Chocolate Caramel Banana Cake with Cream Cheese

I’ve been dreaming up this cake for months, and it was as good as I dreamed. Sweet, fluffy banana cake soaked with homemade caramel sauce and filled with cream cheese frosting…it’s been gone for a week and my tummy still grumbles for more. Lucky for me, hubby’s birthday is in a few days and I have an excuse to make another one hehehehe. For real, though, I’ve been imagining making a cake like this for months and did a practice one while living out of a hotel last month. This version came out as delicious as I’d hoped and is blog ready, woot.

So a couple of weeks ago I was in NYC. Over Memorial Day weekend my family held a service for my grandpops up in Vermont and so hubby and I decided afterwards to travel down to NYC for a little vacay. While there, I signed up for a buttercream flower class with Rice & Flower who I admire greatly. She was an awesome teacher and my sole goal in life now is to practice until I am half as good as her. When I made this cake I only had a rose-piping tip >.< so these are my beginner roses and I’m a bit ashamed of them, but practice makes perfect, right? I received so much encouragement on Instagram when I shared how I’m practicing, it felt so good! Turns out I’m not a natural like I was hoping, but I’m excited to work towards a new skill. Wish me luck, friends, and tell me what you think of these cake flavors:

 

 

 

 

Chocolate Caramel Banana Cake with Cream Cheese
Makes on six-inch cake

Chocolate Banana Cake:

• 6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1½ eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 3/4 cup bananas, mashed (about 2 medium bananas)
• 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Caramel Sauce:

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
• pinch salt

Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 3 oz. cream cheese, softened (non-fat works fine)
• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
• ½ tsp. vanilla extract
• 1¼ cups powdered sugar

Swiss Meringue Frosting:

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup egg whites
• 3 sticks + 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
• 1¼ tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

For the cake:

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter and flour two six-inch pans and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat to combine.

Slowly mix in the flour alternately with the buttermilk. Do not over mix. Stir in the bananas, then the chocolate chips.

Fill your pans only halfway. Bake for about 40 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool in the pan. If you have leftover batter, make muffins!

For the caramel sauce:

In a heavy-bottom saucepan, simmer the sugar and ¼ cup water over medium heat, swirling (not stirring) the pan occasionally for about 15 minutes or until it reaches a dark amber color. Watch closely so as not to burn it.

Remove from heat and slowly add cream, whisking continuously. Add a pinch of salt and vanilla extract while still whisking. Transfer to a jar and let cool before placing in the fridge to store.

For the cream cheese frosting:

Beat the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla on low until just combined. Add the sugar and continue to beat on low until smooth.

For the Swiss meringue buttercream:

Fill a saucepan with 1-2 inches of water and bring to a simmer. Combine the egg whites and sugar in a heatproof bowl, and place the bowl on top of the simmering saucepan. Whisk until the sugar is dissolved completely.

Transfer the egg whites to the bowl of an electric mixer (make sure the bowl is squeaky clean). Whip the egg whites until they double in size. Add vanilla and beat to combine. Then, on low speed, add the butter one stick at a time. Continue beating until the frosting is smooth.

To assemble:

Slice the domed tops off of each cake to create even layers. Drizzle 2-3 tablespoons of caramel sauce over each cake and let it absorb. Spread a layer of cream cheese frosting on your bottom layer, stopping about a half inch before the edge. Place your second layer of cake on top, the bottom of the cake facing upwards. Frost with your buttercream, and enjoy!

Cake recipe adapted from HERE. Caramel sauce recipe adapted from HERE. Cream cheese frosting recipe from Ina. Swiss meringue recipe from Smitten Kitchen.