My wonderful boyfriend once said to me that bananas where his all-time favourite food. This along with his huge sweet tooth, inspired this decadent dessert. The wonderful addition of spices, homemade salted caramel, along with lemony zing that helps cut the sweetness, make this a knockout birthday treat for any banana lover.
Ingredients
Cake
300g unsalted butter, softened (plus extra for the tins)
300g soft light brown sugar
4 eggs
300g gluten free plain flour, sifted (plus extra for the tins)
2 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp xanthan gum
1 tbsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1.5 tsp nutmeg
4 ripe bananas, mashed
Salted Caramel
(alternatively carnation caramel is fine if you don’t have time to make your own)
200g granulated sugar
90g salted butter, room temperature cut up into 6 pieces
120ml double cream, at room temperature
1 teaspoon salt
Caramel Buttercream
150g unsalted butter, softened
500g icing sugar
200g mascarpone
100g Caramel
Topping
150g caramel
2 ripe bananas , sliced at an angle
2 lemons, juiced
1.5 tsp cinnamon
sea salt flakes a generous pinch, (optional)
Method
Heat the oven to 180C. Butter 2 x 20cm deep springform cake tins and dust with plain flour. Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Crack in the eggs, one by one, and mix between each addition until combined. Mix in the flour followed by the baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and xanthan gum. Stir in the vanilla extract, spices and mashed bananas until just combined.
Divide the batter equally between the lined cake tins (780g per tin) and bake for 35 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middles comes out clean. Cool in the tins for at least 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Whilst the cakes are baking, time to make the caramel. Again, if you’re running short on time then this recipe works just as well with carnation caramel. But there’s nothing quite like homemade salted caramel sauce, and it makes this dish sparkle!
Heat granulated sugar in a medium heavy-duty saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly with a high heat resistant rubber spatula or wooden spoon. Sugar will form clumps and eventually melt into a thick brown, amber coloured liquid as you continue to stir. Be careful not to burn.
Once sugar is completely melted, stir in the butter until melted and combined. Be careful in this step because the caramel will bubble rapidly when the butter is added. If you notice the butter separating or if the sugar clumps up, remove from heat and vigorously whisk to combine it again. (If you’re nervous for splatter, wear kitchen gloves. Keep whisking until it comes back together, even if it takes 3-4 minutes. It will eventually– just keep whisking. Return to heat when it’s combined again.)
After the butter has melted and combined with the caramelised sugar, cook for 1 minute without stirring.
Very slowly stir in the double cream. Since the heavy cream is colder than the hot caramel, the mixture will rapidly bubble when added. After all the heavy cream has been added, stop stirring and allow to boil for 1 minute. It will rise in the pan as it boils.
Remove from heat and stir in the salt. Cool slightly before using. Caramel thickens as it cools. This can be done in advance as well as it will keep up to 1 month in the refrigerator in a tightly sealed container. Caramel solidifies in the refrigerator, so when you’re ready to use it again, simply reheat in the microwave or on the stove to desired consistency.
To make the buttercream, beat the butter and icing sugar for 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add the mascarpone and beat for another minute or until fully combined. Add the caramel and mix until the buttercream is thick yet spreadable. Spread 50g of the pure salted caramel on top of one of the sponges, followed by a thick layer of the buttercream, then chill for 10 minutes. Put the plain sponge on top of the iced one and spread the remaining buttercream over the top and sides of the cake. Chill for at least 30 minutes.
For the topping, whisk together the remaining 100g salted caramel with 1 tbsp of cold water until smooth. Put the lemon juice into a saucepan and heat gently. When it stars to bubble slightly, add the cinnamon and bananas and fry for 1-2 minutes; you want them to start turning a golden colour. Cool and gently stir through half of the caramel mixture.
Place the cake on a serving plate or stand. Pile the chopped bananas on top, then drizzle the remaining caramel down the sides and sprinkle with a little sea salt, if you like.
For cupcakes, simply bake for 15minutes, wait until cool then ice.
