I always seem to have a few overripe bananas on the counter. Sometimes I peel and freeze them for smoothies, sometimes I bake banana bread or banana muffins, and sometimes I make this banana crumb cake with caramel rum sauce.
The cake is incredibly moist, topped with large, buttery crumb pieces, and finished with a rich caramel rum sauce. Once you make the sauce, you’ll want to drizzle it over everything.
Of all the things to do with overripe bananas, this is my favorite.
Baking this cake fills the house with the warm scent of caramel and brown sugar. The aroma alone will draw family members from wherever they are. My husband called it “so good it was evil,” and friends have been equally enthusiastic.
Don’t be intimidated by the cake’s three components: the batter, the crumb topping, and the caramel rum sauce. Both the sauce and the crumb topping are quick to make and can even be prepared up to two weeks in advance and stored in the refrigerator. The payoff is a tender, flavorful cake that’s worth the effort.
📖 Recipe
Banana Crumb Cake with Caramel Rum Sauce
One 8-inch square cake
Ingredients
- Caramel Rum Sauce (see notes or prepare ahead)
- Crumb Cake Topping (see notes or prepare ahead)
- ⅓ cup butter, softened
- ⅓ cup dark brown sugar
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg + 2 egg whites
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 medium very ripe bananas
- ½ cup milk
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Make the caramel rum sauce and crumb topping, then cover and set aside. Both can be made up to 2 weeks ahead and refrigerated. (You can also make the caramel rum sauce while the cake bakes.)
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and grease an 8×8-inch square pan.
- Using an electric mixer, beat the butter, dark brown sugar, granulated sugar, egg, and egg whites on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. If using a stand mixer, use the whisk attachment.
- Chop the bananas into chunks and add them to the butter-sugar-egg mixture. If using a handheld mixer, mash the bananas a bit with the beaters before turning the mixer on. If using a stand mixer, switch to the paddle attachment and beat until the bananas are incorporated; small pea-sized chunks are fine.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Combine the milk and vanilla in a measuring cup.
- Add the flour mixture and the vanilla-milk mixture to the banana batter in alternating additions, starting and ending with the flour (⅓ flour, ½ milk, ⅓ flour, rest of milk, rest of flour). After each addition, beat on medium just until incorporated, scraping down the bowl as needed. Do not overmix.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Top with about 3 cups of crumb topping. For large crumbs, squeeze the topping together in your hand as you place it on the batter.
- Bake 60–65 minutes, until the center is set and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out mostly clean. Let the cake cool on a wire rack about 20 minutes, until warm but not hot.
- Drizzle ¼–½ cup of caramel rum sauce over the top. Use a knife to gently poke holes across the cake so some sauce seeps into the cake. Press the sides of the cake gently away from the pan to allow sauce to drizzle down the sides.
- Serve with additional warmed caramel rum sauce for extra indulgence.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 9
Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 286
Total Fat: 9g
Saturated Fat: 5g
Trans Fat: 0g
Unsaturated Fat: 4g
Cholesterol: 45mg
Sodium: 338mg
Carbohydrates: 44g
Fiber: 2g
Sugar: 22g
Protein: 5g
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