🍌🥧 Banana Pecan Caramel Layer Cake
This cake is pure comfort-meets-decadence: moist banana layers, toasted pecans for crunch, and a buttery caramel frosting that ties everything together.
🛒 Ingredients
🍰 Banana cake layers
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2–3 bananas)
- ½ cup buttermilk (or milk + 1 tsp vinegar)
- 1 cup chopped pecans (toasted for best flavor)
🍯 Caramel frosting
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 2–2½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
🍬 Optional caramel drizzle
- ½ cup caramel sauce (store-bought or homemade)
👨🍳 Instructions
1. Prep the oven
- Preheat to 175°C (350°F)
- Grease and line two 8-inch round cake pans
2. Mix dry ingredients
- Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt
3. Cream butter & sugars
- Beat butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy
- Add eggs one at a time, then mix in vanilla
4. Add banana & liquids
- Mix in mashed bananas
- Alternate adding dry ingredients and buttermilk until just combined
- Fold in pecans
5. Bake
- Divide batter evenly into pans
- Bake 25–30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean
- Cool completely before frosting
🍯 Make the caramel frosting
- In a saucepan, melt butter and brown sugar over medium heat
- Stir until bubbling, then add cream and cook 1–2 minutes
- Let cool slightly, then beat in powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt until smooth and spreadable
6. Assemble the cake
- Place one cake layer on a plate
- Spread frosting evenly
- Add second layer and frost top and sides
- Drizzle caramel sauce over the top if desired
🍽️ Serving Ideas
- Garnish with extra toasted pecans
- Serve with vanilla ice cream 🍨
- Add sliced bananas between layers for extra flavor
🔥 Tips
- Use very ripe bananas for best sweetness and moisture
- Toast pecans for deeper, nuttier flavor
- Chill cake slightly before slicing for clean layers
- If frosting thickens too much, add a splash of cream
🍌 Why it’s so good
It combines three favorites—banana cake, nutty crunch, and rich caramel—into one layered dessert that’s moist, buttery, and full of texture.