Salted Caramel and Banana Triple Layer Cake

Salted caramel has been a huge trend for a while now and doesn't seem to be going anywhere soon.  It's a love it or hate it taste, personally I am a huge fan of how the touch of salt brings out the buttery sweetness of the caramel whilst giving an edge that prevents any sickliness.  On a recent supermarket trip I spotted a new flavour of Ben and Jerry's ice cream with a yummy sounding salted caramel core that needs to be tried very soon!

I originally planned to make this a purely caramel  cake but then spotted a very sad looking banana lurking forgotten in the fruit bowl and thought the flavours would work well together for a banoffee-esqe vibe.  Those almost black, squidgy, no-good-for-eating bananas make the best cakes with a dense texture and rich taste.

I used vanilla buttercream to sandwich and top the sponge as I had some to use up from a previous bake but next time I would use plain whipped double cream to make the overall cake less sweet and give it a more authentic banoffee pie taste.  A little grated dark chocolate on top would also go really well!

The salted caramel recipe makes a lot so any leftovers can be stored in the fridge until you decide how to use them up.  The easiest (and best!) way is straight from the jar with a spoon or drizzled over ice cream.  If you're feeling more adventurous it would be amazing in an apple crumble or served with sliced bananas, crushed biscuits and whipped cream for an instant dessert.  I've had a recipe for dulce de leche brownies bookmarked for aaaaages now so I'm going to see if I can adapt it to use up my caramel.  I'll blog the results if it works!

(All the measurements for this cake are in cups as the batteries have run out on my digital scales!)

For the Salted Caramel :

2/3 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup golden syrup
1 cup double cream
salt to taste (I used 1/2 tsp)

Heat the butter, sugars and syrup in a small pan for 3-4 minutes until smooth and well combined.
Take off the heat and slowly whisk in the cream, take care as it can splutter.
Return to a low heat and cook for 2-3 mins more until the sauce thickens and turns a deeper golden shade.  Add salt to taste.
Pour into a bowl and allow to cool before chilling.

For the Banana Cake:

1/3 cup caster sugar
1/4 cup sour cream
1 egg
1.5 tbsp oil
1 large mashed banana
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup plain flour
1/4 tsp bicarb
1/2 tsp baking powder


Preheat the oven to 160 degrees.  Grease and line a 20cm round sandwich tin and wrap the outside in tin foil.
Whisk together the sugar, sour cream, egg, oil, banana and vanilla.
Fold in the flour, bicarb and baking powder.
Spoon into the tin, smooth out and bake for 30-35 mins.  This is a dense cake so needs a fairly long cooking time.
Cool in the tin for 10 mins before turning onto a wire rack to cool completely.

For the Caramel Sponges:

3/4 cup light  brown sugar
3/4 cup soft unsalted butter / margarine
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 tsp baking powder

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees.  Grease and line 2 x 20cm sandwich tins and wrap in tin foil.
Beat all the ingredients together until light and fluffy.  Add 1-2 tbsp milk if batter seems too thick.
Divide between the tins and bake for 20 - 25 mins until golden brown and well risen.
Cool in the tins for 10 mins before turning onto a wire rack to cool completely.

To Assemble the cake :

1 cup vanilla buttercream / whipped double cream

Place the first caramel sponge onto your serving plate / stand.
Spoon the buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle.  Pipe a ring of buttercream around the edge of the sponge (this will stop the salted caramel oozing out)
Spread a good layer of caramel over the sponge, keeping within the buttercream border.
Place the banana cake in top and repeat the buttercream / caramel process.
Pop the second caramel sponge on top.
Pipe small rosettes all over the surface and drizzle with more salted caramel.

xx