Banana Cake with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

Banana Cake with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

Course: Baked Desserts, Cakes, Desserts

Cuisine: American, Canadian, European, North American

Prep Time: 2 15

Cook Time: 1

Cooling time (minimum): 2

Total Time: 5 15

Servings: servings

Calories: 887kcal

Author: Dini Kodippili

An old fashioned homemade banana layer cake that is super soft, moist, and perfectly sweet. But pair that with a delightful brown butter cream cheese frosting that is super creamy and not too sweet - and you've got one SPECIAL layer cake!

EASY - This recipe is very easy. The batter can be made in one bowl as well. The brown butter cream cheese frosting does have one extra step, but this step will result in the best brown butter cream cheese that you've ever made!

US based cup, teaspoon, tablespoon measurements. Common Measurement Conversions. Weight measurements are recommended for accurate results.

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Ingredients

Banana cake layers

375 g all purpose flour 3 cups, measured by spoon and level method
1 tsp baking soda
400 g mashed overripe bananas 3-4 bananas
100 g vegetable oil about ½ cup
56 g butter melted and cooled (or margarine), about 4 tbsp
½ tsp sea salt
150 g brown sugar ¾ cup
100 g granulated sugar ½ cup
3 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp white vinegar
180 mL buttermilk ¾ cup, OR 1 tbsp white wine vinegar + 180 mL milk (or plant based milk)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground cloves optional
¼ tsp nutmeg optional

Brown butter cream cheese frosting

3 tbsp dry milk powder
45 g unsalted butter about 3 tbsp
226 g unsalted butter about 1 cup, at room temperature
455 g cream cheese block about 2 packets Philadelphia brick cream cheese, at room temperature
¼ tsp sea salt I like to add ½ tsp to add a little salty flavor
2 tsp vanilla extract
700 - 820 g confectioner's sugar about 6 - 7¼ cups, measured by spoon and level method

Instructions

Banana cake layers

Preheat the oven to 325°F / 163°C. Line TWO 8 inch cakes pans with parchment paper, and butter and flour the sides. Set aside. You can use 9 inch pans as well, in which case the baking time will reduce and the layers will be thinner.
Place the flour and baking soda in a bowl and whisk to combine with no lumps. Sift the dry ingredients if any lumps need to broken down.
375 g all purpose flour, 1 tsp baking soda
Place the bananas in a bowl and mash them up. Some lumps are OK here. You can use a fork or a mixer to do this.
400 g mashed overripe bananas
In the same bowl, add the oil, butter, salt, white sugar, and brown sugar, and mix until well incorporated. Scrape the sides if needed.
100 g vegetable oil, 56 g butter, ½ tsp sea salt, 150 g brown sugar, 100 g granulated sugar
Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing each one into the butter mixture.
3 large eggs
Add the vanilla and cinnamon, and mix to combine well.
2 tsp vanilla extract, 1 tsp ground cinnamon
Stir in the buttermilk.
180 mL buttermilk
Add the flour mixture to the cake batter in 3 - 4 additions, and fold it in gently to mix. Make sure not to overmix the batter.
375 g all purpose flour, 1 tsp baking soda
Divide the batter into the two cake pans (I used a measuring cup here to evenly divide the batter).
Bake in the preheated oven for about 40 - 50 minutes, rotating the pans once, halfway through baking time.
The cake is done when a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out with just a few cake crumbs stuck to it.
Remove the cake pans from the oven and let the cakes cool slightly.
Turn the cakes out onto a wire rack and let them cool completely with a tea towel over the cakes to prevent them from drying out.

Making the brown butter

Place the 3 tbsp butter in a small saucepan.
45 g unsalted butter
Heat over medium heat to melt the butter and bring it to a boil. When the butter is boiling, add the milk powder and whisk to mix.
3 tbsp dry milk powder
Keep heating the butter over medium heat, while whisking frequently.
The butter will continue to boil, and then the milk solids will separate from the clarified butter.
The milk solids will be white at first, but will start to turn a light beige color. Keep cooking the butter, while whisking frequently. This is to prevent the milk solids from sticking to the bottom of the pan and burning. (Because of the added milk powder, there will be more milk solids than clarified butter.)
The milk solids will go from a beige to an amber color. When this happens, immediately transfer the mixture into a bowl and let it cool to room temperature.

Brown butter cream cheese frosting

Place the softened cream cheese blocks, butter, cooled brown butter mix, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
226 g unsalted butter, 455 g cream cheese block, ¼ tsp sea salt
With a whisk attachment, whisk the ingredients together until you have a light and fluffy mixture. Make sure to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. This can take up to 5 minutes, depending on the ambient temperature in your kitchen. Add the vanilla and mix it in as well.
2 tsp vanilla extract
When the mixture is light and fluffy, add the sifted confectioner's sugar to the bowl in 3 - 4 additions. Make sure to mix the buttercream on low speed to prevent the confectioner's sugar from flying off everywhere.
700 - 820 g confectioner's sugar
I prefer to add 700 g first, and then only add more if I feel like I want my buttercream to be sweeter OR want it to be a little more spreadable in texture.
Once you have added the confectioner's sugar and mixed it on low speed, increase the speed and whisk for a further 2 - 3 minutes until all the sugar has incorporated well and the frosting looks fluffy and creamy. Make sure to scrape down the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl to ensure even mixing.
OPTIONAL - Change from the whisk attachment to the paddle attachment and mix the buttercream for about 1 - 2 minutes. This will help to remove any air bubbles in the buttercream. This step is more important if you want to have smooth and straight buttercream sides.
The brown butter cream cheese frosting is ready to be used.

Cake assembly

If the cake layers have domed tops, you can use a bread knife to slice off the tops for an even surface.
Place a little buttercream on the middle of the plate that you will be presenting the cake on.
Stick the first cake layer on the plate (on top of the buttercream), with the bottom of the cake layer facing down.
Next, place some of the buttercream on top of this cake layer and evenly spread it on the surface. I like to spread enough buttercream for a thickness of ¾ - 1 cm.
Next, place the second cake layer on top of the first layer, but this time, the bottom of the cake layer will be facing up (this is so that you have a smooth surface on top to frost easily).
Now use the same buttercream and frost the cake with a thin layer of buttercream (this is the crumb coating). Make sure to fill in the space between the cake layers to get nice, straight edges on the sides of the cake, and to have an even and level cake surface as well.
Once the crumb coating is applied, let this layer set in the fridge for about 30 - 60 minutes. Then once the crumb coating layer is set, the cake is ready to be frosted.
To frost the cake, generously spread frosting all over the cake. For smooth surfaces, use a bench scraper or buttercream smoother to scrape off excess buttercream.
For a more rustic look, use a small offset spatula to create swirls or patterns on the buttercream (similar to the cake I've pictured in this post).
The cake can be refrigerated for about 2 days, but for best results, it should be served at room temperature. Enjoy!

Notes

Storing the cake

The overall cake has a shelf-life of 3 days at room temperature, or 7 - 8 days in the fridge.
The unfrosted cake layers can be wrapped in plastic wrap and placed in the fridge for up to 2 days, or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
The frosted cake can be kept at room temperature for up to 2 days, or a week in the fridge.
Make sure to keep the cake in an airtight container to retain freshness.

A note about the brown butter

If you don't have milk powder or want to skip the step of making extra brown butter with milk powder, go ahead and simply brown just the butter in the buttercream recipe instead.

To do this, simply follow the recipe to brown butter the same way, with the whole amount of butter in the buttercream recipe, and then let it chill in the fridge to set before mixing it with the cream cheese.

However, because of how soft the brown butter and the cream cheese can be, the resulting buttercream will be very soft and more difficult to spread.

Nutrition