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Sticky Toffee Banana Snack Cake

This Sticky Toffee Banana Snack Cake is a soft, moist banana cake soaked with warm homemade toffee sauce and finished with a fluffy toffee buttercream frosting. The cake starts with overripe bananas, brown sugar, and melted butter for a rich base, then gets poked and soaked with buttery toffee sauce while still warm. Once cooled, it’s topped with a whipped caramel-style buttercream made with reserved toffee sauce and a pinch of sea salt
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Servings: 9 Squares
Course: Dessert
Ingredients Equipment Method

Ingredients
  

The Cake Batter
  • 3 medium overripe bananas mashed smooth
  • ½ cup (115g/1 stick) unsalted butter melted and cooled
  • 1 cup (200g) light brown sugar packed
  • 1 large egg room temperature
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • 1½ cups (190g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp salt
The Toffee Soak
  • ½ cup (115g/1 stick) unsalted butter
  • ¾ cup (150g) light brown sugar
  • ½ cup (120ml) heavy cream
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract
  • pinch of sea salt
The Toffee Buttercream Frosting
  • ½ cup (115/1 stick) unsalted butter softened
  • 2 cups (240g) powdered sugar sifted
  • ¼ cup (60ml) of the toffee sauce reserved from above, cooled
  • ¼ tsp sea salt

Equipment

  • 8x8 inch ceramic baking pan
  • Parchment paper
  • Medium saucepan
  • Mixing bowls
  • Whisk
  • Rubber spatula
  • Hand mixer or stand mixer

Method
 

The Toffee Sauce
  1. In a saucepan, combine all Toffee Soak ingredients. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat for 3–5 minutes until glossy and slightly thickened.
    Remove from heat and set aside. Pour 60ml (¼ cup) into a small bowl and put it in the fridge to cool completely, you will need this for the frosting later.
The Banana Cake
  1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease your 8x8 inch ceramic pan and line it with parchment paper.
    Whisk the melted butter and brown sugar. Add the egg, vanilla, and mashed bananas. Whisk until well combined.
    Fold in the flour, baking soda, and salt until just combined.
    Pour into the ceramic pan. Bake for 35–40 minutes. (Ceramic takes longer to heat; if the top browns too quickly, tent loosely with foil at the 30-minute mark)
    While the cake is hot, poke holes across the top with a fork. Pour half of the remaining warm toffee sauce (the stuff not in the fridge) over the cake.
    Let the cake cool completely in the pan.
The Toffee Buttercream
  1. Beat the softened butter for 3 minutes until pale and fluffy.
    Gradually add powdered sugar and salt, beating on low then high.
    Add the cooled toffee sauce from the fridge. Whip for another 2 minutes until it looks like a caramel cloud.
  2. Spread the buttercream over the cooled cake, creating deep swirls with your spatula. If you have any toffee sauce left, give it a 5-second microwave burst and drizzle it over the top right before serving.