Cakes

September 26, 2022

Banana cake with hot sugar crust

As we peer into fall, I’m guiltlessly leaning into all the fruit-filled pies, pastries and cakes. There is nothing better than having your kitchen fill the aroma of your house with warm scents of cinnamon and spice.

Which brings me to…

Raise your hand if you’ve been personally victimized by overly ripe bananas.

We’ve all been there where we think we’ll eat the bananas, but we don’t so we let them sit on the counter until they bruise and closely inch their way to the trashcan. Instead of making chocolate chip banana bread (because it’s boring), I’ve got an original and delicious recipe to share.

Traditionally known as a banana pudding cake (although there’s not actually pudding in it as the title suggests, psych), this cake is fluffy and drop-dead sexy. The bottom is a Nilla Wafer crust topped with a cinnamon-spiced banana cake with a light texture thanks to yours truly – fluffy egg whites.

And the superstar of the dish is a hot sugar crust, which I’ll explain below.

Make the Bottom Crust

  • Can you have banana desserts without Nilla wafers? Absolutely not. Similar to the lemon icebox bars, combine crushed cookies and melted butter to form a granulated texture, and then press into a pan to form the crust.

Make the Cake

  • Combine the wet ingredients in a bowl – sugar, butter, egg yolks, bananas, almond extract and lemon juice. Then add the dry ones – flour, baking powder and cinnamon. Then the very satisfying part, fold the egg whites into the mixture and pour over the crust.

Make the Hot Sugar Crust

First off, what is hot sugar crust?

It’s a popular baking technique utilizing water and steam to create a delicate, crisp and thin layer of sugary crust over baked desserts. Forget the frosting, ganache or nuts, this super easy method tops them all.

Before the cake is baked, the hot water dissolves the brown sugar, then creates a translucent crust as it evaporates during the baking process.

So, how do I do it?

Once the cake mixture is poured into the pan, heavily sprinkle brown sugar over the entire cake WITHOUT mixing. Then, mix a mashed banana with water until it comes to a boil. Gently pour the mixture over the brown sugar WITHOUT stirring. I know it looks so strange, but trust the science. Believe me.

Put that baby in the oven and watch the magic unfold right before your eyes.

This banana cake comes in clutch

Especially when you’re on a time crunch. It only takes 35-40 minutes from the first stir to pulling it out of the oven. This is a perfect dessert to bring to a dinner party, family dinner or simply impress someone with a delicious, low-effort cake.

Equipment Needed
  1. Blender or food processor
  2. Small and medium bowl
  3. 9 X 10 casserole dish
  4. Beater or KitchenAid mixer
  5. Small pot

I would love to hear if you make this cake! Drop my a line below, and let me know what you think. I'm particularly interested in how you experienced the hot sugar crust.

Banana cake with hot sugar crust

Forget chocolate chip banana cake, that's boring. Try this banana cake with hot sugar crust which is richly delicious, light, moist in all the right places. It's topped with an ultra-thin and crisp sugary crust that crackles with every blissful bite.

Author:

Lauren Negrete

Prep:

5

min

cook:

30

min

total:

35

min

Ingredients

Nilla Wafer Crust

  • 1/2 stick of unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  • 1 box of Nilla Wafers, crushed + some for garnished topping

Banana Cake

  • 3 eggs separated, room temperature
  • 1 stick of unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar + 3 tbsp
  • 2 ripe bananas
  • 1 tbsp almond extract*
  • 1.5 tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 3/4 cup or 94 grams all-purpose flour
  • 1.5 tbsp baking powder
  • 1.5 tsp ground cinnamon + some for garnish
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed

Hot Sugar Crust

  • 1 ripe banana
  • 1 cup boiling water

Recipe Notes:

* Almond Extract – can substitute vanilla extract if needed.

Instructions

Nilla Wafer Crust

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Pulse cookies in a blender or food processor. Add melted butter and combine until you get a course-like sand texture. Press into bottom of pan until crust forms. Flatten with back of hand if needed. Allow to set in freezer for 20 minutes.

Banana Cake

  1. In a medium bowl, add mostly wet ingredients – 1/3 cup granulated sugar, 1 stick of softened butter, 3 egg yolks, 2 mashed bananas, 1 tbsp almond extract and 1.5 tbsp lemon juice. Mix.
  2. Add dry ingredients – add 3/4 cup flour, 1.5 tbsp baking powder and 1.5 tsp cinnamon.
  3. In a small bowl, beat egg whites. As soft peaks form, add 3 tbsp granulated sugar. Beat again until stiff peaks form. Gently fold into cake mixture. Its okay to see large white lumps. Slowly pour cake batter into then pan over the Nilla Wafer crust.
  4. Generously sprinkle 1/3 cup brown sugar over the entire dish. Do NOT mix.

Hot Sugar Crust

  1. Over medium-heat heat in a small pot, whisk 1 cup of hot water with remaining mashed banana. Bring to a boil.
  2. Gently pour water mixture over the brown sugar. Do NOT stir – even if it's tempting. This is key.
  3. Bake in oven for 25-30 minutes until crust turns golden brown and the cake is firm (not jiggly).

Serve

  1. If desired, sprinkle cinnamon over cake and serve warm with vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!
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