![Southern Living Banana Layer Cake With Caramel Icing on a platter to serve with a piece cut](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.southernliving.com/thmb/9wkjemWWJjO1Fu6NtD58EdXK71I=/1500x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/27523_Souths-Most-Treasured-Desserts_109-1b-2fc7aa8b703e428ea96c841d068661d5.jpg)
Greg DuPree, Food Stylist: Ruth Blackburn, Prop Stylist: Christine Keely
My mom was a terrific cook and baker. She was trained as a dietitian and home economist and pursued her career as a Director of School Food Service for our school district—quite an accomplishment in the late 1960s for a woman.
I had five siblings and when we were young and our mom was home with us she baked every day, usually cookies or brownies, and sometimes, what cookbook author Marion Cunningham calls “everyday” or “neighborhood” cakes, which is the category I would put this cake into. It’s quick to put together, with ingredients you usually have on hand, and can be made in a sheet pan or as cupcakes, so it's easy to transport and share at a potluck or picnic in the park. It's also perfect to pack in a lunchbox because the cooked icing cools into a hard surface. You can wrap it up and still have all the icing intact when you open it to eat! This recipe is also great as a delicious way to use up ripe bananas, and a fun alternative to banana bread.
I remember having it often, and it was one of the early recipes I learned to bake with my mom. We all loved the slightly sweet, moist cake, and the flavor and crunchy texture of the caramel icing was so delicious and different from usual icings. I was a particular fan of the icing—sometimes I eat just it and leave the cake! Mom scolded me for that, and I don't know why I didn't think to just take the piece of cake with no icing and throw it away!
I have made it many, many, times over the years. I love to bake and cook for my family and friends and have taken it to many neighborhood pool parties and barbecues, delivered it with a meal to a new mom or family dealing with an illness or death. And used up my ripe bananas for after-school snacks or lunchbox treats. It’s one of those recipes that intertwines itself into every part of life.
When I make this cake I often think of my mom and my grandmother, who passed it down from her mother (who I did not know as she passed away when I was young). It has created one more thread of connection to so many wonderful memories and stories of my youth and now with my own family. — Mary Vail-Grube, Allen, Texas
Ingredients
Cake:
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2 cups flour
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1 tsp. baking powder
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1 tsp. baking soda
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1/2 tsp. salt
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1/2 cup butter
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1 1/2 cups sugar
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1 egg and 1 egg yolk, well beaten
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1 cup mashed ripe banana
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3/4 cup buttermilk
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1 tsp. vanilla
Caramel Icing:
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1/3 cup butter
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1 cup brown sugar
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1/4 cup milk
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2 cups powdered sugar
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1 tsp. vanilla
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1 tsp. milk
Directions
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Make cake:
Sift dry ingredients together. Cream butter and sugar in a bowl until fluffy. Add eggs, and beat well. Then add banana, and mix well. Alternate flour mixture with buttermilk, beating after each addition. Add vanilla, and mix well. Bake in 2 (8- or 9-inch) layer pans greased or lined with parchment at 350°F for 25 to 28 minutes. Let cool before frosting.
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Prepare icing:
Melt butter, brown sugar, and milk in a 2-quart saucepan over very low heat. Stir and bring to boil for 1 minute. Don’t cook too long, or icing will get hard and grainy. Cool slightly. Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth and creamy either with a whisk or an electric mixer. If too thick, add milk at a time until spreadable. While icing is still warm, frost the cake.
Test Kitchen Tip
This recipe can also make a batch of cupcakes (put paper liners in tins; bake about 15 minutes) or a sheet cake (grease a 10- x 15-inch pan; bake about 18 minutes).