Bananas Foster Cake Recipe (with Pecan Praline Glaze)
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Bananas Foster Cake is a moist and tender banana cake infused with rum under a thick layer of sweet, rich, and buttery Pecan Praline Glaze. This banana rum cake comes dressed for any party.
Bananas Foster Cake is a beautifully tender homemade banana cake recipe that is bathed in a buttery pecan praline sauce that will have you eating it right from the pan. I’m so drawn to the buttery flavor of caramel and pecans that this recipe checked all of my sweet tooth buttons. If you are too, just take a look at these Pecan Pie Layer Cake, Pumpkin Pecan Cheesecake, and these super easy Turtle Brownies recipes!
I’ve got to be straight up with you. I’m not wild about cooked bananas or bananas that are too soft so a traditional Bananas Foster dessert isn’t in my list of favorites.
Don’t get me wrong, we love bananas, and love baking them into bread such as our Homemade Banana Bread recipe.
This Banana Foster Bundt cake is very moist and the crumb is tender and dense like a pound cake. Covered with a thick layer of praline glaze makes this Banana Bundt Cake one of those cakes perfect for any occasion.
It’s also one of those cakes that can serve several people, and it’s fire-free!
Why do they call it Bananas Foster?
Like so many amazing rich recipes, Bananas Foster Dessert originated in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1951, based on a family recipe of Emily Brennan.
It was named after Richard Foster, the chairman of the New Orleans Crime Commission and a friend of restaurant owner Owen Brennan.
Traditional Bananas Foster is a dessert made from bananas and vanilla ice cream with a sauce made with rum and banana liqueur and then ignited to burn off the alcohol. The technique is called flambé.
I’ve taken liberties with this cake. I don’t top it with a traditional Bananas Foster Sauce or flambé this banana cake.
Banana Foster Bundt Cake Recipe Ingredients
- Cake flour – Cake flour gives your cake a tender crumb.
- Baking Powder – makes your cake rise
- Sugar
- Brown Sugar – I like dark brown sugar. It has more of a molasses flavor.
- Buttermilk – makes your cake so moist!
- Rum
- Flavorings – vanilla extract, cinnamon, salt
- Eggs – I always use large eggs for consistent results in my baking.
- Pecans
- Bananas – ripened and soft
- Butter
Tips for making this Bananas Foster Bundt Cake recipe
- Ripe bananas are softer and sweeter. They also blend a lot easier.
- You can ripen bananas for baking by placing unpeeled bananas on a foil-lined baking sheet and baking them in a 300°F oven for 15-20 minutes or until the peel is black all over.
- Pro Tip: It’s even easier to make our favorite banana cake recipe anytime if I mash and freeze bananas in freezer-quality bags as soon as they start to get overripe. This allows me to have a steady supply of bananas on hand for this cake or our Banana Bread Recipe with Applesauce, Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, or these delicious Banana Blueberry Muffins.
- You can ripen bananas for baking by placing unpeeled bananas on a foil-lined baking sheet and baking them in a 300°F oven for 15-20 minutes or until the peel is black all over.
- This recipe uses cake flour. Cake flour creates a more tender crumb.
- I recommend that you sift and then measure the flour. Sifting aerates the flour. It also increases the volume which is why it’s measured after sifting.
- You can make your own cake flour by taking a level cup of all-purpose flour and then removing 2 tablespoons. Replace the 2 tablespoons of flour with corn starch and then sift together and measure.
- Grease and flour your bundt pan. You don’t want the cake to stick and by flouring it you can also see if you’ve applied enough grease.
- I use shortening to grease my pans.
- You can substitute the Rum for any banana liqueur or go alcohol-free by adding an equal amount of liquid. Water or apple juice is what we recommend.
- We love Bambu Rum in this recipe and it’s our go-to sipping rum. This rum is smooth and has an essence of bananas without a strong or artificial banana flavor.
Tips for making Pecan Praline Glaze
This is a cooked caramel frosting. While it’s not difficult to make, we do have some helpful tips that I hope you’ll glance through before making the recipe.
- Pecan Praline glaze will thicken as it cools. For this reason, don’t start making it until you’re ready to apply it to the cake.
- I start making the Praline sauce after I remove the cake from the oven. The cake is cool enough to remove from the bundt pan by the time the sauce is made, approximately 15 to 20 minutes.
- Melt the butter first and then add the brown sugar. Cook over medium heat. Too high a heat can burn your brown sugar. Burnt sugar is bitter and can’t be used.
- Don’t overcook the sauce. You can end up with a hard clump.
- If that happens, add a little water and slowly heat it into the glaze.
- Add the pecans after the glaze is made. It makes it much easier to stir the caramel icing mixture.
- The mixture will thicken as it cools. Pour over the cake as soon as it has a slightly thickened consistency. See the video on the recipe card.
Bananas Foster Cake should be stored covered and eaten within 3 days. The cake may be frozen prior to applying the glaze in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
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- Bundt Pan – I love this pan. It’s not only beautiful but it has a non-stick coating that really helps my cakes release.
- Spatulas – I get a lot of comments on my pretty spatulas. This pretty set has a flat side and a curved side to take on your toughest job. I love that they are all one piece and can withstand 500°F!
- Whisks – I love my whisks and have them in several sizes, shapes, and colors. I have a gadget obsession I guess and love these!
There are no mushy bananas in this Bananas Foster Bunt Cake. Just a sweet tender cake under a layer of a rich buttery Praline frosting. AND since Bananas Foster Dessert is supposed to include vanilla ice cream, it’s only right to add a dollop right on top!
If you like this recipe, we would appreciate your comment and a 5-star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review!
Bananas Foster Cake with Pecan Praline Glaze
Ingredients
Cake Ingredients
- 3 cups cake flour sifted and then measured
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter melted
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup buttermilk room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 eggs room temperature
- 1/4 cup rum (we like dark rum)
- 1 cup bananas mashed (3 bananas)
- 1/2 cup pecans roughly chopped (optional)
Pecan Praline Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter melted
- 1 cup brown sugar firmly packed
- 1/4 cup rum
- 1 cup powdered sugar sifted
- 1/2 cup pecans roughly chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease and flour a bundt pan or one 9×13-inch pan.
- Sift the cake flour and then measure out 3 cups into a large mixing bowl.
- Add the baking powder, cinnamon, and salt to the sifted flour and whisk together to combine.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer combine the melted butter with the brown sugar, white sugar, buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, and rum. Beat until combined.
- With the electric mixer on low, gradually add the dry ingredients alternating with the bananas to the wet ingredients. Continue mixing until the batter is smooth. Batter will be thin.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan. Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until cake tests done.
- Allow the pan to cool 15 to 30 minutes and then turn it onto a serving plate.
Pecan Praline Glaze
- In a medium-sized saucepan, melt the butter. Add brown sugar and bring to a boil. Boil for exactly 2 minutes, stirring continuously. Add the rum and bring back to boiling. As soon as it has reached the boiling state remove it from the heat. Beat in the powdered sugar and vanilla. Stir in the pecans. Spread glaze over the cake.
- The cake can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Video
Notes
- Sift cake flour before measuring it. Sifting aerates and increases the volume so if you measured and then sifted you would be using more than what this Bananas Foster cake recipe needs.
- Pecan Praline glaze will thicken as it cools. For this reason, don’t start making it until you’re ready to apply it to the cake.
- Melt the butter first and then add the brown sugar. Cook over medium heat. Too high a heat can burn your brown sugar. Burnt sugar is bitter and can’t be used.
- Don’t overcook the sauce.
- If that happens, add a little water and slowly heat it into the glaze.
- Add the pecans after the glaze is made. It makes it much easier to stir the caramel icing mixture.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
This recipe was calculated using the exact brands and measurements I used to make this recipe. If you are following a strict diet please note changing anything will cause the nutritional info to change. My calculations are intended as a guide only.
If you enjoyed our Bananas Foster Cake, you may like our Spice Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting, Banana Apple Bread, and this Old-Fashioned Banana Cake recipe!
Did you enjoy this recipe? Don’t forget to pin it for later and follow me on Pinterest for more delicious recipes like this one!
Do you have a favorite cake? I’d love to know what it is! Just leave me a comment below.
This is absolutely one of the BEST banana cakes I have ever made. Thank you for sharing such an awesome and delicious cake recipe. It was PERFECT as written.
Thank you. It’s one of my favorites, too.
Can the cake be frozen ahead of time?
The cake can before the praline glaze has been added. I wouldn’t freeze the prailing.
My glazed hardened too quickly. Do you think I cooked it for too long or the heat was too high?
Either one of those issues could have caused it to harden quickly. It will also set up quickly as it cools. If you haven’t applied it try heating it up with a little water slowly to thin it down.
The flavor was good but the consistency was rubbery.
I’ve never had that experience.
Could you use a pecan cake mix & add bananas & rum?
I make this cake from scratch but I don’t know why you couldn’t do what you’re suggesting. Let me know how it works. That would be a whole new recipe for our readers.
We don’t use alcoholic beverages in our home. I can substitute juice, but could I also add a little rum flavoring?
You certainly can use rum flavoring and pineapple juice would be amazing in this recipe, Melody. You do not have to use alcohol.
I’ve made this cake and am just a little confused. The recipe calls for one teaspoon of vanilla for the batter and vanilla in the body of the recipe for the glaze. The ingredients on the recipe for the glaze does not show this. Is there vanilla in the glaze.
This cake was superb. The instructions were simple, and I love that it uses some of the same ingredients in the glaze as well, so the ingredient list isn’t super long. The pecans are a lovely addition to the inside of the cake, so I highly recommend using them. Spiced dark rum was perfect for us! Will definitely make again.
Thank you so much, Lynn! I’m soo glad that you chose to make this cake, It’s one of our favorite cakes for entertaining because it goes so far!
I would like to make this cake but my guests will have children included ages 5-14 will the rum hurt them? I have heard baking it burns off the alchohol is that true?
The rum will not totally cook out so I consciously wouldn’t serve it to them. You can either make them their own special treat or make this cake alcohol-free by substituting the rum with another liquid such as apple juice. I hope you’ll try it though because it’s amazing!
Made this tonight as triple layer cake with a 3″ ramekin (30 min), 6″ springform (40 min), and 8″ springform (45 min). Came out perfect. I used sugar instead of flour to dust the pans, so the cake had a nice outer caramelization like a brulée. I let the glaze cool a bit and mixed in fresh banana slices, then poured a little between each layer and over the entire cake. This is a new favorite for sure.
I’ve not tried it as a layer cake so thank you so much for sharing that tip. Your cake sounds like it belongs in a 5-star restaurant!
Hi, this looks incredibly delicious! Do you think the glaze would be good to use on pumpkin cream choux pastry. Will it harden enough?
Thank you in advance!
Hi Tina! The glaze does harden somewhat. I’ve never made a choux pastry so can’t advise whether it will work or not.
I’d like to try this in some mini loaf pans so I can share this great looking recipe with some neighbors. Any thoughts on how long the cooking time would be since the pan is smaller and not as dense as a bundt cake pan.
I would start checking them at 30 minutes. What a wonderful idea! Your neighbors are lucky to have you.
Is the rum used in the sauce supposed to be a dark rum, like in the cake? Has any ever used a light rum in the cake and sauce?
I used the same run in both the cake and sauce and it was dark. We tend to enjoy the dark rum and the banana notes that it has. You can definitely use what you have and like Annette.
Are you suppose to melt the butter for the cake? or just the glaze? How much vanilla goes in the glaze?
The butter is softened for the cake and there isn’t any vanilla in the glaze.
Im confused. Here you say butter is softened, but recipe says melted butter. Do we melt butter for the cake or softened butter? Thank you so much. It looks delicious. I am about to attempt it.
Hi Patricia! The butter is melted in both the cake and the glaze.
The rum in this cake is utter PERFECTION! My husband loves Bananas Foster, and this cake hit the spot!
Amazing, amazing cake! Rich, moist, delicious and the praline frosting – done died and gone to heaven!
Thank you, Kathleen!
Beautiful cake. The addition of rum is going to be a game changer. I have spiced rum. Its dark too. How do you think that will taste?
Thank you, Sandra! Spiced or dark would be delicious!
What a fabulous cake! I can’t wait to make it … once I have more people to help me eat it.
Thank you, Ann!
Pinned this to make for Dan’s birthday! I hope mine turns out as spectacular as this gorgeous photo, WOW!! What a wonderful treat!!
Thank you, Deb! I hope Dan loves it!