Best Toffee Banana Layer Cake is the tastiest banana cake recipe EVER! It’s moist and sweet and topped with a nutty, rich brown butter frosting!
I don’t know about you, but for our holiday celebrations, I want a big beautiful frosted cake. Maybe there’s a pie or two or a pound cake, but there must be a three-layer frosted cake at center stage!
And, I just developed the cake for this year!
You guys, this Best Toffee Banana Layer Cake is INSANELY delicious!! If you’re looking for an alternative dessert instead of pecan pie or pumpkin pie to make for the holidays this year, let me offer this recipe as a suggestion.
This cake has incredible flavor. Bananas make it super moist and the brown butter frosting is rich and luscious. It is my new favorite frosting and I never thought I’d like another frosting more than cream cheese frosting!
Best Toffee Banana Layer Cake
For your bananas
Perfect bananas for this recipe may not look so perfect. Allow the bananas to get very ripe, very speckled or almost black. The darker the skin, the sweeter the banana will be.
For the frosting
I made Brown Butter Frosting. Furthermore, I made a quick post and video on How to Brown Butter and recommend you check it out before making the frosting. These two frostings are great on a banana cake as well.
- Peanut Butter Frosting would be good.
- As would Cream Cheese Frosting
Can you freeze Best Toffee Banana Layer Cake?
Yes. To freeze the whole cake, make, cool, and frost the cake just as if you were serving it immediately. Then clear out your freezer and put the iced cake on a tray, cake board, or cake-taker in the freezer. Let it freeze until solid at least four hours. Then remove the cake and wrap securely in plastic wrap. Then wrap in a final layer of aluminum foil.
To freeze individual slices, I recommend wrapping each slice in plastic wrap then place in an airtight container.
It freezes well for up to 3 months.
How do I store this banana cake?
First, let it cool completely before putting it into an airtight storage container. Make sure it seals tightly, you don’t want any air getting in and drying out your cake!
Do you love bananas? You may like this post on How to Freeze Bananas for Smoothies.
I use cake flour for my cake and highly recommend using it. All-purpose flour should be okay but result in a denser cake. However, I have not tested it with all-purpose flour.
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Best Toffee Banana Layer Cake
Ingredients
For the cake
- 3 cups cake flour not all-purpose, sifted and measured correctly
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3/4 cup butter at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- 3 large eggs at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup sour cream or Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1 and ½ cups banana mashed, very ripe (about 3 bananas)
- 1 cup toffee chopped (Heath toffee bits or chopped Heath bars)
For the frosting
- 1 cup butter
- 8 cups powdered sugar sifted
- 1 teaspoon real vanilla extract
- 4 tablespoons heavy cream or whole milk
Instructions
For the cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour three 8-inch cake pans.
- In the bowl of your mixer, beat the butter until smooth. Add in the granulated and brown sugar and beat on low until combined, then on medium until smooth. This should take about 1 to 1 ½ minutes.
- Add in the eggs, one at a time and mixing until just combined after each addition.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Stir to combine.
- In another bowl, mix together the sour cream, whole milk, mashed bananas, and vanilla extract. Whisk well.
- Add your dry ingredients and your liquid ingredients alternately to the egg and sugar mixture. Beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Mix until just combined. Don't over mix.
- Fold in a cup of chopped toffee. Reserve 2-3 tablespoons for the top of cake if desired.
- Spoon evenly into prepared pans.
- Bake at 350°F for approximately 30-35 minutes. Start checking at 25 minutes.
- Remove from oven and set on racks to cool for 10 minutes. Turn out the cakes onto racks after 10 minutes to cool completely. Ice with browned butter toffee buttercream.
For the frosting
- Melt butter in a saucepan on medium to low heat Whisk constantly. When it turns light brown remove the pan from the heat. Cool.
- Add powdered sugar to the bowl of an electric mixer. Add heavy cream, vanilla, and browned butter to the powdered sugar.
- Beat until smooth. Add more cream if frosting is too thick (or more powdered sugar if it's too thin.)
- Wait until the cake is completely cool before frosting. For a more professional cake, remove the domes from the tops of the cake layers with a cake leveler or large serrated knife. Place one layer of cake on a serving plate. Spread about 1 cup of the frosting on top in an even layer. Repeat with the next layer of cake and frosting, then top the cake with the final layer of cake (if you have 3 layers). Frost the outside of the cake. An offset spatula makes it really easy to get an even layer.
- Store in an airtight container on the countertop for 3 to 4 days. Or, in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 6 to 7 days.
Nutrition
You can also find great recipes at Recipe Index or at Meal Plan Monday or Weekend Potluck
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Rachel says
Can you use self rising flour?
Paula says
It will have a slightly different texture. https://www.kingarthurflour.com/blog/2015/09/09/substitute-self-rising-flour-purpose-flour
Lee says
Is there another way I can make this besides being a layer cake, I am not the greatest baker?
Paula says
You can make the cake in a 9×13-inch pan and frost it in the pan. Cook time for the cake will be 27 to 30 minutes.