Banana Walnut Cake with Caramel Frosting leans into everything you love about banana bread, then takes it further ~ deeper flavor, better texture, with a rich caramel finish.
Banana cakes are some of my most irresistible recipes. They range from the snackable little Banana Poppy Seed Cake with Vanilla Bean Frosting to my celebration worthy Banana Cake with Nutella Frosting. This banana walnut cake with caramel frosting is right up there with the best of them. Not fluffy like layer cake, not dense like banana bread ~ this lands right in the middle. The walnuts add just enough bite, and the sour cream keeps everything tender for days. And there’s something about the combination of caramel and banana ~ they just belongs together. And it’s a beautiful thing.
Can bananas be too ripe for banana walnut cake?
For this cake, you’re looking for bananas that are speckled or mostly brown, but not collapsed or leaking.
- Bright yellow → useable but they won’t give as much flavor.
- Spotted / brown → ideal (sweet, soft, and aromatic.)
- Black + watery → they’ve gone too far and can make the cake heavy and a little dull.
Freeze your ripe bananas
Got perfectly ripe bananas but no time to bake? Freeze them.
- Peel them first, then freeze whole or in chunks.
- Thaw before using.
- Use everything, including the liquid.
- Frozen bananas can actually add more vivid banana flavor to your banana walnut cake.
The caramel frosting that changes everything
We start with a simple stovetop caramel base for this cooked frosting, which gives it a deep, lightly toasty flavor. A generous sprinkle of walnuts adds crunch and sets off the banana cake beautifully.
Be sure to spread your frosting quickly before it starts to set up. I like to pour it onto the still hot banana cake.
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Banana Walnut Cake with Caramel Frosting
Video
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 large egg
- 2 ripe bananas, mashed (I ended up with about a cup after a thorough mashing)
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, make this a heaping 1/2 cup, measured after chopping
caramel frosting
- 5 Tbsp butter
- 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 8 oz about 1/2 a box confectioner’s sugar
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Set oven to 350F
- Cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Beat in the sour cream and the egg.
- Mash the bananas with the back of a fork. Make sure to get the little lumps out. Add the bananas and the vanilla to the butter and sugar and blend well.
- Sift the flour, salt and baking soda and add to the batter. Stir just until combined. Fold in the nuts.
- Spread the batter into an 8×8 or 9×9 square baking pan that’s been sprayed with oil or lined with parchment paper with overlapping ends. The paper will help you remove the cake from the pan for neater cutting.
- Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes until a toothpick comes out without wet batter clinging to it. (It will still be moist)
- Let cool before frosting.
- To make the frosting, heat the butter and sugar in a small saucepan until it comes to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Take off the heat and add the heavy cream, vanilla and salt.
- Beat in the powdered sugar, and continue beating on high until the frosting is thick and glossy. Add a little more cream if it seems too thick, and a little more sugar if it seems too thin.
- Spread thickly on the cooled banana cake.
Nutrition
More baking with bananas
Nutella Banana Bread
Nutella banana bread is moist and chocolatey with ribbons of Nutella swirled right into the batter ~ yum!!
One Banana Banana Bread!
Only got one banana? Make this fabulous one banana banana bread ~ it’s a fan favorite!
Warm Banana Pudding Cake
Warm banana pudding cake is a a riff on Canadian pudding chomeur. Warm cake, toasty pecans, rich maple sauce…the ultimate fall dessert!
Almond Flour Banana Cake
We all have that one banana bread recipe we swear by. This isn’t that. Almond flour banana cake is softer, more tender, and just happens to be gluten and dairy-free. (You’ll be back for seconds.)
Copycat Crumbl Banana Bread Cookies
Copycat Crumbl banana bread cookies are warm and cozy with a thick layer of cream cheese frosting topped with crushed pecans ~ Deeeeeelish!
Bourbon Banana Bread
Bourbon Banana Bread is a rich, moist banana bread made with ripe bananas, sour cream, and a splash of bourbon for deep, warm flavor.
This looks wonderful. Have you tried using this batter to make muffins?
I haven’t, but it should work.
I want to make this recipe but you ask for 1 tablespoon vanilla in the cake and 1 tablespoon in the icing. This seems excessive as most recipes of anything use teaspoons of vanilla as it goes a long way. Can you clarify please?
I’m a vanilla lover Betty, but feel free to reduce the amount to your taste.
Sounds great! Do you need to refrigerate?
I leave it out for a day and then refrigerate…the texture is wonderful cold, too.
Can you use cake flour? Also would it be the same measurement if you can?
Yes, you definitely can, and it would be the same amount.
All purpose or self rising flour?
Regular all purpose flour.
This banana cake was so delicious that it didn’t need frosting. I baked it 25 minutes in a 9 inch square pan and it turned out moist but done. I substituted pecans for the walnuts and this cake was better than my banana nut bread. It was much lighter than bread and a mouthful of heaven.
Just made this cake today, since I’m the only one here to eat it, I was looking for something small. It is Devine! I didn’t have any vanilla so omitted it and used half and half instead of heavy cream. The taste is fantastic! This is definitely a keeper! Thank you for sharing this recipe…
Thanks Kathy, glad you enjoyed it…we need to treat ourselves these days.
Would you double the recipe for a 9×13 pan?
Yes, that should be fine.
Can this be made in two layers instead?
Yes, you would need to double the recipe.
Can I make this the day before I am going to serve it??
That should be fine Joyce!