Banana Bread with Brown Sugar Frosting
What You Need
Ingredients
Preparation
Banana bread is good, but frosted banana cake is even better. This cake is gently spiced with cinnamon, and the deep flavor of ripe bananas is backed by dark brown sugar and browned butter. Topping it off with a swath of rich, creamy brown sugar frosting takes it to the next level. We skipped mixing nuts into the batter to let the banana and browned butter shine, but if nuts (or chocolate) in your banana bread are a non-negotiable, stir a generous handful into the batter before baking.
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Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C.
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Make cake. Lightly butter a HexClad Hybrid Square Cake Pan - 8” x 8” (20cm x 20cm) and then line with two overlapping strips of parchment, allowing paper to overhang on two sides.
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In a HexClad 2QT/2 L Hybrid Saucepan over medium, melt butter. Continue to cook, swirling occasionally, until butter is a deep golden brown and smells nutty, 3 to 4 minutes. Use a flexible spatula to scrape brown butter into a heat-proof medium bowl. Set aside, stirring occasionally, to cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes.
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In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and ½ teaspoon kosher salt. Whisk to combine, then make a well in center.
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In a separate medium bowl, combine banana, brown sugar and egg. Whisk until sugar is dissolved and no streaks of egg white remain, then pour into well in flour mixture. Pour cooled butter over bananas, then mix batter together, starting in center and gradually pulling flour mixture into wet ingredients until fully incorporated (there will still be small banana lumps).
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Transfer batter to prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Place pan on wire rack to cool completely, 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes.
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Make frosting. In a small, microwave-safe bowl, combine brown sugar and heavy cream. Microwave in 30-second increments, stirring and scraping down sides, until bubbling and smooth. Set aside until cooled and slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. If sugar crystallizes while cooling, heat again until smooth.
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In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine butter and salt. Beat on medium until light and creamy, 1 to 2 minutes. Add brown sugar mixture and continue to beat until lightened in color and thickened, about 2 minutes. Add confectioners’ sugar and beat until smooth and fully dissolved.
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Spread frosting over cake and refrigerate until firm, about 20 minutes.
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Use parchment overhang to lift cake out of pan and transfer to a cutting board. Sprinkle the walnuts over frosting. Cut into 9 squares.
MAKE AHEAD TIPS
Unfrosted cake can be wrapped in plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 3 days. Frost before serving.
Refrigerate frosted cake in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Let sit at room temperature before serving.
NOTES
When heating the brown sugar and cream for the frosting, be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl to prevent undissolved sugar crystals in the frosting. It’s no big deal if there are a few grains of sugar in the frosting (a little sweet crunch!), but it’s easy to avoid if you want an ultra-silky frosting.
