Brown Butter Banana Cake

close up interior of banana cake showing brown butter frosting, peanut butter layer, and sliced bananas.

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A classic banana layer cake stacked with a thin layer of natural peanut butter, fresh sliced banana, and rich brown butter frosting. This "new cake" is built from two of my most trusted recipes.

Prep Time30

Cook Time40

Chill/Assembly30

Total Time1 40

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Author: Maryanne Cabrera

Ingredients

Banana Cake:

200 g all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
113 g unsalted butter softened
150 g granulated sugar
2 large eggs room temp
1 ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
175 g mashed ripe bananas
90 g sour cream

Brown Butter Frosting:

226 g salted butter cut into tablespoons
360 g confectioners sugar
½ teaspoon instant espresso powder optional*
pinch kosher salt
2 Tablespoons milk

Other Components:

4 Tablespoons natural unsweetened peanut butter or as needed*
2 medium just ripe bananas or as needed, thinly sliced

Instructions

Banana Cake

Preheat oven to 350℉. Line two 6-inch round cake pans with parchment paper. Grease well. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter, sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Scrape down sides of bowl as needed.
Mixing on low speed, add eggs one at a time. Add in mashed bananas. Mix on medium speed until well combined.

The batter may look curdled. That's okay!

Add half of dry flour mixture. Mix on low speed until almost incorporated. Follow with sour cream. Mix. Then add remaining half of dry flour. Mix on low speed until just combined. Finish mixing by hand to ensure there are no longer any dry streaks of flour.
Divide batter between the two prepared cake pans (about 390 g each). Bake in the center rack of oven for 30 minutes, rotating pans midway through baking.
Cool cake in pans for 10 minutes. Run mini offset spatula along the perimeter top cake pans to loosen cake. Unmold cake. Cool cakes to room temperature on wire rack.

Brown Butter Frosting:

In a heavy bottomed sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat. Swirl pan occasionally to ensure even heating. Mixture will bubble and foam as it cooks. Continue to cook until mixture smells nutty. The milk solids will turn rich brown in color. Remove from heat and pour into a heat-safe bowl. Be sure to scrape out as much of the browned milk solid bits.

The bubbling will be vigorous at the beginning, but it will slow down and subside when the butter has browned.

Allow brown butter to cool to room temperature.
Transfer solidified brown butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or use an electric hand mixer). Beat until smooth. Add confectioners sugar, optional espresso powder, salt, and milk. Mix until frosting is soft and fluffy. Scrape down bowl as needed to ensure thorough mixing.
Use immediately. Keep covered at room temperature if using within the next few hours. Otherwise, cover and store in the fridge. Soften to room temperature and beat to refreshen before using.

Assembly:

Use a serrated knife to level off cooled cake. Split each cake round in half lengthwise to create a total of 4 cake layers.
Place one cake layer on serving platter or cake turntable. Use a mini offset spatula to spread a thin layer of peanut butter (about rounded 1 tablespoon) over cake layer.
Arrange layer of thin sliced bananas over peanut butter. Follow with a small amount of brown butter frosting to cover bananas.
Place second cake layer over frosted bananas. Repeat adding thin layer of peanut butter, adding banana layer, and brown butter frosting layer until the final fourth cake layer is added on top.
Spread frosting all over the cake to create a "crumb coat" layer to seal in any crumbs. Chill cake in the fridge for about 20 minutes to set frosting.
Coat chilled cake with additional frosting. Decorate as desired. Keep cake chilled until ready to serve. Remove cake from the fridge and let sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes to soften frosting/cake before serving.

Notes

Cake and frosting will be dense immediately out of the fridge. Let cake and frosting come to room temperature before eating to soften.

Serving Tips:

Use a sharp knife to slice cake. Wipe knife clean after each slice.
6-inch round layer cake can easily serve 10-12 wedge slices or 20+ cater/wedding cuts.

Storage & Leftovers

Store uncut assembled cake in the fridge for up to two days before slicing.
Once sliced open, cover exposed slice with plastic wrap, wax paper, or parchment to prevent cake from drying out.
Overtime, the fresh banana slices will oxidize and turn brown. Though still edible, the color is a bit unappealing. As such, it's not a good idea to make this cake in advance.

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