Want to save this recipe?

Enter your email below & we’ll send it to your inbox. Plus get great new recipes from us every week!

There’s something incredibly comforting about a homemade cake, especially when it’s flavorful and moist as this browned butter banana cake with peanut butter honey. Made with overripe bananas and topped with a rich peanut butter frosting, this cake is an absolute treat. It’s a great way to use those bananas that are just a little bit too ripe for eating.

Enjoy creating this delightful, moist banana cake that impresses friends and family. With its rich flavors and delicious peanut butter frosting, this cake is the perfect way to satisfy your sweet tooth and make any occasion special. If you love this peanut butter frosting, check out my Peanut Butter Chocolate Brownies.

serving a freshly made browned butter banana cake with peanut butter honey

The Chemistry of Browned Butter Banana Cake with Peanut Butter Honey

This cake owes it moist texture to the combination of browned butter and overripe bananas. Browned butter adds a nutty, caramel-like flavor that enhances the sweetness of the bananas. The egg yolks and heavy cream in the peanut butter frosting ensure a creamy, rich texture. The key to a perfect cake batter is to make sure all wet ingredients are at room temperature, which helps them blend more smoothly and evenly.

What is in browned butter banana cake with peanut butter honey?

Granulated Sugar

Adds sweetness, provides a caramelized flavor and crisp texture. Sugar assists with rising when creamed with butter. It helps add moisture to your treat and helps it evenly spread as it melts into a liquid in the heat of the oven. Sugar also helps with naturally preserving your baked treat.

Unsalted Butter

It is always important to use unsalted butter when baking. If you use salted butter, you have no way of knowing how much salt you are adding to your dough or batter and it will result in an overly salted treat.

Butter adds fats to your dough or batter which helps with moistness, flavor and texture. Butter melts at body temperature, which creates a ‘melt in your mouth’ sensation.

When baking with butter, the temperature is important. If the butter is too warm, your treat will melt too fast and overspread in the oven, leaving you with a greasy, flat mess. If your butter is too cold, it will have the opposite problem and not melt down enough, leaving your treat too thick.

Eggs

Adds both a protein (egg whites) and fat (egg yolks). The egg whites help with rising because, when foamed, little air pockets get trapped inside the egg white mixture. The water content in egg whites encourages steam while baking, which helps with gluten formation, resulting in nice and thick treats. Egg yolks have emulsifying properties that bring batters and doughs together and help them from collapsing. Unless otherwise specified, always use large eggs.

All-purpose Flour

Builds structure as it absorbs liquids and expands. All-purpose flour falls in the middle of bread flour (high in gluten) and cake flour (low in gluten). It’s exactly what it is named, all-purpose, the most universal flour that can be used in most baked goods.

Fine Sea Salt

Enhances flavor, adds balance, masks any bitter flavors. Salt is the most powerful and oldest preservative. Always make sure to use fine sea salt so it melts down at the right speed in the heat of the oven. If you use larger granule salt, it will not melt down fully when baked and will leave salt crystals throughout your treat, making it crunch like you dropped it into sand. All of my favorite salts are from Redmond and I have a discount code for you to get 15% off.

Baking Soda

Elevates the pH level of your batter or dough. It increases the spread in your treat and encourages browning, which gives the crispy outside and soft inside texture that everyone loves. Baking soda needs both an acid and a liquid to react. Things that will activate your baking soda are: vinegar, fruit juice, molasses, brown sugar, tartar, buttermilk and sour cream. Baking soda only reacts once, which is right when it’s mixed into your batter or dough. The soda creates little air bubbles all throughout your treat. When the air bubbles get heated up in the oven, they expand.

Vanilla Extract

When using pure vanilla extract, as opposed to imitation flavoring, it will add the deep rich flavor that everybody wants in a treat.

Honey

Used as a filling, it adds a natural sweetness and a bit of sticky texture.

Overripe Bananas

Overripe bananas are key to moist banana cake. They add natural sweetness and moisture, ensuring your cake stays tender.

Unsalted butter

Often the main ingredient of frosting, it adds structure to your buttercream. It also adds a smooth and velvety texture. Butter melts at body temperature, so it will make your frosting have a melt-in-your-mouth sensation.

Peanut Butter

Adds another fat into your dough or batter that melts easily, allowing your treat to spread a little more. It will also add a creamy texture & rich flavor to your treat.

Powdered Sugar

Is just finely ground granulated sugar. It will absorb moisture in your batter or dough. It dissolves easily, ensuring a smooth texture without grittiness. Because it is so fine, it can melt quickly in the oven and spread cookies out more. Powdered sugar also stabilizes and thickens the frosting, thanks to the small amount of cornstarch it contains.

Heavy Whipping Cream

Makes a softer, more spreadable frosting. When melted with chocolate it adds more fat and moisture to the mixture, resulting in a silkier blend.

serving a freshly made browned butter banana cake with peanut butter honey

How do you make browned butter banana cake with peanut butter honey?

Cake

  1. Preheat our oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and line two 9-inch cake pans with parchment paper.
  2. Brown the butter. In a small saucepan, melt 1 cup of unsalted butter over medium heat. Once it starts to simmer, keep an eye on it as it boils and pops. Remove it from the heat when the popping sounds slow down and the butter becomes silent. Pour the browned butter into a small bowl to cool.
  3. Prepare the bananas. In a large bowl, peel and mash 5 overripe bananas until smooth.
  4. Mix wet ingredients. Combine the granulated sugar and cooled browned butter in a bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until fully combined. Add 4 large eggs, one at a time, mixing until combined. Pour in 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract and the mashed bananas, mixing until well combined.
  5. Combine dry ingredients. In another large mixing bowl, whisk together 4 cups of all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon of fine sea salt, and two teaspoons of baking soda.
  6. Make the batter. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in the stand mixer, mixing on low speed until the batter is smooth and well combined.
  7. Bake the cake. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared cake pans. Bake for 20 minutes, then cover the cakes with a sheet of tinfoil and bake for another 20 minutes until the cake tester inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Let the cakes cool completely in the pans.

Frosting

  1. Prepare the frosting. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine 1 cup of butter and 1 cup of creamy peanut butter. Whip until softened. Add 5 cups of powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, and 2 tablespoons of heavy cream. Mix on medium-high speed until combined, then whip on high for 1-2 minutes until the frosting is lighter in color and texture.
  2. Assemble the cake. When the cakes are cooled, slice each cake in half horizontally to create four layers. Place one layer on the serving plate and drizzle honey over the top. Spread a layer of peanut butter frosting over the honey-soaked cake. Repeat with the remaining layers.
  3. Apply a crumb coat of frosting to the entire cake and let it set. For best results, chill for at least 1 hour before proceeding. Then, frost the cake with the remaining peanut butter frosting, smoothing it over the top and sides.
serving a freshly made browned butter banana cake with peanut butter honey

Storage Tips

Store the cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days. For longer storage, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Freezing Instructions

To freeze, wrap individual slices in plastic wrap and place them in a freezer-safe airtight container. The cake can be frozen for up to three months. Thaw in the fridge overnight before serving.

Making Ahead

You can prepare the cake layers ahead of time and freeze them. Simply wrap each cooled cake layer in plastic wrap and freeze. Thaw them before filling and frosting.

Recommended Products

Previous
Next

Why make browned butter banana cake with peanut butter honey?

This cake is perfect for birthdays, family gatherings, or as a special treat for yourself. It’s a great recipe to make when you have overripe bananas that need to be used up. The combination of sweet banana and rich peanut butter makes it an ideal dessert for any time of year.

I’m always on the lookout for banana recipes that stand out. This peanut butter banana cake is a great recipe because it’s not only delicious but also uses simple ingredients you likely already have in your kitchen. The browned butter adds a depth of flavor, and the honey filling makes each bite sweet and delightful. It’s the perfect cake for any occasion, and the best part is how easy it is to make!

serving a freshly made browned butter banana cake with peanut butter honey

FAQs

To keep a banana cake moist, use overripe bananas and ensure your ingredients are at room temperature. The moisture from the bananas and the butter will help keep the cake tender.

Yes, you can use frozen bananas. Thaw them completely and drain any excess liquid before mashing them to use in your cake recipe.

Store your banana cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days. For longer storage, wrap it in plastic wrap and keep it in the fridge.

A banana cake may sink if the batter is over-mixed or underbaked. Ensure you mix the batter just until combined and check for doneness with a cake tester before removing it from the oven.

Want to save this recipe?

Enter your email below & we’ll send it to your inbox. Plus get great new recipes from us every week!

browned butter banana cake with peanut butter and honey frosting

Browned Butter Banana Cake with Peanut Butter Honey

Author: Madison Reid
Total Time: 1 hour 28 minutes
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 18 minutes
40 minutes
Servings: 24
Browned butter banana cake, filled with honey, topped with peanut butter frosting.

Ingredients 

Cake

  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 cup unsalted butter Browned
  • 4 eggs
  • 5 ripe bananas
  • 4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp fine sea salt
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract

Filling

  • 1 cup honey

Frosting

  • 1 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 cup peanut butter
  • 5 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 tbsp heavy whipping cream

Instructions

  • Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
  • In a medium sauce pan over medium heat melt all the butter. Once the butter starts to simmer, then boil, keep an eye on it. As you hear the popping sounds start to slow down, your butter is almost done. Once the bubbling butter becomes silent, pull your butter off of the heat. Stir, scraping the bottom of the pan to get all the browned bits. Pour the browned butter into a small bowl to cool off a bit.
  • In a separate bowl peel and mash the bananas
  • In a standing mixer add the sugar and butter, mix fully.
  • Add the eggs and mix until just combined.
  • Pour in the vanilla extract and bananas, mix until combined.
  • Add flour, salt and baking soda to the standing mixer and mix until the batter all comes together.
  • Scoop the batter evenly into two 9-inch cake pans greased and lined with parchment paper.
  • Place in the oven for 20 minutes and then place a sheet of tinfoil on top of the cake and bake for another 20 minutes. Remove and allow to cool fully before filling and frosting.

Frosting

  • In a standing mixer, combine butter and peanut butter. Whip until softened.
  • Add the sugar, vanilla, and cream and mix until combined.
  • Turn the speed up to high and whip for 1-2 minutes until the frosting is lighter in color and texture.

Filling

  • When the cake is cooled, slice each cake in half horizontally so that you have four cake layers.
  • Place a layer of cake down and drizzle honey over the top so that it can soak in. Cover the honey-dipped layer in peanut butter frosting, repeating until all cake layers are used.
  • Frost the rest of the cake along the edges and top.

Nutrition

Calories: 518kcal Carbohydrates: 77g Protein: 6g Fat: 22g Saturated Fat: 11g Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g Monounsaturated Fat: 7g Trans Fat: 1g Cholesterol: 69mg Sodium: 249mg Potassium: 196mg Fiber: 2g Sugar: 57g Vitamin A: 546IU Vitamin C: 2mg Calcium: 20mg Iron: 1mg

Have you tried this recipe?

I’d love to see it! Follow @_mrs.madi_ on Instagram and tag your photos with #mrsmadi.

serving a freshly made browned butter banana cake with peanut butter honey