Bananas Foster Butter Cake is a rich, buttery, yeast-risen cake finished with a gooey brown sugar layer and a boozy, caramel-like Bananas Foster sauce. Serve warm slices topped with scoops of vanilla ice cream for an indulgent dessert.
St. Louis gooey butter cake meets Bananas Foster — a heavenly combination.
This recipe came from a Stephenie Meyer novel
Hello. My name is Rebecca and I’m a bookworm.
Books have always filled our home, occupying shelves and stacks in nearly every room. Audiobooks have been a blessing — they keep the clutter down and help me tackle household chores while I listen.
Thanks to audiobooks, chores like doing the dishes or folding laundry became an excuse to keep listening. I never imagined I’d look forward to scrubbing the bathroom, but audiobooks have that effect.
While listening to Stephenie Meyer’s The Chemist, a character mentioned baking a Bananas Foster Butter Cake. I paused the audiobook and thought, what is that? I was determined to recreate it.
What is Bananas Foster Cake?
The first decision in creating a Bananas Foster Cake was choosing the cake base. I settled on St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake — a slightly sweet, yeast-risen dough with a lacquered brown sugar and butter topping. That texture and flavor pair beautifully with bananas foster sauce.
Some modern recipes use a yellow cake base with a cream cheese topping, but true St. Louis gooey butter cake uses a yeasted dough topped with a gooey brown sugar layer. It’s legendary in St. Louis: reportedly a baker once added too much butter to a coffee cake, cut it into squares, and discovered it was impossible not to love.
It really is that good. The cake is the kind you lick your plate for and maybe have a second slice, even if it means extra gym time later. It’s also delicious for breakfast — something I happily tested one morning with great results.
St. Louis butter cake was made for Bananas Foster sauce
The yeasted cake soaks up the caramel-y sauce while the bananas nestle into the gooey topping. The contrast between the soft, risen dough and the lush, boozy sauce is what makes this dessert irresistible.
I don’t know if Stephenie Meyer imagined this exact version when she mentioned the cake in her book, but it’s a brilliant idea to bring into the kitchen.
More single layer cake recipes
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Almond Cake
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Orange Drizzle Cake
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Banana Oat Cake with Chocolate Buttercream
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Elderflower Lemon Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
More banana recipes
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Banana Cream Cake
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Black Bottom Banana Cream Pie with Vanilla Wafer Crust
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One Bowl Banana Bread
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The Best Gluten-Free Banana Muffins
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Vegan Banana Chocolate Muffins with Maple Tahini Glaze
If you make this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, or tag a photo #ofbatteranddough on Instagram.
Happy baking!
📖 Recipe
Bananas Foster Butter Cake
12 servings
Bananas Foster Cake is St. Louis gooey butter cake topped with boozy Bananas Foster sauce — an exceptional pairing of textures and flavors.
Ingredients
For the Butter Cake:
- ½ cup (113 grams) milk, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 6 tablespoons (3 ounces/85 grams) butter, at room temperature
- ¼ cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt (or ½ teaspoon table salt)
- 1 large egg
- 1 ¾ cup (210 grams) all-purpose flour
For the Gooey Topping:
- ¼ cup (84 grams) honey
- 2 tablespoons (29 grams) water
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 12 tablespoons (170 grams/6 ounces) butter, at room temperature
- ¾ cup (160 grams) dark brown sugar
- ¾ cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt (or ½ teaspoon table salt)
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup + 3 tablespoons (143 grams) all-purpose flour
For the Bananas Foster Sauce:
- 8 tablespoons (4 ounces/113 grams) unsalted butter
- 1 cup (213 grams) dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt (or ¼ teaspoon table salt)
- ¾ cup (6 ounces/170 grams) heavy cream
- 3 large bananas, cut into ~1-inch slices
- ½ cup (4 ounces) dark rum
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Make the Butter Cake:
- Stir the milk and yeast together in a small bowl and set aside about 5 minutes to activate the yeast.
- In a medium bowl, beat the butter, sugar, and salt with a hand mixer until light and fluffy, about 3–5 minutes. Add the egg and beat 1–2 minutes until combined and slightly increased in volume.
- Add the flour and milk mixture in alternating additions: one-third of the flour, half of the milk, one-third flour, remaining milk, then the last third of flour. Beat each addition on medium speed for about 30 seconds until combined.
- Scrape the bowl after each addition. After the final flour, beat about 1 minute until the dough is very smooth.
- Press the dough into an even layer in an ungreased 9×13-inch baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until slightly puffed, about 3–4 hours.
Make the Topping:
- When the dough has risen, preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C).
- Whisk the honey, water, and vanilla in a small bowl.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle (or using a hand mixer), beat the butter, both sugars, and salt on medium-high until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
- Add the egg and beat 1 minute more to combine.
- Alternate adding the remaining flour and the honey mixture (one-third flour, half honey, one-third flour, remaining honey, last third flour), mixing on low just to combine. Do not overbeat.
- Spoon dollops of the topping over the risen dough and gently smooth into an even layer, being careful not to deflate the dough.
- Bake 30–35 minutes. The edges should be set and golden; the center will still be jiggly. It will set as it cools.
- Remove from the oven and cool completely before slicing and topping with Bananas Foster sauce.
Make the Bananas Foster Sauce:
- In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Cook over medium heat until butter and sugar melt and the mixture begins to boil, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the cream and bring to a full boil, then reduce to medium-low and cook, stirring constantly, about 5 minutes. Add the bananas, stir to coat, and return to a gentle boil.
- Stir in the rum and cook 1–2 minutes, stirring gently so the bananas hold their shape. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
- Serve the sauce immediately over slices of cake. The sauce can be refrigerated for 2–3 days; reheat gently before serving.
Notes
Why use a hand mixer? A hand mixer is ideal for beating this small amount of butter and sugar into a light, fluffy texture. A stand mixer can work, but you may need to stop and scrape the bowl more often to ensure even mixing.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12
Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 516Total Fat: 24gSaturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 94mgSodium: 671mgCarbohydrates: 68gFiber: 2gSugar: 48gProtein: 5g