Banoffee Cake

Why you’ll love this banoffee cake

• It’s way more simple than it looks and sounds. 
• Use up those brown bananas sitting on your counter, without another banana bread.
• The caramel sauce can also be store bought if you’re feeling that.
• It’s frosted with a whipped vanilla bean frosting. 
• The cake recipe is very forgiving and allows for many substitutions and dietary restrictions. 

If you’re here for all the banana things, I have the best classic banana bread and muffins. A chocolate banana bread and two of my favorite cake, fluffernutter banana cake and chocolate chip peanut butter banana cake.

What is banoffee?

The name kind of sounds like “banana” & “coffee” but it’s actually “banana” & “toffee”. Banoffee is an English pie that starts with a buttery biscuit crust and is filled with banana slices, toffee sauce, whipped cream and chocolate shavings. 

Toffee is just caramel taken to a temperature a little hotter than traditional caramel. The hotter temperature dries up the caramel sauce, making it a thicker consistency. You’ll often see caramel candies labeled as “toffee”. Essentially it’s just a thicker caramel sauce that’s often replaced with dulce de leche but I MUCH prefer a homemade salted caramel sauce. 

What is banoffee cake?

As usual, I had a few brown bananas in the fruit basket so I thought I’d take inspiration from the banoffee pie. I made banana cake layers instead of slices (the slices just don’t sound good to me in a cake, sorrrryyy). 

Then I made a whipped vanilla frosting so it feels whipped and light like the whipped cream on top of the pie but it’s sturdy enough to hold the cake up. 

Instead of “toffee” or the more popular “dulce de leche”, I made salted caramel sauce. You can use a store bought or a homemade one. You can also use dulce de leche if you prefer that. The texture will be a little thicker and creamier with the dulce de leche. 

I used graham crackers between the layers to represent my pie crust and because I love anything made with graham crackers. 

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Start by making the caramel sauce so it has time to cool. Cook the sugar with the water until it turns into a dark amber color. 

Step 2: Whisk in the butter followed by the heavy whipping cream. Pour into a heat safe bowl/jar and stir in the salt and vanilla.

Step 3: Make the cake by whisking together all of the dry ingredients and set them aside. Mash the bananas really well so there are no large chunks.

Step 4: Whisk together the eggs and sugar really well. Then add the oil, greek yogurt, vanilla and mashed bananas, mixing until it’s smooth.

Step 5: Add the dry ingredients and whisk just until there are no streaks of flour left. 

Step 6: Distribute the batter evenly among the two cake pans and bake for about 30 minutes. When the cake is done baking, it will release itself from the edge of the pan and spring back when you press on the center. Flip the cakes over onto a cooling rack or a tea towel right away. Allow them to cool to room temperature. Once they’ve cooled, slice each one in half.

Step 7: Make the buttercream by beating the butter until it’s pale and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar and beat until the sugar is combined into the butter. Then add the vanilla bean paste and the heavy whipping cream, beating until the frosting is smooth and fluffy.

Step 8: Assemble the cake by placing the first layer of banana cake onto a flat surface. Spread a thin layer of the vanilla bean frosting and then pipe a border of the frosting around the edge of the cake. Fill in that border with the crushed graham crackers and the chocolate shavings. Top with a generous drizzle of salted caramel sauce (make sure it’s cooled completely). Place the next layer of cake on top and repeat. 

Step 9: Frost the cake on the outside with the rest of the frosting and then top with a little graham cracker crumbs, chocolate shavings and caramel sauce. 

How to make ahead

To make the cake ahead of time you can make the cakes even a month in advance. When you remove them from the oven, let them cool for about half an hour and then wrap them individually  in plastic wrap. Then place them in a freezer bag, squeezing out all the excess air. 

Make sure to work quickly if you frost them while they’re frozen, because the frosting can set way too quickly from the cold cake and make it difficult to spread. Or just pull them out of the freezer 1 hour before frosting. 

To make the buttercream ahead of time: I don’t prefer to make buttercream ahead of time as it can be temperature sensitive but it is doable. You can cover it and leave it at room temperature overnight or refrigerate or freeze it in an airtight bag or container for weeks. Make sure to bring it back to room temperature well before frosting the cake. You may have to re-whip it. If it splits (from the temperature change), American buttercream is usually a goner. 

To make the caramel ahead of time just follow the instructions until it’s done, place it in an airtight container and refrigerate for a few days. Bring back to room temperature before assembling the cake. 

How to store finished cake

I usually just cover my cakes with a cake dome or place it in an airtight container and store it at room temperature for 1-2 days.

It’ll stay well covered in the fridge for about a week but it dries out quicker than the freezer so I recommend freezing after 2-3 days. 

To freeze the whole cake, refrigerate it until it’s firm. Then wrap it in plastic wrap so it’s completely covered. Then wrap it in aluminum foil and freeze. 

To freeze slices, place the slices in an airtight container and then place the container in a freezer bag, squeezing out all the excess air. 

Bring it back to room temperature by thawing at room temperature for a few hours before serving. 

Thanks so much for reading today’s post, if you have any questions just comment down below. Make sure to leave it in the comment section because I can’t answer in the rating section.

If you make this incredible banoffee cake, I’d love it if you left a star rating for me. If it’s less than five stars, please let me know why! 🙂

As always, have a blessed day and happy baking!

Love, B