My Best Banana Cake Recipe

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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 cake.

Prep Time2 30

Cook Time20

Total Time2 50

Course: Cake

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Banana Cake, Banana Cake Recipe, Best Banana Cake Recipe

Servings: servings

Calories: 677kcal

Author: Helen S. Fletcher

Equipment

2 9 x 2" Round Cake pans

Ingredients

Caramelized Pineapple - This should be made at least the day ahead and refrigerated.

1 large pineapple (4 to 4 ½ cups)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter (45 grams)
⅓ cup golden syrup or corn syrup
3 tablespoons brown sugar, packed (25 grams)

Banana Cake Recipe

1 ½ cups +2 tablespoon cake flour (200 grams)
1 teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon bakng powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup banana puree (from 2 large bananas)
⅓ cup buttermilk
⅓ cup oil
½ cup butter, softened (114 grams or 1 stick)
1 ¼ cups granulated sugar (250 grams)
2 large eggs

Strawberry Topping and Whipped Cream

1 quart strawberries
½ cup granulated sugar (100 grams)
4 teaspoons instant clearjel
¼ cup water
red food coloring, optional
1 cup powdered sugar, divided (130 grams)
2 cups heavy cream

Assembly

Banana cake layers
Caramelized pineapple
Strawberry Topping
Whipped Cream

Instructions

Caramelized Pineapple - this must be made at least a day ahead of using. See the photos visual instructions.

If cleaning a fresh pineapple, cut the top and bottom off. Stand the pineapple up and cut the sides off to expose the flesh. Cut the flesh off on each side. Cut the pineapple into 1 to 1 /2 inch chunks.
Place the butter, golden syrup or corn syrup and the brown sugar in a skillet large enough to hold the pineapple in a single layer. Bring the ingredients to a hard boil.
Add the pineapple, stirring to coat all of it. Over medium heat, continue to boil the liquid ingredients to reduce them until they just coat the fruit. A spoon run through the pineapple should show the mixture separated and not coming together. Monitor the heat so the pineapple and sauce do not burn.
Remove the caramelized pineapple from the pan and cool it. Place in the bowl of a processor and pulse 3 or 4 times. Leave little pieces of pineapple in it. Refrigerate for up to a week. There should be about 2 cups of the filling.

Banana Cake

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two 9x2 inch round cake pans with parchment paper. Spray only the middle of the paper. Do not spray the sides. See my post on How to Bake a Flat Cake Layer.
Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Whisk to combine. Set aside.
Break the bananas up in and place them in the bowl of a processor. Add the buttermilk and oil. Process until smooth, scraping down if necessary.
Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of a mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time. The mixture may curdle. It will be corrected in the next step.
Alternate adding the flour and banana puree starting and ending with the flour. I generally use 3 additions of flour and 2 of banana puree. Mix on low completely each time.
Divide among the two cake pans (about 475 grams per pan).
Bake for 20 to 22 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean or the center springs back when lightly touched. The layers should not come away from the sides. They are over baked at that point. The layers will be an even medium golden brown.
Cool completely in the pans. To release, use a small, flexible, metal spatula and go around the edge of the pan. Keep the spatula to the edge of the pan and not the cake. Turn the layers out.
If using immediately, it will be easier to assemble if they are frozen just until firm. Do not let them freeze hard. If using from frozen, thaw jut until firm. Do not use frozen hard.

Strawberry Topping and Whipped Cream

Wash the strawberries and dry them. Cut them into medium size pieces. Set aside.
Whisk the Instant Clearjel and sugar together in a large bowl. Whisk in the water. If using the food coloring, add it now. Add the strawberries and stir to coat all of them. Set aside or place in a covered container and refrigerate for use the next day.
Combine the whipped cream and powdered sugar in the bowl of a mixer. Beat until stiff peaks just start to form.

Assembly - See the photos above for additional help.

Place about ¾ of the caramelized filling in the middle of the bottom layer of cake. Spread to about 1" in from the edge of the cake layer. The filling should be about ¾" thick. If it is thinner use the remainder of the filling.
Place the remaining layer of cake on top. Frost the sides and top of the cake with about ⅔ of the whipped cream. Make sure to force the whipped cream into the open are of the side of the cake.
Make a channel on the bottom of the cake by placing a metal spatula on the bottom of the cake board and removing about ⅛" of the whipped cream. This will make it easier to transfer the cake to a serving plate.
Fit a piping bag with a #5 open star tip and pipe a wreath around the edge of the cake extending in about 2" in from the edge. Refrigerate overnight or at least 4 to 6 hours before serving.
About 2 hours before serving, fill the center of the cake with the strawberry topping. This will keep it from bleeding into the whipped cream. Refrigerate until serving.
This cake cuts beautifully when cold. Cut with a serrated knife run under really hot water and dried immediately. Rinse the knife and reheat for each cut.
Leftover cake will hold in the refrigerator for a day or two. To keep the cake from drying out, fold a piece of plastic wrap a little higher than the cake and long enough to be pressed against the cut edges.

Notes

There is always an abundance of photos to guide you in the post above. If you have questions, look at the photos or read the header of the article. Many of them will be answered there.

As always, I recommend using a scale for accuracy and consistency. Flour, in particular, is difficult to measure by volume. For my recipes, I use 140 grams per cup of unsifted all-purpose, bread or whole wheat flour and 125 grams of cake flour. Others may use different weights so use whatever they suggest.

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Have the cake pans prepped before starting so the batter doesn't sit. This banana cake is leavened with baking powder which is double acting. It starts rising as soon as liquid is added to it which is why looks airy if it the unbaked batter sits too long. The second part acts with heat.

Follow my instructions for preparing the cake pans. They will bake into flat layers. See my post on baking flat layers and cake pan prep.

Do not bake the layers until they separate from the pan. At that point they are over baked. Remove them when a cake tester comes out cleanly or the center springs back when lightly touched.

Fresh pineapple is key to the caramelized pineapple.

Cake flour is necessary for the lightest cake layers.

If using red food coloring, use gel colors. They won't add liquid to the recipe.

Channneling the bottom of a cake refers to removing the frosting at the bottom of the cake on the cake board. It is easily done by slipping a metal spatula under the cream on the cake board and angling it very slightly to remove the cream leaving an open are in which to insert two pancake turners to move the cake. The channel should be unnoticeable.

Make Ahead Schedule

1. Make the caramelized pineapple up to a week ahead and refrigerate. It must be made at least the day before using.

2. Bake the banana cake layers, freeze them, wrap the well in foil and freeze for up to two months.

3. Make the strawberry filling the day ahead of assembling the cake. Place it in a covered container and refrigerate.

4. Whip the cream and refrigerate up to a day ahead of assembling.

5. Fill the cake with the caramelized pineapple.

6. Frost and edge it with the whipped cream. Refrigerate overnight.

7. Several hours before serving, fill the center with the strawberries.

Nutrition