My Best Banana Cake Recipe

My Best Banana Cake Recipe forgoes the heavier banana cakes laden with substantial buttercreams in favor of a light cake filled with caramelized pineapple and topped with fresh strawberries and whipped cream. It's the perfect summer dessert. I have included a Make Ahead Schedule for your convenience.

This cake is unusual in that it uses both butter and oil, each one serving its own purpose. Although lighter in texture it is loaded with banana flavor.

A few other great lighter cakes include: A Quick and Easy Summer Tea Cake, Strawberry Cake - A Little Slice of Heaven, Lemonade Cake with Blueberry Sauce, Mini Pineapple Upside Down Cakes, and one of the quickest, easiest cakes ever the Orange Almond Teacake. You might also want to take a look at my Two Step Banana Bread. It is truly the easiest and the best.

The Caramelized Pineapple Filling

This recipe starts with fresh pineapple. I was astounded by the high price of fresh pineapple chunks at my grocery store and quickly switched to a whole fresh pineapple which was about a third of the price. I'm going to show you how easy it is to clean and cut the pineapple in just a few minutes.

It is important use underripe but not totally green pineapple because they don't exude as much juice as ripe pineapple when caramelized. Larger chunks are also recommended so they don't break down when caramelizing.

One of my favorite ingredients, Golden Syrup, is used to ensure the syrup doesn't granulate and become grainy as it can if just sugar is used. There are several brands of Golden Syrup but Lyle's Golden Syrup is the one I prefer and is easily found on Amazon or in International Food Stores.

My Mistake When Finishing the Cake

I made a rookie mistake and should have known better. I often freeze the layers of a cake before assembling to make it easier or when made ahead. However, they should be thawed to where only the edges remain a bit firm. Consequently, after the cake was assembled the top layer of whipped cream poked out because the cake settled when thawed. So the lesson here is don't do this.

Also, if making this the day before, the strawberries can bleed into the whipped cream. So finish the cake with whipped cream. Then make the strawberries as called for, putting them in a bowl and covering with plastic wrap. Add to the middle of the cake shortly before serving if you don't want them to bleed.

Recipe Ingredients

Caramelized Pineapple Filling

Ingredients are: Golden Syrup , unsalted butter, brown sugar, and fresh pineapple.

Banana Cake

Ingredients for the Banana Cake include: Cake Flour, granulated sugar, ripe bananas, oil, buttermilk, eggs, unsalted butter, baking powder, salt and baking powder.

Filling and Finishing the Banana Cake

The ingredients are: Caramelized pineapple, fresh strawberries, heavy cream, granulated sugar, powdered sugar, water, red food coloring (optional) and clearjel.

Key Ingredients

• Under ripe fresh pineapple is a necessity for this recipe. Canned pineapple does not have the same flavor.
• Golden Syrup is recommended for the flavor it adds but corn syrup may be substituted.
• Dark Brown Sugar has a deeper flavor than light brown sugar.
• Cake Flour is used for its low protein count yielding a lighter cake than using all-purpose flour. I don't recommend using all-purpose flour.
• Make sure the bananas are ripe. The skins should be speckled or marked heavily with brown. However, do not let the skins become black.
• The oil can be canola oil or vegetable oil. Olive oil is too strong. The oil helps keep the cake moist.
• Buttermilk adds moisture to the cake batter.
• Instant Clearjel is used to set the strawberries and give them a glossy finish as well as sweeten them.
• Gel Food Coloring works better than the liquid food coloring. It doesn't add additional liquid into the recipe,
• Heavy Cream is used for its ability to hold its shape without stabilizing it in any way - no cornstarch, no gelatin, no anything. This is how we did it at the bakery.

Step by Step Instructions

Preparing the Fresh Pineapple

Step 1. Cut the top and bottom off the pineapple. Step 2. Stand the cleaned pineapple up. Step 3. Slice the pineapple away from the core one side at a time leaving only the hard core standing. Step 4. Cut the pineapple spears into large chunks. Set aside. This step can be done the day before if desired.

Caramelized Pineapple

This should be made at least a day before using so it can set up in the fridge.

Step 1. Add the butter, brown sugar and golden syrup to a skillet large enough to hold all the pineapple in one layer. Step 2. Bring the mixture to a rolling boil. Step 3. Add the pineapple chunks. Step 4. Cook over medium heat until most the liquid of the syrup and juice from the pineapple are reduced to a thick syrup that stays apart briefly when separated with a spoon. Cool, place in a container and refrigerate until cold or up to a week ahead of time.

Banana Cake

The layers can be made ahead, wrapped and frozen for several months.

Step 1. Whisk together the dry ingredients - cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. Step 2. Break up the bananas and place in the food processor along with the buttermilk and oil. Step 3. Process until liquid. Step 4. Place the softened butter and sugar in the bowl of a mixer.

STep 5. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy Scrape the bowl as necessary. Step 6. Add the first egg. Step 7. Beat to combine. Add the second egg and beat to mix well. It may curdle at this point but it will be corrected in the next step. See my post, How to Avoid Curdled Batters for more information. Step 8. Add the first of 3 additions of the flour mixture.

Step 9. Mix the flour in. Step 10. Add the first of two additions of the banana puree. Step 11. Blend completely. Add the second addition of flour and mix completely. Step 12. Add the last addition of banana puree on medium.

Step 13. Add the last addition of the flour mixture. Step 14. Mix on medium, scraping as necessary to make a smooth batter. Step 15. Divide between the two pans. Bake as called for. Cool. Step 16. To release the cake from the pan, place a small, flexible metal spatula between the cake and the edge of the pan. Go around the edge of the pan keeping the spatula pressed against the side of the pan and not the cake. For more information on releasing the cake please see my post, How to Bake a Flat Cake Layer or Cake Pan Prep.

Step 17. Combine the sugar and the clear jel in a large bowl. Step 18. Add the ¼ cup water. Step 19. Stir everything together. Step 20. Add the strawberries, stirring to coat them. Set aside.

Step 21. Combine the powdered sugar and heavy cream in mixing bowl. Step 22. Whip to stiff peaks. Step 23. Place about ¾ of the caramelized pineapple on top of the bottom layer. Step 24. Spread it to within 1" of the edges of the cake.

Step 25. Place the top layer on the cake. Step 26. Cover the top and sides with about ⅔ of the whipped cream. Step 27. Make a channel at the bottom of the cake by carefully removing the cream at the bottom of the cake leaving about ⅛" exposed. This will make it much easier to move the cake without damaging the finish. Use 2 pancake turners to lift the cake and place it the serving plate. Step 28. Fit a pastry bag with a #5 open star tip. Fill the bag with the remaining cream. Pipe a wreath around the edge of the cake. Fill the center with the strawberries. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.