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Brown Butter Banana Yogurt Cake
Wait until you try this Brown Butter Banana Cake that is just as easy as banana bread with rich, nutty buttery flavor. This is a simple one bowl recipe that takes less than 20 minutes to prepare with a delicately spiced banana batter topped with irresistible brown butter cream cheese frosting.
Ingredients
Brown Butter Banana Cake Batter
- 1 ¼ cups (180g) all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- grated nutmeg
- 1 cup (237ml) mashed banana, from about 2 large ripe bananas
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (55g) packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- ¼ cup (60ml) salted butter, browned
- ½ cup (120ml) full fat plain yogurt
- 1 teaspoon (5ml) pure vanilla extract
Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 3 tablespoon (42g) salted butter, browned
- 5 ¼ oz (150g) cream cheese
- ½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- ⅔ cup (80g) powdered confectioner’s sugar
Topping:
- banana slices
- chopped toasted pecans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9-inch round pan with a round of parchment paper.
- First brown the butter. Follow the detailed instructions here on how to brown butter. Basically, you cook it over medium-low heat until it boils and all of the water evaporates. The milk solids will toast and change to delicious brown flecks through golden liquid butter. Reserve 3 tablespoons in a small bowl and the place it in the fridge to cool and set until firm, but pliable for the frosting. Let the remaining butter cool slightly and use this to incorporate into the batter as instructed below.
- Make the cake batter. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices in medium bowl and whisk to blend evenly.
- Place mashed banana in a large mixing bowl. I find it easiest to mash bananas on a flat surface, such as a clean cutting board or flat plate rather than in the bowl. I mash them up with the back of a fork and you will need 240g of banana flesh which is about 2 large bananas. Add both types of sugar, eggs, slightly cooled browned butter, yogurt and vanilla and whisk until smooth, glossy and syrupy. Add dry ingredients all at once and fold them in until just combined. I like to start mixing with the whisk to help break up the flour clumps, then finish mixing with a spatula to fold it all together. You can also sift the flour first if it is lumpy.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth it out. Bake for 25-28 minutes until the top is evenly browned and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool for 20 minutes, then invert the cake and set it on a wire rack to cool completely.
- Make the frosting. Place the soft cream cheese in a bowl and mix with an electric hand mixer on medium-low speed until smooth. Add the cooled brown butter and mix until evenly incorporated. Mix in the vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract. Gradually add the powdered sugar in 2 or 3 additions and mix until smooth, creamy and fluffy. Spread the frosting over the cooled cake and decorate with chopped pecans and banana slices.
