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Sticky Toffee Banana Cake

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By Jenn Segal
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This warm and comforting banana cake is loved by kids and adults alike.

sticky toffee banana cake

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

Cake ingredients including dark brown sugar, baking powder, and eggs.

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.

Fork mashing bananas in a bowl.

Next, whisk together the dry flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Whisk in a bowl of dry ingredients.

In a separate bowl, combine the melted butter and sugar.

Melted butter and sugar in a bowl.

Beat until combined.

Electric mixer beating butter and sugar.

Then add the mashed bananas, eggs, lemon juice and vanilla.

Eggs, bananas, and vanilla in a bowl with a butter mixture.

Beat until combined.

Electric mixer beating a banana mixture.

Then mix in the dry ingredients.

Electric mixer beating dry ingredients into wet ingredients.

Transfer the batter to a greased and floured 8-inch square baking dish.

Baking pan of cake batter.

And bake for 35 minutes, until golden.

Banana cake in a baking pan.

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.

Whisk in a sauce pan of toffee sauce.

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.

Banana cake topped with toffee sauce.

And return to the oven to bake until bubbling, about 6 minutes.

Toffee sauce bubbling on a banana cake.

Let the dish cool on a rack, then slice into squares when ready to serve.

Banana cake missing a slice.

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.

sticky toffee banana cake
Photo by Alexandra Grablewski (Chronicle Books, 2018)

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Sticky Toffee Banana Cake

Metric Cup Measures
By Jenn Segal

This warm and comforting banana cake is loved by kids and adults alike.

Servings: 9-12

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

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour an 8x8-inch baking dish.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. 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

Powered by Edamam

  • 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
Nutritional Data Disclaimer

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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  • Can l double the cake part for a 9×13 pan?

    • Sure, Kimberley, that should work. Enjoy!

  • Baked this today and was not disappointed … so light and full of flavour…. Thank you for another easy, tasty & full of yumminess recipe!

  • Do you think I can use very ripe bananas that I’ve frozen in this recipe? Thanks Jenn

  • Hi Jen,

    Congratulations on your new cookbook. I’m so excited for you and looking forward to it.

    Can I substitute some of the AP flour with ground oatmeal? If yes, how much oatmeal would you recommend?

    Thanks,
    Janelle

    • Hi Janelle, I’ve never used ground oatmeal in this, so I can’t say from experience, but I suspect it will work (though the cake will definitely be a bit drier and more dense). I’d replace the flour with an equivalent amount of ground oats (and I’d suggest keeping the oats to no more than 1/2 cup). Hope that helps — I’d love to hear how it turns out if you make it this way!

  • Hiya this is my go to recipe for banana cake! So light and moist! I just wondered if I could use this mix to make cupcakes too?

  • Hi Jenn,
    I’d love to make this cake, but not a fan of using Corn syrup due to VERY high Fructose content; are there any healthier options to use? Would Maple syrup work?
    Thanks in advance! I’m a big fan of your recipes and just recently purchased your cookbook for myself and my “bestie” for her birthday (she is the one who introduced me to your site to begin with).
    Cheers,
    Mary

    • Hi Mary, So glad you like the recipes! I wouldn’t recommend maple syrup here but you could replace the corn syrup with Lyle’s Golden Syrup. Hope that helps and that you enjoy!

      • Thanks for your response, Jenn. However, I don’t think that Golden Syrup is any healthier than Corn syrup. I’ll have to figure some other option……………or simply enjoy the Banana Pudding without the toffee sauce 😊

        • Hi Mary Paul,

          I’m glad you asked this question. I, too, am not a fan of corn syrup nor golden syrup. Have you found a healthier substitute for it? Would greatly appreciate if you can share!

          Thanks much.

          • Hi Rosemarie, I am just reading this today with no idea when you added your comment!! So I have used this recipe for a caramel sauce, so I’ve no idea if it would work for Jenn’s recipe above! This recipe has 5 basic ingredients. I’ll suggest using a search for : “crazy for crust, 5-minute Salted Caramel sauce”. (I don’t feel right about writing out the recipe on Jenn’s site here)!!
            Cheers,
            Mary

            • — Mary Paul on August 9, 2024

  • This was absolutely delicious! It looks fancy but is easy to make it – can’t wait to make it again!

  • Hi Jenn! I don’t have any Heavy Whipping cream (and only 3/4 cup Half and Half). Any substitutions that would work for the sauce?
    Best,
    Leslie

    • — Leslie Biltekoff
    • Reply

    • Hi Leslie! I wish I could be more helpful but I think you need the cream here. It might work with half and half; if you try it I would cut the sauce recipe in half so you won’t be short (even with half the amount of sauce, I think you’ll have enough to make the cake taste really good).❤️

  • I’m very much a novice when it comes to baking and I’ve now made 3 of your cakes: boy bait, blueberry muffins and this banana cake, I followed your recipes as carefully as I could and wow! Each one was so delicious and they were really well received by anybody who tried them. Thank you so much for sharing. I am really looking forward to trying more of your recipes.

    • The recipe is perfect and the cake is fabulous.

  • Hi, I’m planning on making the cake today, but I see 2 TBS of lemon juice. I understand the reasoning, but not a fan of lemon. The original recipe called for Rum, would that make a good substitute and if so how much? Thanks, and of course I love all your recipes!

    • Hi Theresa, the lemon juice is included in the cake as an acid to help activate the baking soda (to help the cake rise), so I wouldn’t omit it. (I promise that it doesn’t make the cake taste lemony.) 🙂

      • My daughter agreed with you and you were both right. I couldn’t taste it and everyone loved the cake. Thanks

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