Banana Cake with Brown Butter Frosting

Prep time - 25 mins - Cook time - 40 mins 

Total time -1 hour 5 mins

Author: Barry C. Parsons at https://www.rockrecipes.com/banana-cake/

Recipe type: Cake/Dessert

Serves: 12-16 servings

Ingredients

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ¾ cup butter
• 1½ cups sugar
• 1½ tsp vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 1½ cups freshly pureed banana
• ⅓ cup milk

For the brown butter frosting

• 1 cup brown butter
• 4 cups icing sugar (powdered sugar)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 4-6 tbsp milk (approximately)

Instructions

1. Lightly grease and flour two 9 inch round cake pans. Line the bottoms with parchment paper for easy release form the pans later.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
3. Sift together the flour, baking powder and baking soda and set aside.
4. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
5. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
6. Beat in the vanilla extract.
7. Mix together the banana puree and milk.
8. Fold in the dry ingredients alternately with the pureed banana/milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. I generally add the dry ingredients in 3 portions and the banana in 2 portions. Be careful not to overmix or you risk toughening the cake texture.
9. Spread the batter equally into the prepared pans and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
10. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before turning the cakes out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the Brown Butter Frosting

1. To brown butter just melt it in a small saucepan over medium heat and watch it carefully until the color turns light golden brown.
2. Pour it off immediately into a heat proof measuring cup, leaving the sediment behind. (Or most of the sediment, I actually add a ½ tsp or so of it to the frosting for flavour.)
3. Allow the brown butter to cool to room temperature and solidify.
4. Beat all ingredients together until smooth, fluffy, and a spreadable consistency. Use a couple of tablespoons of milk to begin and add more if need be, or of it becomes too thin, just add a couple more tablespoons of icing sugar at a time to get to the proper consistency.
5. Frost the middle and top of the cake. If you want to completely frost the cake sides too, you can double the frosting recipe.

Notes

1.The bananas are pureed and not just mashed to improve the texture of the cake.

2. I've decorated the cake in the photos with brûlée banana slices. These are best added just before serving because they don't hold up to humidity and moisture very long.
To make them I cut thick slices of banana and coat them in plain white sugar. I then put a slice at a time on a metal skewer and caramelize the sugar with a brûlée butane torch.