Sticky Toffee Banana Cake
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This warm and comforting banana cake is loved by kids and adults alike.
Photo by Alexandra Grablewski (Chronicle Books, 2018)
This warm, comforting banana cake is a twist on the classic English dessert, sticky toffee pudding—which is not really pudding at all, but rather a moist cake made with finely chopped dates covered in a sticky toffee sauce. Though it looks impressive, it’s easy to make, and it’s one of the most loved desserts on my website. In fact, one reader wrote to me that she came across the recipe looking for a bake-off contest cake. Trusting the reviews, she made it without doing a trial run and just entered it into the contest. Much to her delight, she won!
Table of Contents
What You’ll Need To Make Sticky Toffee Banana Cake
Step-by-Step Instructions
It’s important to use overripe bananas. The browner and spottier, the better. Begin by mashing them in a bowl, then set aside.
Next, whisk together the dry flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In a separate bowl, combine the melted butter and sugar.
Beat until combined.
Then add the mashed bananas, eggs, lemon juice and vanilla.
Beat until combined.
Then mix in the dry ingredients.
Transfer the batter to a greased and floured 8-inch square baking dish.
And bake for 35 minutes, until golden.
Meanwhile, make the toffee sauce by combining the butter, heavy cream, corn syrup and brown sugar in a medium saucepan. Whisk until the sugar dissolves.
Gently boil the sauce, whisking occasionally, until thickened to a syrup consistency, about 15 minutes. If it seems too thin, don’t worry, it will thicken more as it cools. Spoon about 1/3 cup of the toffee sauce over the baked banana cake.
And return to the oven to bake until bubbling, about 6 minutes.
Let the dish cool on a rack, then slice into squares when ready to serve.
Warm the toffee sauce and spoon generously over top. Top with fresh banana slices and chopped pecans, if desired. Enjoy!
Note: The idea for this recipe came from a sticky toffee banana pudding featured in Bon Appetit years ago. I tried the recipe as written but found the cake much too heavy and dense. The banana cake that I’ve used is actually a light and cake-like banana bread baked in a cake pan instead of a loaf pan; it’s much better! The toffee sauce has been modified as well.
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Sticky Toffee Banana Cake
This warm and comforting banana cake is loved by kids and adults alike.
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 1¾ cups cups all purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off with a knife
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup very ripe mashed bananas, from 2-3 spotty bananas
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
For the Toffee Sauce
- 1¼ cups heavy whipping cream
- ½ cup dark brown sugar
- ½ cup light corn syrup
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Pinch salt
For Serving
- Sliced perfectly ripe bananas
- Chopped pecans
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour an 8x8-inch baking dish.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix the melted butter and sugar until blended. Add the eggs, mashed bananas, lemon juice and vanilla extract and mix well.
- On low speed, stir in the flour mixture until just incorporated. Do not over mix. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until golden, and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 35 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the sauce. Bring the heavy cream, brown sugar, corn syrup, butter, and salt to a boil in a heavy small saucepan over high heat, whisking until the sugar dissolves. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook at a gentle boil, whisking occasionally, until the sauce is slightly thickened, about 15 minutes. It should be the consistency of maple syrup -- it will continue to thicken as it cools. Remove the sauce from the heat and cool.
- Spoon ⅓ cup of the toffee sauce over top of the baked banana cake. Return the cake to the oven and bake until the sauce is bubbling vigorously, about 6 minutes. Cool the cake in the pan on a rack for at least 30 minutes. Cut the cake into 9 squares or 12 rectangles. Serve the cake slightly warm or at room temperature with warm toffee sauce and top with sliced bananas and pecans, if desired.
- Note: Sauce can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and chill; then rewarm slightly before using. If it seems too thick, add more heavy cream to thin it to desired consistency.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The cake can be frozen (without the toffee sauce) for up to 3 months. Bake the cake for 35 minutes, let it cool completely, double-wrap it securely with aluminum foil or plastic freezer wrap. Thaw on the countertop the night before you plan to eat it. Before serving, place the cake back in the oven with the toffee sauce and proceed with the recipe from there.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (12 servings)
- Serving size: 1 slice (nutritional data includes sauce but not optional toppings)
- Calories: 402
- Fat: 22g
- Saturated fat: 13g
- Carbohydrates: 50g
- Sugar: 27g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 4g
- Sodium: 231mg
- Cholesterol: 95mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Comments
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This is another fantastic banana recipe! The toffee is delicious! Next time I’ll make a little more sauce; it was so good that we ran out of it!
Turned out beautifully. The sauce is amazing. Now I have the perfect use for those “spotted” bananas.
I made this Monday night and it was incredible. We could barely stop eating it. Only thing was my baking time was a little longer than yours by about 7 min. But it was really delicious!
YUM!!!! I made this Banana Cake several times with great success. My friends and family enjoyed it. BTW, I also added some cinnamon powder.
Cheers May/Melbourne, Australia
Hi Jenn, can I use molasses unrefined cane sugar. Will it affect the final output of the cake. Thanks and waiting for your reply.
Hi Kay, I wouldn’t recommend molasses in this recipe. And, if you’re referring to using unrefined cane sugar in place of the brown sugar for the toffee, that would work, but it would not work in place of the white sugar for the cake. Hope that helps!
Made this for Christmas Eve dessert and the family were well impressed!
Did double up on the sauce ( highly addictive !)
So I just made this and followed the directions exactly. Checked the cake after 35 and it wasn’t even close to being done. Put it in and checked it every 5 min thereafter. SO far, its been an extra 20 min and the middle is still not cooked and now the top is burning. What a waste ?
Hi Jo, So sorry you had trouble with the cake. If you followed the recipe precisely, it is likely a problem with your oven.
I’ve made this cake multiple times and it’s simply amazing! A true crowd pleaser! However, I’ve only ever had it fresh from the oven. If I make this earlier in the morning to be served at night, how would you suggest reheating the entire thing?
Thanks so much, Jenn!
Hi Andi, I’d place it in a 300°F oven (covered with foil) for 15-20 minutes, or until warm.
Wow! I made this recipe last night and it blew my wife away. As much as we like banana bread, this is a much better way to use over ripe bananas. Fantastico!
Prompted by Jenn’s Thanksgiving Menu, I decided to delay the pumpkin pie until Christmastime and made this cake instead. While banana cake itself is nothing extraordinary, I knew the syrup poured over the warm cake would make the difference. My only alteration was in using a small amount of dark corn syrup mixed with the light since I had no dark brown sugar. I served the cake with plenty of warm syrup, a sprinkling of chopped walnuts and either vanilla or butter pecan ice cream. My little family of three loved it; my least enthusiastic sweet-eater was the one who finished it off. The real attraction was the extra syrup as topping. While the cake alone, with the syrup poured over it, was sweeter than a regular banana cake, it was not at all decadent. This recipe needs the extra syrup to be special. I encourage everyone to make a double amount of the syrup. Great idea for a departure from the usual!
I love, love, LOVE this recipe! It is my go to dessert anytime there is a family gathering or office party. Several times I had to make slight changes but the cakes still turned out fine. I have had to use light brown sugar and almond extract instead of dark brown sugar and vanilla extract. I love the sauce! I’ve actually used the sauce for other cake recipes. Thanks for this recipe Jen!