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–+ servings
banana bread semi naked cake with fresh banana slices, walnuts and butterscotch sauce on a marble serving plate on a table with fresh flowers.

Banana Bread Semi Naked Cake

Mimi Council
This Banana Bread Semi Naked Cake tastes just like your favorite banana bread, but it's layered together with a classic buttercream frosting.
5 from 4 votes
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 22 minutes
Cooling & Decorating Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 52 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Makes 8 servings
Calories 733 kcal

Equipment

  • Digital Food Scale
  • Stand Mixer
  • 6-inch Cake Pans
  • Parchment Paper Cake Rounds
  • Turntable
  • Cake Spatula
  • Piping Bag

Ingredients
 
 

Batter

  • 113 grams salted butter (softened)
  • 113 grams cane sugar
  • 57 grams dark brown sugar (packed)
  • 2 large ripe bananas
  • 2 large eggs (room temperature)
  • ½ cup heavy whipping cream (room temperature)
  • 170 grams cake flour
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¾ teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground cloves

Frosting

  • 170 grams salted butter (softened)
  • 340 grams powdered sugar (sifted)
  • 3 to 4 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

Topping

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line three 6-inch cake pans with parchment paper.
  • In a large mixing bowl, add the butter, cane sugar, and dark brown sugar.
  • Mix on low until combined and there are no chunks of butter.
  • Add the eggs and bananas. Mix on low until combined.
  • Add the heavy cream, cake flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and cloves.
  • Mix on low until combined and no dry bits of flour remain.
  • Transfer the cake batter to the prepared baking pans. They should weigh about 250 grams each.
  • Bake for 20 to 22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely in the cake pans.
  • To make the frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, powdered sugar, and heavy whipping cream (start with less, add more as needed).
  • Mix on low until combined, then speed the mixer up to high and whip until it's light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl part way through mixing to ensure a smooth, creamy frosting.
  • Remove the cakes from the cake pans. Place a dollop of frosting onto your cake turntable, cake plate, or cake board and place the first cake layer bottom side down (this ensures it's flush with what you're serving it on).
  • Using a cake spatula, add about a third of the frosting and spread it out evenly. Top with the second cake layer, bottom side up (this helps the cake look straight).
  • Add another third of frosting, spread evenly. Top with the last cake layer (bottom side up).
  • Add a small amount of frosting on top to crumb coat the top of the cake.
  • Transfer the remaining frosting to a piping bag and cut a small hole.
  • Using the piping bag, pipe frosting and fill in the gaps in the frosting layers so the frosting is bulging out of the frosting layers.
  • Add remaining frosting on top.
  • Using a cake spatula (tip: run it under hot water to help smooth the frosting), smooth the top of the cake.
  • Using a bench scraper, or your cake spatula again, smooth the sides of the cake. The trick here is to only go around the cake once or twice to remove excess frosting from the frosting layers. You don't want to completely coat the cake in frosting, as then it will just look crumb coated.
  • Top with fresh banana slices, chopped walnuts and butterscotch sauce. This part is totally optional, but I love this topping!

Video

Notes

Tips
  • Always weigh ingredients for the best results.
  • Use overly ripe bananas. When bananas start to ripen their starches turn into sugars. This gives banana more flavor and more sweetness, which makes them perfect for baking. So allow those bananas to ripen before making this cake.
  • With naked cakes it is best to butter and flour the sides of the cake pan. It's something I don't usually do but with this style of cake it really helps. When you use butter for the cake, just save the wrapper as you can just go around the sides of each cake pan with this wrapper! And then just sprinkle a little flour on it as well.
  • I use organic heavy whipping cream in the cake and in the frosting. I like to use heavy whipping cream for a richer flavor, but you can also use whole milk or buttermilk if you don't have cream.
  • If you want cream cheese frosting on this, use Easy Homemade Cream Cheese Frosting.
  • I frosted this cake with my Semi-Naked Cake look. But, the recipe makes enough frosting if you want to frost it like a traditional layer cake as well! If you go this route, be sure to trim your cake layers so you have flat cake layers. And check out How to Crumb Coat a Cake if you'd like to frost the whole cake.
  • I like adding fresh banana slices, Brown Butter Butterscotch Sauce, and walnuts on top as a garnish, but this is totally optional.
  • This cake would also be delicious if you add Homemade Caramel True Sauce and Homemade Candied Pecans Without Eggs on top. If I'm making this during the fall, this adds such great flavor and makes the top really pretty.
  • If you make this cake ahead of time, be sure to store it in a cake dome as the cake is exposed with a naked cake design, so it can dry out if it sits out.
  • Gluten Free — Replace the cake flour with 170 grams (1 cup plus 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon) gluten free flour blend.
  • High Altitude — Bake at 350°F for 17 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Nutrition

Calories: 733kcalCarbohydrates: 92gProtein: 6gFat: 40gSaturated Fat: 24gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 146mgSodium: 440mgPotassium: 270mgFiber: 2gSugar: 69gVitamin A: 1286IUVitamin C: 4mgCalcium: 70mgIron: 1mg
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