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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I have to give this recipe 5 stars because it TASTES amazing, which is the point, right? Well, yes and no. I have to say, it was a little challenging to take these to an event because I wanted the individual squares to be freshly drizzled with the warm sauce. I did everything right but of course it wasn’t warm anymore by the time they got to their destination. Additionally, they are a very brown dessert and so just don’t APPEAR even 1/2 as good as they taste. SO….I will make these again, but just for home use, not to take out. My husband loved this dessert!
This cake is so easy to make and a crowd pleaser. Thank you Jenn for another great recipe 🙂
This was a tasty twist on banana cake. I also had issues with the cake not being done in 35 minutes. I think I had to bake it for an additional 15 min before my skewer came out “clear” of batter & it’s not my oven & I’m an experienced baker. 😊 I was worried about overbaking the sides but thankfully the sauce helps keep it moist. The batter definitely fills up the 8×8 pan so you get deep slices when cutting the cake. I added 1 tsp of cinnamon to the batter & served with the butterscotch/toffee sauce with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Would you mind sharing the butterscotch recipe you used? I’ve made caramel, toffee (of course from this recipe, lol) but would love to make and have a great butterscotch recipe on hand. Thanks ahead of time…
Hi Jenn! Do you think making this in smaller portions, like muffins, would work? And then making a smaller quantity of the sauce and freezing the leftover muffins for next time?
Hi Elise, I haven’t tried it this way. I suspect it should work, but the muffins won’t dome very much; they’ll be flatter like cupcakes. Please let me know how it turns out if you try it!
Made this last night exactly as written and the family loved it. I have about half the cake and sauce left over and I’m having another couple for dinner in a week’s time. Can I freeze the cake and sauce to use for my dessert, and if so, how do I prepare it for serving? Love your cookbook, btw. Have even given it as a gift to rave reviews.
Hi Judy, glad you enjoyed it! Unfortunately, because you’ve already put some of the toffee sauce on the cake, I don’t think it would freeze well – sorry! If you make it again, you can freeze it, but it would have to be before you’ve stuck it back in the oven with the sauce. (And thanks so much for buying the cookbook for yourself and others!) 🙂
Made this recipe. Very delicious. Thank you!!! Will be making for a church potluck.
Can I use whole milk instead of cream?
Is this stable enough to make a poke cake?
Substitute for corn syrup?
Using Whole Wheat flour, how much flour should I use?
Thank you!
Hi MJL, For the best results, I’d stick with the cream. For a replacement for the corn syrup, you can use Lyle’s Golden Syrup. Regarding turning this into a poke cake, you could but it’s not necessary; the cake is plenty moist and the sauce is really meant to form a sticky top crust, rather than soak in. And if you’d like to use whole wheat flour, I’d suggest replacing just half of the all-purpose flour with whole wheat. If you use more than that, I’m afraid the texture of the cake would suffer.
Made this in a 9 inch round. When cool, I split the cake, filled it with fresh sliced bananas and frosted it with chocolate frosting. Everyone LOVED it. Great recipe, Jenn and super versatile. Thanks!
So good. So easy. My guests loved it! Thanks Jenn!
I made this for work colleagues and they can not stop raving over it. All want the recipe and a few said it was the ‘best ever’ banana cake they have had. Thank you so much for sharing. Couldn’t find corn syrup over here in Australia, so replaced it with honey – so delicious.