 - 2 large eggs, room temperature
08 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
09 - 1 cup mashed very ripe bananas (about 2–3 bananas)
10 - 1/2 cup full-fat sour cream
→ Salted Caramel Sauce
11 - 1 cup granulated sugar
12 - 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
13 - 1/2 cup heavy cream, room temperature
14 - 1 teaspoon flaky sea salt
→ Optional Topping
15 - Extra salted caramel for drizzling
16 - Sliced banana or toasted chopped pecans
# Directions:
01 - Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Continue cooking, swirling the pan occasionally, until the butter foams and golden-brown bits form at the bottom, about 5–7 minutes. Pour into a bowl and let cool for 10 minutes.
02 - Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan or loaf pan and line with parchment paper.
03 - In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the sugar over medium heat, stirring constantly until fully melted and deep amber in color. Carefully add the cubed butter — it will bubble vigorously — and whisk until melted. Slowly drizzle in the heavy cream while whisking continuously. Remove from heat and stir in the flaky sea salt. Let the caramel cool to room temperature.
04 - In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, and sea salt. Set aside.
05 - In a large bowl, combine the cooled browned butter, granulated sugar, and packed light brown sugar. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla extract, mashed bananas, and sour cream until smooth and well blended.
06 - Add the dry ingredient mixture to the wet ingredients, folding gently with a spatula just until combined. Be careful not to overmix.
07 - Spread half of the batter into the prepared pan. Drizzle half of the cooled salted caramel over the batter and swirl gently with a knife. Repeat with the remaining batter and caramel, swirling again.
08 - Bake for 45–55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
09 - Serve warm or at room temperature. Drizzle with additional salted caramel and garnish with sliced banana or toasted chopped pecans if desired.
# Expert Advice:
01 -
- The brown butter adds a nutty depth that regular butter simply cannot touch, and once you try it you will want it in everything.
- Swirling salted caramel through banana cake batter feels like a magic trick that somehow works every single time.
02 -
- Watch the caramel like a hawk because sugar goes from golden perfection to bitter and burnt in the blink of an eye, and there is no coming back from that.
- The first time I made this I swirled the caramel too aggressively and it all sank to the bottom, so gentle and shallow swirls are the secret to keeping it distributed through the cake.
03 -
- Make the caramel sauce a day ahead if you want to reduce stress, because the cake batter comes together quickly but juggling two hot saucepans simultaneously can feel like a circus act.
- The bananas should be so ripe they are almost embarrassing to show anyone, because that level of ripeness delivers the most intense banana flavor and natural sweetness.