I don’t know what it is about a banana cake, but I can never refuse one. I saw this recipe in the most recent issue of Fine Cooking magazine and was immediately pulled in by the brown butter in the banana cake, the toasted pecans and the salted dark chocolate ganache.
These days between magazines, books and the internet, my recipes-to-make list is so ridiculously long that I’ve actually had to prune it back before I add more recipes. But when this came across my lap, there was no denying it. I dropped everything to make it.
It demanded me to. I relented. And I don’t regret it, nor do I regret eating nearly half of it all by myself. In fact, I love it so much, I’m making it again this weekend as a small thank you for one of my neighbors. She saw me post it on Instagram and said it looked delicious.
I might have to double the recipe so I can have my own. And that is how good this cake is, people! I honestly cannot rave about this cake enough, so if anyone else makes this please let me know if you love it as much as I do.
And if you love banana cakes like I do, you might also like this Chocolate Chip Banana Cake here and this Dulce de Leche Banana Cake here.
Browned Butter-Banana Cake with Salted Dark Chocolate Ganache
Ingredients
- Cake
- 12 oz. (1-1/2 cups) unsalted butter; more softened for the pans
- 13-1/2 oz. (3 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour; more for the pans
- 2-1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1-1/4 tsp. kosher salt
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 3/4 tsp. baking soda
- 2 cups mashed very ripe banana (about 5 medium)
- 1 cup low-fat buttermilk, at room temperature
- 1-3/4 cups packed light brown sugar
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 cup chopped toasted pecans
- Frosting
- 2 oz. (4 Tbs.) unsalted butter
- 1 lb. semisweet chocolate (55% to 65% cacao), chopped (3 cups)
- 3/4 tsp. kosher salt
- 2 cups heavy cream
- Flaky salt for sprinkling
Instructions
Hit the jump here for the remainder of the recipe.
To make the cake:
- In a small saucepan, stir and cook the butter over medium heat until the butter is dark goldenand the milk solids at the bottom of the pan turn dark brown, about 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat and transfer browned butter and milk solids into a shallow bowl. Refrigerate until softly set, about 1 hour.
- Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F. Butter three 9-inch round cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment, butter the parchment, and flour the pans.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda. In a separate bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the mashed bananas and buttermilk.
- In a stand mixer bowl (alternately, a hand-held mixer can be used), add the browned butter and brown sugar, beat on on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour and banan mixture in three alternating additions. Add pecans and fold to combine.
- Evenly divide the batter between the pans and give the a good tap against the counter to disperse any air bubbles.
- Bake the cakes, rotating and switching positions halfway through baking, until a tester inserted in the centers comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Remove the cakes from the oven and transfer them to a wire rack. Let the cakes cool in the pans on racks for 10 minutes. Turn the cakes out onto the racks, remove the parchment, and cool completely.
To make the frosting:
- In a 1-quart saucepan, cook the butter over medium heat, swirling every few seconds, until melted and the milk solids at the bottom of the pan turn dark brown, about 5 minutes. Immediately scrape the browned butter and milk solids into a medium metal bowl. Add the chocolate and kosher salt.
- Bring the cream to a boil in the same pot over medium heat, and then pour over the chocolate and butter. Let stand 2 minutes, and then whisk until smooth. Cool at room temperature, stirring every 15 minutes, until thickened and spreadable, about 1 hour.
This cake is so dark and dreamy – I love it!! Definitely digging the browned butter in there too 🙂
Love this! I can never get enough of the chocolate and banana combo, must be even better with the browned butter in it!
I will never turn down banana cake either. And with this chocolate frosting I would be first in line. Lovely!!
Oh my goodness- this is OFF THE CHAIN! Bring on the banana.
I would warm some honey and use it as a sugar soak on the bare cake to give it even more oomph.
Literally this is the cake of my dreams. So gorgeous!
Gorgeous cake! Love the flavors too!
Just magical! I love that pairing of chocolate and banana… No doubt it’s bring me back to my childhood, eating fresh banana bread with chocolate chips that my mom had just pulled out of the oven.
I so want a slice of that cake right now!
Sooo pretty! Now I want cake 🙂
HAVE MERCY – this cake…that slice…I want!
Stunning, Naomi!! 🙂
Woah! This looks so decadent! And I am incredibly jealous of your frosting skills. They couldn’t be any more perfect !
Coming from you, that is a serious endorsement!!! And this cake looks absolutely amazing.
This cake is absolute perfection!!!
Everything about this looks PERFECT!! Yum!
Oh, sweet mercy! This is a thing of beauty and it is no wonder you dropped everything to make it. I am having the same exact feeling (and drooling like crazy :)!
Hi Naomi!
I’ve followed your lovely blog for a long time and I’m so happy to see my cake here! Just wanted to say thanks for doing it such beautiful justice. Heather Christo is right. High high praise…
Sam
YOINKS. this cake, the flavours, the photographs … naomi, you are so good at what you do. might have to save this one to make for my own birthday … heehee! xo
SUCH a gorgeous cake; that chocolate ganache is *killing* me!
What I would do for a slice of this. Seriously!
Such a lovely and beautiful cake!
I would definitely want the whole cake for myself!
Anything with browned butter gets my attention. I also love banana cakes. I don’t think they get nearly enough love and attention. This is a very special one! Thanks for sharing.
ok, everything you touch is just beautiful, but this cake and these pictures are probably the most beautiful I’ve seen from you yet! your talent is out of this world!
The flavor combinations in this cake are incredible! I can’t even handle it.
I LOVE the combination of chocolate and peanut butter – beautiful cake! The gorgeous swirls of icing are stunning.
So gorgeous, that chocolate ganache is to die for!
I couldn’t pass up a slice of this either!! Ever!
This cake is really beautiful! My first banana cake was a sliced ordered among a group of us, and I couldn’t get over the pudding-like, rich texture. It was addictive. I’m sure the browned butter adds a really special touch here, and I’m already wondering how I might adapt this (ah, dairy allergy, you are the worst). Also — the way you frosted this? It looks amazing!
Oh my word! I’m left speechless. This is just a stunner. Pinned 🙂
This cake is perfection!!!!
my mouth is watering! pinning now!
Those swirls are soooo gorgeous! If food could be gorgeous, this one’s it. And how sweet of you to make it for your neighbor! I’m in the process of making a little food basket (all storebought though) for a grieving neighbor as there’s nothing more comforting than receiving a kind smile and some good food. 😀
Wow!! Totally craving this cake now 🙂
This is gorgeous Naomi! Love the flavours and the brown butter 🙂
Gorgeous cake! Bananas and chocolate go so well together and the addition of browned butter and salt completely elevate the cake!
My cake did not rise very much? Any advise would be appreciated. Thank you, Nancy Feeny
So I’ve never used brown butter ever before. It blew my taste buds away. I decorated it with banana chips and salt. The cake batter was so fluffy and light. When it’s cooked the crumb is light and moist. This is a new family favourite.