Banana Peanut Butter Cake
I traded in my normal “cook dinner” time for a little mid-week cake baking, and it’s honestly the best thing I did for myself this week. I made the as a fun treat for Jordan to come home to (he worked in Boston all week), and the flavors we’re tailored to some of his favorites. The time dedicated for a good ol’ kitchen project, however, was 100% for me. The cake: Banana Peanut Butter Cake. A nutty, tangy, salty-sweet kinda cake, and a new favorite at our house. It gives banana bread vibes with this banana cake base - made with a hearty amount of freshly mashed bananas - and a cream cheese frosting to encase the whole thing. The good stuff was all in the layers, which I packed with a peanut butter cream cheese filling, salted caramel, + chopped peanuts. It has texture. I has so many flavors. It has excitement in every bit. & it’s addicting!
Jordan is the banana guy at our house. We buy bananas regularly and he’s the only one snacking on them. And he loves a banana bread. I can appreciate a good banana bread when one comes my way, but not a treat I seek out. That recently changed when we had a quick sneak out for lunch and snacked on a small slice of banana bread for dessert - it was such a good chunk of banana bread I was officially converted, and have been craving more ever since. But what’s better than banana bread? Banana bread cake! This was just that and it checked all the right boxes + was complimented with all the right “extras,” and it made for a really dreamy cake.
Banana, but balanced
Speaking honestly - I’m not a banana girl. And that strictly applies to eating a straight up banana. It’s a texture thing. But this banana cake is like the most delicious, pure, and moist banana bread, and it’s damn good. No extracts or other bullshit. Just a handful of ripe bananas that are mashed up so they can be easily immersed in cake batter. The texture, the look, the taste - it all feels like your mom’s banana bread, and I mean that in the most complimentary wa
Everything else added to the cake just compliments the pure banana flavor. Sweetening up the batter with brown sugar helps add a caramelized note to the cake, and the tangy cream cheese + nutty components feel like classic banana pairing while adding some sharper flavors to the cake. The extras tie it all together.
The big highlight -that peanut butter filling. It’s is sweet + rich, but also tangy + nutty. I’ve made this exact filling once before (for a chocolate cake), and it’s awesome because you can really load it up. It’s sturdy + firm, so a solid 1/2 inch layer f the filling in the middle of each layer is totally feasible. Even with that much filling that cake stood stable and remaied easy to frost from start to finish. The caramel + chopped peanuts sit perfectly on top, and it makes for a very addicting dessert
Two days is key
If I’ve learned anything in my cake adventures, it’s that baking a cake is a 2 day job. Day 1 is for actual cake baking, and prepping any other items you can. Fillings, garnishes, or other fun “extras” for the cake - doing that all on day 1 makes for a really stress free assembly. In the case of this cake, I baked the banana cake, made my salted caramel, and whipped together the peanut butter-cream cheese filling ahead of time. Got my cakes in the oven + did all the other stuff as they baked. The last note is freezing your cake makes
Day 2 is for frosting + assembly. And my opinion is having all this other shit done first makes assembly a lot more fun!
You want the buttercream to be fresh + (more importantly) pipe-able. So I like to keep that task to the next day so that I can get my ingredients room temperature and have the perfect consistency to pipe + spread the frosting. Having everything else ready to go, and minimal clean-up from making these extra fillings (since I did all that the night before) just makes for a fun and really enjoyable couple of hours of cake assembly. Which is honestly what I find the most fun + rewarding part of cake assembly - watching it all come together to be something great is so gratifying. So yes - make as much as you can ahead of time + cleanup the mess so that the next day you can enjoy it all.
The secret to great caramel
God bless Cake by Courtney and sharing all the insight. This edition - her tip for salted caramel was add the cream slowly. My mind was blown as how seamlessly this allowed the caramel to come together. This coming from someone who as screwed up caramel many times, and thinking back, it’s probably because dumping in the cream made everything cease up (exactly what Courtney said would happen!). Adding it in slowly - a consistent drizzle paired with constant whisking - lead to it coming together perfectly. It was smooth + creamy + a perfect consistency. Because I made this ahead of time + placed in the fridge overnight, I did need to warm it up for easy assembly. I did that by placing the glass mason jar it was stored in in a bath of boiling water, and it was almost instantly spread-able.
The caramel + freshly chopped peanuts sit right on top of the peanut butter filling, and the caramel so perfectly keeps this sticky caramel consistency but a bit of it seeps into the cake layer right on top. A very sweet + perfectly salty (you definitely want a salted caramel) addition
This is a cake that hasn’t been chopped up + shared with neighbors. It’s so good and we’ve kept it for just us two - slicing off a large share piece each night. A very welcomed treat and a bake that Jordan has just loved. Clearly I may need to work on my piping skills, but it was fun to make and so so delicious. And we’re still enjoying every last bite!
For the cake
3 bananas, mashed
3/4 c. unsalted butter
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/3 c. brown sugar
3 eggs
3 c. flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 c. buttermilk
For the peanut butter filling
8 oz cream cheese
1 c. peanut butter
1 c. heavy whipping cream
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c. chopped peanuts
For the salted caramel
1/2 c. white sugar
4 tbsp water
2 tsp light corn syrup
1/4 c. heavy cream
1 tsp vaniilla
1 tsp salt
For the cream cheese buttercream
1 1/2 c. unsallted butter (3 sticks), room temp
4 oz. cream cheese, room temp
6 c. powdered sugar, sifted
3 tbsp heavy whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
Preheat the oven to 325. Prep 3 6-inch baking pans by greasing them + then doing a light dusting of flour. Line the bottoms with parchment.
Start by making the cake. Add the butter, sugar, + canola oil to the mixer. Mix on medium for 3 minutes - until light and creamy. Mix in the eggs - keeping the mixer on medium until all of them are fully mixed in. To add in the dry ingredients, start by adding about 1 cup of the flour along with the salt, baking powder, and baking soda, then half of the buttermilk, mixing on medium low until fully incorporated. Mix in another cup of flour + the rest off the buttermilk, continuing to mix until incorporated. Add in the rest of the flour, and continue to mix on medium for a minute or two. Add in the mashed bananas - mixing on low until evenly dispersed. Separate the batter amongst the prepared baking pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes (until golden brown + no jiggle in the center of your cakes). Let them cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then take them out to cool completely. Level them out but cutting off the domed tops. Finish by wrapping the caked in plastic wrap + then in the freezer overnight to chill.
Make the peanut butter filling (you can do this the day before): Start by whisking the heavy cream + sugar on high heat until you have a firm whipped cream. Set aside in a separate bowl. Add the peanut butter, cream cheese + vanilla to the mixer, and whip on high for 2-3 minutes. Fold in the heavy cream gently, and when it’s all combined cover and set in the fridge. You just want to bring the mix back to room temp before assembling your cake.
Make the caramel (you can do this the day before): Add the sugar, corn syrup + water to a small sauce pan and place over medium heat. Don’t stir the pan - you can swirl the water + sugar as they heat up to ensure nothing burns. Watch carefully for the mix to turn a dark amber color. Remove from the heat, then slowly add in the cream, whisking constantly and add the cream so slowly, to form the smooth caramel. Transfer to a mason jar and place in the fridge for storage. You just want to bring the caramel back to room temp before assembling your cake.
To make the frosting, which you should only do when you’re getting close to baking, add the butter + cream cheese to the stand mixer, mixing at medium speed for about 1 minute. Add in the powdered sugar (slowly to avoid making a huge mess), and once all is incorporated add in the cream, vanilla, + salt. Increase the speed to medium high, and mix for 5 minutes. It should be light + fluffy. Add some to a piping bag, leaving the rest in the bowl for cake assembly.
Time to assemble
Place a small dollop of frosting on a cardboard cake tray, and place the first cake layer down.
Spread a half inch layer of the peanut butter filling over the cake, leaving a border around the eddge of the cake. Pipe a bit of the frosting around the edge of the cake. Drizzle the peanut butter layer with caramel + a sprinkle of the peanuts
Place the second cake layer on top, then repeat step 2. Finish by topping with the 3rd layer
Dirty ice the cake, and let it chill in the fridge for 25 minutes.
Remove from the fridge and continue to add the rest of the frosting so you have a smooth even layer aruond the cake. Refrigerate for another 30 minutes
Slice into that sucker + enjoy!!
