This easy banoffee cake is a twist on the classic English dessert. The sheet {or snack} cake is a moist banana cake baked on top of a simple graham cracker crust. Then it's topped with a dulce de leche whipped cream. The flavor combination makes it irresistible for birthday parties, holidays or just because you are craving banana cake.
Disclosure | This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Multiple summers ago I read about banoffee pie while visiting my parents. Of course this encouraged me to make it that weekend and we all enjoyed it.
As a busy mama who loves cake, I knew these flavors needed to be reinvented into a cake. I have been baking cakes for decades and my favorite is a quick, one layer snack {or sheet} cake. A cake that whips up in a few minutes, but tastes like you spent all day making it {like this graham cracker cake}. Shhhhhh.....we don't have to tell anyone it didn't take all day!😉
My banoffee cake is simple to prepare and might become your new favorite!
💗 why you will love this banana snack cake
- Easy recipe ~ this banoffee cake bakes in one layer, no stacking or fancy decorating required!
- Moist and flavorful cake ~ this sheet cake uses buttermilk, which adds wonderful moisture to the banana cake.
- Layers of flavor ~ from the crumbly graham cracker crust to the soft banana cake to the fluffy toffee whipped cream, this cake has an enticing flavor profile that will have you coming back for more.
🍰 what is banoffee made of?
Banoffee cake is a spin on the English dessert, banoffee pie. It's made from bananas, whipped cream and toffee on a biscuit base. The name banoffee is a mash up of banana + toffee.
For this simple cake recipe, we use a graham cracker base, banana cake and a toffee whipped cream made with dulce de leche.
🛒 ingredients and substitutions
Please scroll to the printable recipe card at the end of this post for the full list of ingredients and baking directions.
- Graham crackers ~ I use Nabisco Honey graham crackers. You need one full sleeve, that will get ground to crumbs.
- Unsalted butter ~ the butter gets melted for the graham cracker crust and is used at room temperature for the banana cake.
- Sugars ~ dark brown sugar or light brown sugar and granulated sugar add sweetness to the banoffee cake. Confectioners' sugar, also known as powdered sugar or icing sugar, is used for the whipped cream frosting.
- Eggs ~ 2 large eggs are needed at room temperature.
- Vanilla ~ pure vanilla extract adds the best flavor.
- Baking soda ~ adds a little height to the sheet cake.
- Kosher salt ~ helps to balance all the flavors.
- All-purpose flour ~ adds structure to the cake. For the best results, use a kitchen scale or use the spoon and level method. {Fluff the flour in the container, then spoon it into your measuring cup and level it off with the back of a knife}.
- Buttermilk ~ brings moisture to the baked cake; can be substituted with whole milk or kefir. Having the buttermilk at room temperature will give you the best cake.
- Bananas ~ two small bananas, the riper the better! This should give you about ¾ cup mashed banana. I prefer weighing the bananas for accuracy.
- Dulce de leche ~ found near the sweetened condensed milk in the baking section of the grocery store. You will want to chill the can at least two hours prior to using it.
- Whipping cream ~ used cold for the frosting. A minimum of 36% fat will give you the best results.
🍌 how to make this easy banoffee cake
Place the can of dulce de leche in the refrigerator at least two hours prior to using it.
Preheat the oven to 325°F and line an 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper.
Start by crushing the graham crackers in a food processor or in a zip top bag with a rolling pin. Then add the melted butter and mix until well combined. Press firmly into the bottom of a parchment lined 8x8 baking pan and set aside.
Next make the banoffee cake by using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or a hand held mixer, beat the unsalted butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar on medium-high for 3-4 minutes, until light and fluffy.
Next, add the eggs one at a time, mixing on medium-high until fluffy, about 30-45 seconds. Add the vanilla with the first egg and then scraped up and down the bowl before adding the second egg.
Then add the baking soda and kosher salt and mix on medium-high until combined, about 30 seconds. Now alternate adding the all-purpose flour and buttermilk on low by adding half the flour, then all the buttermilk, scrape the bowl, then add the remaining flour.
Stop when a few streaks of flour remain and gently fold in the mashed bananas. Then spread the banana cake batter over the top of the graham cracker crust and place the cake in the preheated oven.
Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with just a few moist crumbs. I like to pop the cake into the freezer right when it comes out of the oven. Leave it in for 30-40 minutes; this helps to quickly cool the cake and locks in the moisture.
Pro baking tip: If you have left over buttermilk, pour it into half cup containers and freeze. Allow to come to room temperature before using in your next recipe.
how to make toffee whipped cream frosting
Start by adding the cold heavy whipping cream, dulce de leche, vanilla, kosher salt and confectioners’ sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment or into a bowl and use a hand mixer.
Then mix on low for 1-2 minutes, then gradually increase the speed to high, whipping until stiff peaks, about 4-5 minutes total. The dulce de leche will separate and look like it isn’t going to mix in initially, but it will!
Remember to pin this recipe to Pinterest! Use the button on the recipe card or the share buttons on the side or bottom of this page.
💬 frequently asked questions
what is the toffee layer traditionally made from?
In banoffee pie the toffee layer is made from cooking a can of sweetened condensed milk to make a toffee or dulce de leche. This is an easy recipe, so we are skipping making it ourselves and just buying it at the grocery store. {Plus it makes me nervous if you read all the things about people's cans of sweetened condensed milk exploding when they cook it}!
where do I find dulce de leche?
Dulce de leche is sold in the baking section at most grocery stores. It is typically next to the sweetened condensed milk. You can also buy it on Amazon, this is the dulce de leche I use.
👩🏻🍳 expert tips for this dessert cake
Use very ripe bananas ~ they will be sweeter, easier to mash and will provide extra moisture and more banana flavor. The banana should be very speckled or even turning black.
Use a scale to measure your ingredients for the best results. If you do not have a kitchen scale, see the notes in the ingredient section on how to measure the flour.
Use room temperature ingredients. Depending on the temperature of your kitchen you will want to pull out the butter, buttermilk and eggs about 2 hours before baking. {My kitchen is on the cooler side, so I usually go 2-3 hours before baking}.
Don't over mix the banana cake batter. When combining the wet and dry ingredients mix until everything is just combined.
Once the batter is in the prepared pan, drop the pan on the counter a time or two to help remove any air bubbles in the batter.
For the best, moist and tender cake, don't over bake it. Remember your oven is different than mine and baking times may vary a little. The easy banoffee cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs.
Allow the banana cake to cool completely before you add the dulce de leche whipped cream frosting. Otherwise the frosting will melt off it.
Garnish with some graham cracker crumbs or biscoff cookie crumbs, if desired.
💡 variation ideas
Add a layer of dulce de leche over the cooled cake before adding the whipped cream frosting. {I tested the cake like this, but forgot to add the layer when I photographed it!}
Use homemade caramel instead of dulce de leche. Come to think of it, the biscoff caramel cookie filling from this biscoff tart would be fantastic in this cake!
Make it with a biscoff base by substituting biscoff or speculoos cookies instead of graham crackers.
Make the biscuit base with shortbread cookies, you can use the recipe from this Twix cake.
🫙 how to store
Store the banoffee cake in the refrigerator due to the whipped cream frosting.
The frosted cake can stay at room temperature for several hours. The due sugar in the confectioners' sugar and the dulce de leche, it helps to keep the whipped cream stable.
Remember to snap a picture and tag me on Instagram if you make this easy Banoffee Cake. It warms my heart to see you bring these recipes to life! Thank you for being here and happy baking!
more easy dessert cakes
If you make this recipe {or any recipe!} from two sugar bugs please come back and leave a review and a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star rating. I read every comment, and I LOVE hearing from you!
📖 recipe
Easy Banoffee Cake
recipe created and tested by:
I highly recommend using weight (metric) measurements when available for more accuracy and the best results.
Please note
When using 2x or 3x ingredients, the grams DO NOT adjust, you will have to manually do that.
Ingredients
graham cracker crust
- 1 sleeve graham crackers 9 full sheets/140g
- ¼ cup unsalted butter melted (57g)
banana cake
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter room temperature (76g)
- ¼ cup packed brown sugar* 50g
- ½ cup granulated sugar 100g
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour 188g
- ¾ cup buttermilk room temperature (180mL)
- ¾ cup ripe bananas mashed (170g/about 2 small bananas)
dulce de leche whipped cream
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream 240mL
- ¼ cup dulce de leche cold** (78g)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup confectioners’ sugar 30g
Instructions
- Place the can of dulce de leche in the refrigerator at least two hours prior to using it.
- Preheat the oven to 325°F and line an 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper.
for the graham cracker crust
- Crush the graham crackers (1 sleeve/9 full crackers/140g) in a food processor or in a zip top bag with a rolling pin. Then add the melted butter (¼ cup/57g) and mix until well combined. Press firmly into the bottom of a parchment lined 8x8 baking pan and set aside.
for the banana cake
- Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or a hand held mixer, beat the unsalted butter (⅓ cup/76g), brown sugar (¼ cup/50g) and granulated sugar (½ cup/100g) on medium-high (speed 6 on a KitchenAid mixer) for 3-4 minutes, until light and fluffy.
- Next, add the eggs (2 large) one at a time, mixing on medium-high until fluffy, about 30-45 seconds. Add the vanilla (1 teaspoon) with the first egg and then scraped up and down the bowl before adding the second egg.
- Then add the baking soda (¾ teaspoon) and kosher salt (¼ teaspoon) and mix on medium-high until combined, about 30 seconds.
- Now alternate adding the all-purpose flour (1 ½ cups/188g) and buttermilk (¾ cup/180mL) on low (stir on a KitchenAid mixer) by adding half the flour, then all the buttermilk, scrape the bowl, then add the remaining flour. Stop when a few streaks of flour remain and gently fold in the mashed bananas (¾ cup/about 2 small bananas/170g).
- Spread the banana cake batter over the top of the graham cracker crust and place the cake in the preheated oven. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with just a few moist crumbs.
- When you take the cake out of the oven, place the pan in the freezer for 30-40 minutes. This will help to cool the cake and also helps it to be extra moist.
for the dulce de leche whipped cream
- Add the cold heavy whipping cream (1 cup/240mL), dulce de leche (¼ cup/78g), vanilla (1 teaspoon), kosher salt (⅛ teaspoon) and confectioners’ sugar (¼ cup/30g) to the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment or into a bowl and use a hand mixer. Mix on low for 1-2 minutes, then gradually increase the speed to high, whipping until stiff peaks, about 4-5 minutes total. The dulce de leche will separate and look like it isn’t going to mix in initially, but it will!
- If desired, add ½ cup of dulce de leche over the top of the cooled cake, then top with the dulce de leche whipped cream. Slice and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
The nutrition information is based on third-party calculations, is an estimate only and may not be entirely accurate. Actual nutritional values will vary based on brands used and portion sizes.
Ben | Havocinthekitchen says
Oooo I'm a huge fan of Dulce de leche, but I've actually have not tried a Banoffee cake; it's still on my list. This easy version sounds wonderful, and the cake looks impeccable!
Tasia says
I hope you give it a try Ben, I have a feeling you will love it!
Julie says
Made this for a neighborhood party. It was a crowd pleaser!
Precilla says
Made this cake for my sil’s birthday & it was a hit 😋 When she first requested for a banoffee cake, i was a bit intimidated. saw this recipe & decided to give it a go with my homemade dulce le leche since i can’t get it at the local supermarket here. love how easy it was to bake & the flavour profile was ummppphhh! can’t go wrong. thank you for this