Banoffee Cake

This Banoffee Cake has layers of moist and soft banana cake, filled with dulce de leche and sliced bananas, topped with a delicious Dulce de Leche Cream Cheese Frosting.

Banoffee is the mixture of banana and toffee, and it’s a heavenly combo! For the toffee part, it’s often used thick caramel, toffee sauce, or dulce de leche. Dulce de leche is my favorite so that’s what I am using. If you like Banoffee Pie, you will definitely love this cake.

Banoffee cake is a scrumptious dessert perfect for any occasion. Bananas and dulce de leche is a sweet combination that will leave you wanting more. This delicious cake is easy to make and absolutely irresistible. So, let’s get started on how to make your own homemade Banoffee Cake.

How to make Banoffee Cake Recipe

These are the ingredients you will need to make the banana cake layers:

• bananas: make sure they are very ripe bananas.
• dry ingredients: all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon powder, and salt.
• butter and oil: I like to use butter and oil for this cake, it makes an extremely moist and also flavorful cake.
• granulated and brown sugar: a mixture of granulated and brown sugar.
• eggs
• vanilla extract
• buttermilk: if you don’t have buttermilk, simply make your own by adding 1 tsp of vinegar or lemon juice to regular whole milk.
• sour cream: which can also be substituted by plain yogurt.

This recipe makes 3 8-inch cake layers.

Tips for making the banana cake batter:

• Make sure the bananas you are using are very ripe. This will affect the consistency and also the taste of the cake.
• Ensure that the ingredients such as eggs, butter, buttermilk, and sour cream are at room temperature before making the cake.
• A mixture of butter and oil for the cake will ensure the best texture. You can use all butter instead of oil. Simply substitute the oil for the same amount of butter. But that will make the cake slightly firmer and less soft than if using oil.
• Once you add the flour in, don’t over mix the batter. The batter should be mixed just until the ingredients are incorporated.
• You can substitute the buttermilk for whole milk mixed with one teaspoon of vinegar, and the sour cream for yogurt in this recipe.
• Bake just until the cakes are done. Over baking will make for a dry cake. Once a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean, or once the cakes bounce right back once touched on top, they are done baking.
• Read the instructions below carefully in order to make the recipe work the best for you!

Banoffee Cake Filling

To fill the cake, I used dulce de leche and fresh banana slices.

Make sure to slice the bananas thinly.

You can make your own dulce de leche to fill the cake (and to use in the frosting) or you can use store-bought. Most grocery stores sell dulce de leche by the sweetened condensed milk, or in the Latin food section.

My favorite way to make dulce de leche at home is using the instant pot, or pressure cooker method, which you can find here. You can also use the stove top method, the slow cooker method, or the oven method. All of these methods are going to use a can of sweetened condensed milk to make dulce de leche. If making your own, you will need two cans of sweetened condensed milk.

And here is a Dulce de Leche Guide with everything you need to know about Dulce de Leche, including my favorite brands to try.

Dulce de Leche Frosting

For the cake frosting, we are using a Dulce de Leche Cream Cheese Buttercream.

This frosting is made from butter, cream cheese, dulce de leche, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract.

It is absolutely delicious, slightly tangy because of the cream cheese, and adds the perfect balance to the sweet filling.

Cream cheese frosting and banana go so well together, so I couldn’t think of a more perfect frosting to make to cover this Banoffee Cake.

To assemble the cake

When assembling the cake, place a cake layer on the serving plate or cake board on top of a turntable.

Pipe a ring of Dulce de Leche Cream Cheese Frosting around the edges of the cake. Fill the center with dulce de leche and spread with a spatula.

Top with the slices of fresh banana, and follow with a small layer of frosting on top.

Put another slice of banana cake on top and repeat the process.

When you are done stacking the cake layers, spread a thin amount of frosting around the cake and on top. Use a bench scraper to smooth the sides, and an offset spatula to smooth the edges on top of the cake.

This is called crumb coating, and it’s done in order to seal the crumbs in the cake so they don’t show on the final layer of frosting.

Place the cake in the fridge for 20 minutes once you are done crumb coating.

After the cake is done chilling in the fridge, spread a thick layer of frosting around the sides and on top of the cake. Repeat the process of using a bench scraper to smooth the sides, and an offset spatula to smooth the edges.

You want to keep the offset spatula at an angle and very gently pull it towards you in a sweeping motion.

The one thing is that this frosting can be hard to smooth on the cake being that it is a cream cheese frosting with added dulce de leche.

And that’s why I did the textured sides of the cake with the use a spatula. To do this decoration, simply place a small offset spatula on the horizontal gently touching the side of the cake, right on the top edge. And then spin the turntable, running the spatula on the side of the cake, which will give the textured sides.

To decorate the top of the cake, I piped some dulce de leche using a tip 4B and placed some dried banana slices on top, caramel crispearls, and crumbled biscoff cookies.

Variations for this Banoffee Cake

I actually first made this cake a couple of months ago for my sister’s birthday. But the banana cake layer recipe itself needed some changing up, I was basing myself on a banana bread recipe I have and it just didn’t translate well to the cake layers with my conversions.

When I made this cake a couple of months ago, I decorated it totally different, I actually made a chocolate ganache for the top, and kept the cake decorated with just the crumb coat of the Dulce de Leche Cream Cheese Frosting. And I decorated the top with some macarons filled with dulce de leche. Here is a picture of that cake.

While I liked it a lot, I just didn’t want to do the same decoration the second time around, since I was making the cake again, I figured why not make a different design.

Here are some ways you can make this cake differently:

• Instead of dulce de leche, use a homemade caramel sauce for the filling. You can also use store-bought caramel sauce.
• For the frosting, instead of making the dulce de leche buttercream, use whipped cream to cover the cake. This will make the dessert much lighter.
• Top the cake with a drizzle of caramel sauce or dulce de leche, or a chocolate ganache drip like I did the first time around.

So which of the cakes do you prefer?

This Banoffee Cake is brimming with banana flavor and sweet dulce de leche, which is the perfect combination! You will absolutely love this recipe.

Here are some more recipes you might like:

• Chocotorta
• Dulce de Leche Mocha Cake
• Dulce de Leche Cake
• Dulce de Leche Chocolate Cake
• Dulce de Leche Crumbl Cookies
• Salted Dulce de Leche Cupcakes

If you make this recipe, leave a comment below or tag me on instagram! I love to see your creations.

Banoffee Cake

Camila Hurst

This Banoffee Cake has layers of moist and soft banana cake, filled with dulce de leche and sliced bananas, topped with a delicious Dulce de Leche Cream Cheese Frosting.

5 from 2 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 25 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 14 servings

Calories 300 kcal

Ingredients

  

Banana Cake

• 2 large bananas 200 grams or 3/4 cup mashed
• 3 cups all-purpose flour 382 grams
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened (113 grams)
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil 60 ml
• 1 cup granulated sugar 200 grams
• 1/3 cup brown sugar 66 grams
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup sour cream 120 grams
• 1 cup buttermilk 240 ml

Dulce de Leche Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1 cup unsalted butter 226 grams
• 1/2 cup cream cheese 113 grams
• 1/2 cup dulce de leche 148 grams
• 4 cups powdered sugar 500 grams
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Filling and assembly

• 1 1/2 cups dulce de leche
• 2 large bananas

Instructions

 

Banana Cake

• Pre-heat the oven to 350ºF. Grease 3 8-inch round cake pans, line the bottom with a parchment paper round, grease the parchment paper.
• Mash the bananas. Set aside.
• Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt together. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, or simply a hand mixer, beat the butter, oil, sugar and brown sugar together for 4 minutes until the mixture is fluffy.
• Add the eggs one at a time, beating one egg until completely incorporated before adding the next egg.
• Add the vanilla and mix.
• Add the sour cream and mashed bananas. Mix to combine.
• Add half of the flour mixture and stir.
• Follow by the buttermilk. Mix until incorporated.
• Add the remaining flour and stir to combine. Don’t over mix the batter.
• Divide the batter between the pans and bake in the pre-heated oven for about 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean once inserted in the cakes. You can also test by touching the top of a cake and it should spring back.
• Let the cakes cool down for 10 minutes and then remove them to a cooling rack.
• Let the cakes cool down completely before frosting.
• If not frosting on the same day, wrap the cakes in plastic wrap individually and refrigerate or freeze them.

Dulce de Leche Frosting

• Beat the butter and cream cheese for 4 minutes until creamy and fluffy. Add the dulce de leche and beat for one minute.
• Add the powdered sugar to the bowl and vanilla extract. Mix on low until the powdered sugar is incorporated, raise the speed to medium-high and beat for another 2 minutes. If the frosting is dry, add a bit of milk or heavy cream to thin it out, and if the frosting is too thin, add a bit more powdered sugar to make it thicker.

To assemble

• Place some of the Dulce de Leche Frosting in a piping bag.
• Slice the bananas thinly.
• Place a cake layer on the serving plate or cake board on top of a turntable.
• Pipe a ring of Dulce de Leche Frosting around the edges of the cake layer.
• Spread about 1/2 cup of dulce de leche in the center. Top with sliced bananas.
• Pipe a bit more frosting on top and spread it with a spatula.
• Place another cake layer on top.
• Pipe a ring of Dulce de Leche Frosting around the edges of the cake layer, followed by the dulce de leche in the center and sliced bananas.
• Top with more frosting and spread with a spatula. Then place another cake layer on top.

Crumb Coat

• Now it’s time to do a crumb coat, which means you will spread some frosting on top and around the sides of the cake in order to seal the crumbs in. Use an offset spatula to spread the frosting on top and on the sides of the cake, and use a bench scraper to smooth the sides by placing it perpendicular to the side of the cake, applying very light pressure as you spin the turntable around.
• Once this thin layer of frosting is smooth, place the cake in the fridge for about 20 minutes.
• Keep the remaining Dulce de Leche Frosting covered meanwhile so it doesn’t dry out.
• Remove the cake from the fridge, and spread a thicker layer of frosting around the cake and on the top.
• Use a bench scraper to smooth it out, and use an offset spatula at a 15 degree angle swiping the top of the cake towards you to smooth the edges.
• Place some dulce de leche in a piping bag fitted with the tip of choice, I used a 4B. Pipe some dulce de leche on top of the cake and top with some dried banana slices.
• I also sprinkled some caramel crispearls on top of the dulce de leche, and crumbled Biscoff cookies on top.

Storage

• Store the cake in the fridge for up to 3 days. Always keep the cake covered in a container once you cut it.
• You can also store it in the freezer for up to 2 months. To freeze the cake slices, simply cover them with plastic wrap tightly and place inside an air-tight container or freezer bags.

Notes

Buttermilk: if you don’t have buttermilk, simply add one teaspoon of vinegar or lemon juice to regular whole milk.

Sour cream: the sour cream can be substituted by plain yogurt in this recipe.

Dulce de Leche: you can make your own Dulce de Leche or use store-bought. You can find dulce de leche at most grocery stores being sold by the sweetened condensed milk, or over at the Latin food aisle.

Dulce de Leche: My favorite way to make dulce de leche at home is using the instant pot, or pressure cooker method, which you can find here. You can also use the stove top method, the slow cooker method, or the oven method. All of these methods are going to use a can of sweetened condensed milk to make dulce de leche. If making your own, you will need two cans of sweetened condensed milk.

Keyword banana, banoffee, cake, dulce de leche