Peanut Butter Caramel and Banana Layer Cake
This beautiful layer cake made up of peanut butter cakes layered together with peanut butter frosting, sliced bananas and caramel is a dessert Elvis Presley certainly would have approved of. And after one decadent bite I’m completely sold on the peanut butter and banana combination. The sweet and salty caramel certainly doesn’t hurt either.
The cake is easy to assemble, thanks to its unpolished presentation. Leaving the sides unfrosted allows you to see all of the fun layers, and lets the caramel drip down the sides. The caramel will keep on dripping, however, so it’s best served immediately or stored in the fridge.
- Yield:1 9-inch cake
- Prep Time:45 minutes
- Cook Time:30 minutes
- Total Time:1 hour 15 minutes
Ingredients
For the cake:
3/4 cup Peanut Butter & Co. Smooth Operator
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
For the peanut butter frosting:
4 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup Peanut Butter & Co. Smooth Operator
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1-2 tbsp milk or cream
For the topping:
1 small jar caramel topping
3 medium bananas, chopped
Directions
To make the cake, preheat oven to 350°F. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans with butter or nonstick cooking spray. Line the bottoms with parchment paper.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand-held mixer, beat the peanut butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, and the mixture sticks to the sides of the bowl. This should take about 4-5 minutes.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla extract in a third bowl. Alternately add the wet and dry ingredients to the mixer in 3 additions, starting and ending with the dry ingredients.
Pour 1/3 of the batter into each prepared cake pan. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes. Let cakes cool 10 minutes in the pan, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Clean one of the cake pans, re-grease and line with more parchment paper. Add the remaining third of the batter into the prepared pan and bake the same as the others. (Note: if you have 3 cake pans, you can bake the cakes all at once, placing one on the bottom rack in the oven. Rotate cake pans halfway through baking time.)
To make the frosting, beat the cream cheese, butter, peanut butter, and powdered sugar together until smooth. Add enough milk or cream to get a spreadable consistency. Beat on high another 1-2 minutes until light and creamy.
To assemble the cake, place 1 cake layer on a cake stand or display plate. Cover with 1/3 of the frosting. Spoon enough caramel topping over the frosting to cover. Top with bananas. Repeat with remaining cake layers and frosting.
Serve cake immediately, or immediately place cake in the fridge until ready to serve to prevent the caramel sauce from dripping too much.
Tags: Bananas Cake Caramel Dessert Frosting Peanut butter Peanut Butter & Co. Smooth Operator Sweet Treats Uncategorized