Sweet

Banana Cake + Dulce De Leche + Brown Sugar Buttercream

I didn’t know what to say on this cake. I decided to follow my heart and just say what Rachel Zoe would say. This cake is bananas: B – A – N – A – N – A – S.

Good thing I found more “A” cookies in the box, right? For a minute I was just using upside-down “V”s, and that’s just not classy.

I figured that I should make those freckled bananas, casually lounging atop my fridge, into a fancier dessert than banana bread this time. I decided to show them a little respect by using them in the prom dress of desserts, layer-cake style.

The Dulce De Leche was the perfect thing to add a hint of salty-caramel-goodness between the cake layers. I think you guys will totally love this, despite the fact that it’s a bit matchy-matchy.

Banana Layer Cake {makes one 9-inch 3-layer cake}
Recipe adapted from How To Cook Like Your Grandma

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 2 eggs, yolks and whites divided
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 t baking powder
  • 1 t baking soda
  • 1/2 t salt
  • 1/2 t cardamum
  • 1/4 t cinnamon
  • 1 cup milk
  • 3 freckled bananas, mashed
  • 1 t vanilla

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line the bottoms of three 9-inch cake pans with parchment paper. Spray with cooking spray.
  2. Using an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until the mixture is smooth and fluffy. Add the egg yolks to the creamed butter and sugar, reserving the egg whites. Beat on high until fluffy.
  3. In a separate bowl whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. Alternately add the flour mixture and milk to the butter mixture, beating until each is incorporated. Begin and end with the dry ingredients.
  4. Mash the bananas and add them to the batter with the vanilla. Beat until combined.
  5. Beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks, but not until they are dry. Carefully fold them into the batter, trying to avoid deflating them.
  6. Pour the batter into the three prepared cake pans. Bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Invert the cakes onto a wire rack and allow to cool to room temperature. then place the cake layers in the freezer on the wire rack (or plates) for about 30 minutes for easier assembly.

This bite was so mine. CHOMP CHOMP.

Brown Sugar Buttercream
Recipe from Martha Stewart

Ingredients:

buttercream –

  • 4 large egg whites
  • 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
  • 1/4 t salt
  • 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into tablespoons

for assembling –

  • 1 (13.4 oz.) can of Dulce De Leche for assembling
  • cookie letters for topping*

* I used Trader Joe’s Schoolhouse Cinnamon Cookies.

Directions:

  1. In a heatproof bowl set over (not in) a pan of simmering water, whisk together egg whites, sugar, and salt. Cook, whisking constantly, until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is warm to the touch.
  2. Transfer to the clean bowl of an electric mixer, and beat on medium speed until fluffy and cooled, about 15 minutes.
  3. Raise speed to high; beat until stiff peaks form. Reduce speed to medium-low; add butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, until fully incorporated. Frost your cake using the directions below.

NOTE: For some reason the butter didn’t fully mix into my frosting. It might’ve been my impatience, since I whipped it up before work, but I have confidence that you guys will make it perfect.

ASSEMBLY: Remove the cake layers from the freezer and if needed, trim the tops of the chilled cake layers so that they are even and flat. Place one layer on your stand/plate with bits of parchment paper underneath to keep the stand clean. Spread Dulce De Leche over the cake and then top with brown sugar buttercream. Repeat with the next two layers and do a quick crumb coat. (This means, frost it thinly not worrying about crumbs. It’ll catch all the crumbs in this layer making your top coat of frosting really pretty.) Place in the fridge for 30 minutes. Beat 1/4 of a cup of the Dulce De Leche into the remaining frosting. Frost it for real! Remove the bits of parchment paper. Top with Cookie words.

Learning as you go.* Eating cake f’sho.

*When assembling, I realized that frosting and THEN topping it with Dulce De Leche isn’t the best way to go. Spreading it on the cake-layers and then topping with the frosting is where it’s at.

10 thoughts on “Banana Cake + Dulce De Leche + Brown Sugar Buttercream”

  1. Everything about this cake looks and sounds perfect! Banana cake is one of my favorite things and your presentation is so, so cute! Did I ever tell you I bought a bunch of “alphabet” cookies from Ikea once and when I brought them home I realized they only had the letters I,K,E and A in the box? 😛

  2. I bet you’d love this. I had to throw some out eventually because I wanted to eat this for every meal of the day.

    And that’s a darn shame that IKEA would do that to you! At least now you can go to trader joe’s and get letters and numbers galore!

  3. Is it impossible to get the sugar egg mixture to stiff peaks by hand?? I have no electric mixer and I managed with just the egg for the cake, but this is killing me!

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