Banana Cake with Salted-Walnut Banana-Chip Caramel Topping

I hallucinated this about two and a half years ago. While banana cake topped with plenty of cream cheese frosting is good, why not take it to new heights (or sink it to new depths, depending on how you look at it) with candied nuts, booze and fried banana chips? I finished it with a contrasting crunchy brittle topping, and refined the most recent version with a little sea salt.

I had a banana that was beyond even what I would eat (and I like 'em pretty ripe), and two more in the freezer. After a night in the lab haunted by malfunctioning instruments (actually we were troubleshooting and trying to fix things all week), and it being Independence Day Eve, I figured these were more than adequate excuses to treat myself and coworkers to cake.

The original cake recipe is from the Immanuel Lutheran Church Frankentrost Country Kitchen Cookbook. The cinnamon and liqueur were my additions. I had finally finished up the bottle of banana liqueur in the cabinet above the fridge (only took about 10 years!), but I do regularly keep Nocello around, so that's what I used.

Banana Cake

2 1/2 cups sifted cake flour (I've used all-purpose before)
1 2/3 cups sugar
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp nutmeg (I recommend freshly grated)
1 tsp cinnamon
2/3 cup shortening (I use butter)
1 1/4 cups mashed overripe banana (3 average size)
2/3 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp banana liqueur or Nocello walnut liqueur, plus more for drizzling on cake

Sift all dry ingredients into a large bowl. Cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Add bananas, vanilla, eggs and liqueur. Beat 2 minutes. Add dry ingredients alternating with the buttermilk until all is blended. Pour batter into 3 greased and floured layer cake pans, or one 9 X 13 cake pan. Bake 25 to 30 minutes in layer cake pans, or 40-45 minutes in the 9 X 13 pan, until center lightly springs back when touched.

When cake comes out of oven, drizzle a few tablespoons of banana or walnut liqueur over the top. Especially on the edges, where the cake gets a little more brown and dry. Let completely cool before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

3 8-ounce bricks cream cheese, room temperature
The rest of the stick of butter you have left after measuring the 10 2/3 tablespoons for the cake, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp banana or Nocello liqueur
Enough powdered (confectioners') sugar to make a thick frosting. I stopped at 4 cups.

Beat butter and cream cheese until completely blended. Add vanilla and liqueur and combine. Add powdered sugar gradually until frosting is smooth and desired sweetness.

Topping:

2 1/2 cups white sugar
about 2 cups walnuts, lightly toasted
1 tsp finely crushed sea salt
about 1 cup banana chips

Place the walnuts in a shallow pan and toast in the oven until lightly colored and fragrant (about 10-15 minutes). Sprinkle with pinches of salt while hot. Let cool. Have ready a large piece of parchment paper lightly greased with non-stick cooking spray on a sturdy, heatproof surface. Make a dry caramel by placing the sugar in a deep, heavy saucepan. Let it sit and melt over low heat to a dark amber. Working quickly but carefully, add the walnuts and banana chips and stir until nearly all pieces are coated. Turn mixture out onto paper and spread it out. Allow to completely cool and harden. Place mixture in large plastic bag and break into pieces/shards with a meat mallet or rolling pin. Just before serving, sprinkle pieces onto frosted cake. There will be leftovers for snacking.






Notes:

I have never tried this cake in layer pans (the original recipe did not specify the size), so I can't say how well this works that way.

That amount of frosting is more than enough for the 9 X 13 cake, but if you like a high frosting to cake ratio, put it all on.

I usually find banana chips in the bulk area of grocery stores without a problem, but naturally today, I couldn't find them. So I raided the "California Mix" in the bulk snack bins, furtively checking over my shoulder to make sure no one saw me fishing out only the banana chips.

I had a bowl of icewater nearby (a good safety suggestion from someone in my Livejournal baking community) during the topping phase of the operation. And I put leather slippers on, too. I cook barefoot a lot, probably not the brightest idea in the world.

The cake was light, almost delicate (from the cake flour), the frosting ooey-gooey creamy, and the topping hearty and crunchy. Next time I might add a little more sea salt to get a salted caramel thing going on.