Triple-Layer Banana Caramel Cake

Happy New Year everyone! Sorry this post is late! I was out all day yesterday and forgot! 

For this post, I have a delicious cake recipe to share with you! It is a great way to use up overripe bananas in your house. Thanks to Faith Durand, you can make good use out of those bananas that you would otherwise throw away! Mine doesn't look as pretty as hers did, but it still tasted yummy. The original recipe also says to bake it for 40 minutes, but I found that mine were not cooked all the way through then. It ended up being an hour for mine, so that's what I'll put on this one. 

 I hope you try this recipe, and let us know what you think! Happy Eating! :) 

                        Triple-Layer Banana Caramel Cake

 Caramel Sauce:
                        2 cups cream (half-and-half) 
                        1 1/2 cups white sugar
                        1/2 cup water
                        1/4 cup butter
                        pinch of salt

                Cake:
                        3/4 cup butter, soft
                        3/4 cup white sugar
                        3/4 cup brown sugar
                        3 eggs
                        3 cups all-purpose flour
                        1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
                        1/2 tsp. salt
                        1 1/2 cups milk
                        2 tsp. vanilla
                        5 ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 1/2 cups)
                        1 1/2 cups caramel sauce

Caramel Icing:
                        1/2 cup unsalted butter
                        1/2 cup caramel sauce
                        1 tsp. vanilla
                        1/4 tsp. salt
                        1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
                        
                        extra sliced bananas for on top (optional) 
For the Caramel Sauce:
This is probably the most difficult part of the whole recipe. Once you get through this, the rest will seem easy! :)
Warm up the cream in a small saucepan over low heat. Keep it warm, making sure it doesn't boil. 
Combine the sugar and water in a medium saucepan over high heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Let it boil until it becomes slightly darker, then begin swirling it around, making sure it doesn't burn. When it reaches a dark color, turn off the heat. Be really careful! Don't let it burn.  
Slowly pour in the cream, constantly stirring the mixture. Be really careful! It will bubble up ferociously. Mine ended up overflowing out of the pot. 
Once the cream is mixed in well, and all is once again calm, stir in the butter and the salt. Return it to medium heat, continuing to stir until everything is mixed in well, and it is smooth. 
Turn off the heat and allow the caramel to cool. It will be used a few times later in the recipe. 

For the cake:
Preheat the oven to 325*, and grease and flour three 9-in. cake pans.
Using a mixer, cream the butter and sugars until well combined. Add the eggs one at a time, and mix well. 
In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, and salt, then set them aside.
In another bowl, mix together the milk, vanilla, and mashed bananas, then pour into the creamed mixture alternately with the dry ingredients. Mix on medium speed until smooth. 
Divide the batter evenly between the three pans. Pour about 1/2 cup of caramel sauce in each one, and swirl with a knife. 
Place them in the oven and bake for about 1 hour. (I used a spring-form pan for the third layer, and it became rather mangled, as you can probably see by looking at the middle layer in the picture.) 
Once the cakes are done baking, take them out of the oven and let them cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then take them out of the pans and transfer them to wire racks to cool completely. Meanwhile, make the icing. 
In a mixer, whip the butter, vanilla, caramel sauce, and salt until smooth. Gradually add the powdered sugar and mix it until it is well combined and spreading consistency. 
Now it is time to assemble the cake! Spread a small bit of the icing onto your cake stand or cake board as kind of a glue so the cake doesn't slide. Place your first layer on the board, and spread a thick layer of icing on top. Stack all of the cake layers in this way, then spread the rest of the icing on top. You can put the banana slices on top now, if you want. Drizzle the rest of the caramel sauce on top, and enjoy! 
This is a complicated recipe, but it is a lot of fun to make and totally worth it! :)

~Nutmeg