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Brown Butter Banana Cake with Chocolate Caramel Frosting. Quick to mix up, fun to serve, and SO DELICIOUS! It’s the perfect simple 2-layer cake to bake up this weekend. With over-ripe bananas, salted butter, and a good amount of sweet salted caramel chocolate frosting, this is sure to become your favorite banana cake!
This might just be a new go-to layer cake for me. It’s my banana bread recipe, all done up and baked into a simple layer cake with the most delicious whipped cream chocolate and caramel frosting. By the time I was done testing this cake, I was overly excited to share it. But I decided to wait until this romantic day to share it! It’s the perfect sweet chocolate cake to share on Valentine’s Day!
Of course, this is a great year-round cake, too. Holiday or no holiday, this will be loved!
For a lot of us, choosing to make a recipe with bananas can be inspired by a glance at the counter and seeing that your bananas are slowly turning shades of black.
How many times have you been here? The usual thought is to bake banana bread, but this cake is way more fun. And the addition of nutty brown butter, plus sweet, salted caramel chocolate frosting, makes it even more delicious!
It’s been so long since I shared a layer cake recipe. Somehow, I got into the habit of making sheet cakes or loaf cakes. I soon started to avoid layer cakes because they tend to be more time-intensive. But this cake is not that. Aside from stacking and layering the two layers of thick banana cake, this is as easy as any banana bread recipe.
I know you will love it!!
Let’s Jump Into The Details
Ingredients – for the cake
- medium overly ripe bananas
- browned salted butter
- eggs
- honey
- vanilla extract
- all-purpose flour
- baking soda
- baking powder
- ground cinnamon
- chocolate shavings – these are for decorating
- dried rose petals – also for decorating
Ingredients – for the frosting
- maple syrup
- heavy cream
- semi-sweet or dark chocolate
- vanilla extract
- sea salt
Steps
Step 1: Mix the cake batter
For this cake, you’ll need overly ripe bananas. These will give you the sweetest, softest banana cake!
Mix the mashed-up bananas with 2 sticks of salted, browned butter. To quickly brown the butter, set a pot over medium heat. Allow the butter to brown lightly until it smells toasted. Simple.
To the mashed bananas and the butter, eggs, honey, and vanilla. Mix in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Be sure the batter is mixed well.
Step 2: bake
Now divide the batter between 2 buttered cake pans. Bake for around 30 minutes until just set. Let the 2 cakes cool before you frost them!
Step 3: the frosting
Start with the caramel. This is my no-fail, no-fuss caramel. To make it, you just need to boil maple syrup and heavy cream.
First, boil the maple until it’s very bubbly on top, around 5 minutes. Then add the cream and boil for about 10 minutes. The longer you boil the caramel, the thicker it will become.
Then, add chopped chocolate, vanilla, and sea salt. Let the mix cool.
Once the chocolate caramel is set, use an electric mixer to whip the caramel into a light, creamy whipped frosting/ganache.
Step 4: frost
All that’s left is to frost the layers. I didn’t do anything fancy at all. I layered the cakes with the frosting, then topped with chocolate shavings and a few rose petals to finish!
When it comes to chocolate cake, I like to keep the decorating to a minimum. Let that chocolate stand out!
Looking for other desserts? Here are my favorites:
Baked Apple Cider Doughnuts with Cinnamon Maple Glaze
Baked Blueberry Cinnamon Sugar Doughnuts
Lastly, if you make this Brown Butter Banana Cake with Chocolate Caramel Frosting, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And, of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Brown Butter Banana Cake with Chocolate Caramel Frosting
Servings: 12
Calories Per Serving: 461 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 4 ripe bananas, mashed
- 2 sticks salted butter
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- chocolate shavings, for topping
frosting
- 1 cup maple syrup
- 1 cup heavy creamy
- 2 bars (3.2 ounce) semi-sweet or dark chocolate, chopped
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- flaked sea salt (optional)
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Butter two (8-inch) round cake pans and line with parchment paper.2. Add the butter to a pot set over medium heat. Allow the butter to brown lightly until it smells toasted, 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat.3. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the mashed bananas, brown butter, eggs, honey, and vanilla until combined. Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Mix until combined. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans. Bake for 30 minutes until the center is just set. Remove and let cool. Then run a knife around the edges of the pan. Turn the cakes out onto a cooling rack. Cool completely before frosting.4. To make the frosting, bring the maple syrup to a boil in a medium pot set over high heat. Boil for 5 minutes until thickened, then reduce the heat to medium-high and add the cream. Cook another 5 to 8 minutes until the mix thickens to a caramel-like sauce. Remove from the heat and whisk in the chopped chocolate, vanilla, and salt. Chill in the fridge/freezer until cold. Use an electric mixer and whip for 2-5 minutes until lighter in color and creamy. 5. Place one cake layer on a serving plate. Spread with frosting. Repeat with the remaining layer. Frost the cake sides. Top as desired with chocolate savings. Slice and enjoy!
This post was originally published on February 14, 2025
This was pretty good, but the frosting was not enough! I ommited the chocolate from the frosting because keeping it just maple sounded good! The frosting is DELICIOUS but it does not whip up, and yes it was cold along with my bowl being cold. Other than that it’s tasty, I think it would taste better as a sheet cake. I did top frosting with pecans and cinnamon
Hi Maria,
Thanks so much for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, sorry to hear about the frosting!
What is the brand of chocolate you use for the frosting
Hi Courtney,
I like to use Chocolove bars. Please let me know if you have any other questions!
When you add the chopped chocolate to the frosting is it supposed to melt in with it or is the frosting supposed to have chunks of chocolate in it? Thanks in advance!
Hi Liv,
The chocolate should melt into the frosting. Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xx
Help!! I just finished making the cake and frosting, but the frosting is runny–more like a sauce. Tastes delicious but I wont be able to frost it like this. Is there something I can add to thicken it up. I need it for Easter tomorrow!!
Hi Diane,
It sounds like it needs more time in the freezer. I would let it set for a few hours and then try whipping it. I hope this helps! Happy Easter!
This looks so good but I do not eat chocolate. Will the frosting recipe work the same if I omit the chocolate? Thanks!
Hi Kineesha,
So sorry, I have not tested that. I would just skip the frosting or use another frosting that you like. Here are some other recipes you might enjoy:
https://fett-weg.today/banana-bread-carrot-cake/%3C/a%3E%3Cbr /> https://fett-weg.today/blueberry-muffin-bread/%3C/a%3E%3Cbr /> https://fett-weg.today/iced-lemon-loaf/%3C/a%3E%3Cbr /> I hope this helps!
This looks delicious! If I am making this a day ahead for a birthday party, should I store it in the refrigerator or at room temp? Thanks!
Thanks so much, Emily!! I would keep in the fridge and then remove an hour or two before serving. I hope you love this recipe! xx
For some reason my cake did not rise. It is only maybe a half inch. Is this the way it should be.?
Hi Donna,
So sorry to hear this!! Any chance your baking soda and baking powder were old? I would check those! I hope it tasted okay:) xx
I’ve made this twice and it is absolutely delicious! We love it. Thank you for another fabulous recipe.
Hey Sienna,
Happy Sunday!! I appreciate you trying this recipe and your feedback, love to hear it turned out well! xx
I made 21 cupcakes! I baked them 16 minutes. Everyone loved them, especially the frosting!
Hey Rebecca,
That’s awesome!! Thank you so much for making this recipe and your feedback, love to hear it was enjoyed! xx
Love that the ingredients are healthy options. I want to make a mini version with a cream cheese frosting for my daughter’s 1st birthday. Do you think a cream cheese frosting would be good with this cake?
Hi Heather,
Sure, I don’t see why not! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! Happy Birthday to your daughter! xx
I don’t have heavy cream can I use half-and-half?
Hi Finleigh,
Sorry, you are going to need the heavy cream for this recipe. Please let me know if I can help in any other way! xx
Made this for my husband’s birthday. A hit for the whole family. So easy to whip up! Thank you Tieghan for yet another amazing recipe.
Hey Alexandra,
Happy Sunday!! I appreciate you making this recipe and your comment, so glad to hear it turned out nicely for you! Happy Birthday to your husband! XxT
My son asked for a peanut butter frosting on this banana cake for his birthday. Can I substitute peanut butter for the chocolate in the frosting part of the recipe? I saw you have a peanut butter frosting on your Valentines brownie cupcake recipe, but the frosting doesn’t call for maple syrup like this one does. And I would prefer to use maple syrup to be refined sugar, free, but I’m curious if you think the swap would work here?
Hey Tris,
You could definitely give it a try! I have never tested this out but it sounds good in theory! I hope you love this recipe and happy birthday to your son! xx
I tried the recipe but did the frosting with coconut milk and vegan choc chips (enjoy life brand) and everyone loved it! I did a sheet cake and baked it a few min too long for my liking, but I know it’ll be perfect for the birthday party! I’ll message you a picture of it on insta!
Are there any tips to ensure the cake will retain moisture? I assume mine wasn’t super moist because I baked it for 29 minutes, but I’m not sure.
Thanks so much, Tris! So glad to hear this recipe turned out well for you:) I would just try baking for less time. Have a great weekend! xx
To be honest, I’m not a big banana bread fan. But I saw this recipe and had to give it a try. So glad I did!
The cake is delicious, so moist, and came together very easy.
But it’s the frosting that made this a hit.
The frosting is so delicious and so easy to make. I used semi sweet chocolate chips, they melted right in with the syrup. I’m already thinking about next time using a darker chocolate.
Thank you Tieghan for sharing, this recipe was delicious!
Hey Cindy,
Happy Friday!! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! XxT
For the frosting; is it a total if 3.2 ounces of chopped chocolate or 3.2 oz for each bar totalling 6.4oz chocolate?
This cake smells heavenly! I can’t wait to frosting & decorate.
Hi Brook,
It’s 2 bars, 3.2oz each for a total of 6.4oz. I hope this helps! Thanks for giving this recipe a try! xx