Bananas Foster Poundcake
- Total Time
- 1¾ hours
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:10 to 12 servings
- Nonstick cooking spray
- 3cups/600 grams granulated sugar
- 1cup/225 grams unsalted butter (2 sticks), at room temperature
- 3cups/375 grams self-rising flour
- ½cup/120 milliliters sour cream, at room temperature
- ½cup/120 milliliters buttermilk, at room temperature
- 6large eggs, at room temperature
- 1teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 4ripe bananas
- ¼cup/55 grams unsalted butter (½ stick)
- ¼cup/55 grams light or dark brown sugar (not packed)
- ½teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1nip bottle/50 milliliters dark liquor (such as cognac, bourbon or whiskey) or buttermilk (about a scant 3½ tablespoons)
- 1teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1½cups/185 grams confectioners’ sugar
- Ice cream or whipped cream and candied pralines, for serving (optional)
For the Pound Cake
For the Bananas Foster
For the Glaze
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (12 servings)
683 calories; 27 grams fat; 14 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 9 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 105 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 77 grams sugars; 8 grams protein; 443 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
Heat oven to 325 degrees and generously coat a 10-inch/12-cup Bundt cake pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- Step 2
Make the bananas Foster filling: Peel the bananas and cut them crosswise into ½-inch slices. Melt butter in a medium (10-inch) skillet over medium heat. Stir in the brown sugar and cinnamon, then add the sliced bananas. Cook, stirring occasionally, until a sugary syrup forms, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Step 3
Turn off the flame (or if using an electric stove, pull the skillet off the heat) and add the liquor, if using. Return pan to the heat and, if using a gas stove, slightly tilt the pan near the flame to flambé. (If using an electric stove, light the liquid with a long-reach lighter.) Let the flames die down, swirling the pan until the alcohol burns off. Reduce heat to low and stir briefly with a wooden spoon. (Alternatively, skip adding the alcohol, add buttermilk and cook sauce just until the liquid reduces slightly.) Strain liquid from bananas into a medium bowl to separate bananas and sauce; set both aside.
- Step 4
Make the cake: In a stand mixer or with a hand-held mixer on medium speed, cream together granulated sugar and butter until light and fluffy, about 4 to 5 minutes.
- Step 5
Sift the flour into a medium bowl. In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, mix together the sour cream and buttermilk.
- Step 6
Once the butter is creamed, add 1 egg at a time and mix until each is fully incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition.
- Step 7
Add half the flour and mix on low speed until fully incorporated. With the mixer running, add the buttermilk mixture in a slow, steady stream and mix until fully incorporated. Add the remaining flour and mix.
- Step 8
Once fully combined, add the vanilla and mix to incorporate. By hand, fold in strained bananas.
- Step 9
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth evenly. Bake for 65 to 80 minutes, until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean.
- Step 10
While the cake cools, prepare the glaze: Sift the confectioners’ sugar into the bowl with the reserved banana sauce and whisk to combine. If the glaze is too thick, thin with water (or buttermilk), 1 tablespoon at a time, until it’s smooth, drizzles easily and coats the back of a wooden spoon.
- Step 11
Once cake has cooled, invert it onto a large serving plate, and spoon the glaze over. Slice the cake and serve with ice cream or whipped cream and candied pralines, if desired.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
John
To make self-rising flour sift 4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder and 1 teaspoon salt into 3 cups regular flour.
Lisa
This recipe also produces three loaf pans worth of pound cake.
David
2 c sugar is more than enough. Probably could get by with 1 3/4 c as bananas add sweetness too.
josie
Made this cake with GF, cup4cup, and added 1ts baking soda, 1ts baking powder and a pinch of salt. Reduced the sugar to 2 cups and added lemon rind to counter the very sweet banana mix with the brown sugar. It came out great, the texture of the cake was perfect and the cake was delish.
V
I made this vegan, using vegan butter - I was running low, so I used 2/3 cup butter and 1/3 cup canola oil. I subbed coconut yogurt for sour cream, soy milk + vinegar for buttermilk - I doubled the quantities of both, omitted the eggs, and added a pinch of baking soda for a good rise. I cut the sugar to 1 1/3 cup, and it is definitely sweet enough - next time I would just use 1 cup. It worked fine, and it is delicious, buttery and tender. I may use jaggery + cardamom in the bananas next time.
David
I made this yesterday and came out well. Easy recipe even if it looks dounting when reading for the first time. You can reduce the amount of sugar by a third easily. Total calories for this recipe which serves 24 is about 6500 calories, or 275 cals per slice. Without ice cream or other extras that is.
Sara
I made this cake exactly according to the recipe and it’s delicious! The recipe doesn’t tell you when to put the vanilla in the bananas so I missed that ingredient but added some to the glaze up for it. Also would not recommend letting it cool in the pan before removing. Comes out better 10-15 minutes after you take it out of the oven.
Jean
If you read the recipe, the confectioners sugar is mixed with the bananas Foster sauce to create the glaze.
Liz
This was incredibly tasty. One suggestion - GENEROUSLY grease the pan. My cake stuck to the inside of the pan and would not come out. Still tasted amazing. Best the same day when there is a nice crust.
Steven H
Great recipe! Delicious! However, the baking pan needs to be well greased and dusted with flour, instead of only spraying with cooking spray. I have made the recipe 3 times - twice with cooking spray in a nonstick pan and the cake was not removable from the pan both times, and a third time with a well greased pan that was floured and this time the cake released perfectly. I did not find there was enough remaining cooking liquid from the bananas to make the glaze.
Lisa
There’s a teaspoon of vanilla for the bananas foster listed but no instruction on when to incorporate so I didn’t. Tasted just fine and only noticed this making it a second time so I’m skipping again!
Ete
This recipe was delicious!! I followed everything as instructed and it came out perfect! I live in France, so I could not find buttermilk or sour cream. I substituted the buttermilk for "lait fermenté (kefir)" and the sour cream for "creme fraiche". They were great substitutes.
ShaneK
Very sticky! Grease the pan extra well. And watch carefully when it’s in the oven. The top burnt a little before the center was done. I suggest a slightly lower oven temperature.
half recipe
Halved the recipe, used John’s note for turning all purpose to self-rising flour. I used a Bundt pan and it rose to about 3/4 of the way up the pan. Used .8 white and .2 brown sugar in the batter used 1 extremely large banana and was generous on my measurements for the bananas foster sauce. I still had to add extra cognac to the sauce to make the glaze. cake turned out fantastic! Extra booze in the glaze was delicious. When I make it again, I will go at least 1.5 x the banana and 2x the sauce.
chicagojay
Mine sank in the middle while still in the oven. Checked on it at 55 min.
Jaime
Agree with others, take precautions, this cake sticks to the pan. Great flavors and texture, I think mashing the bananas would be better next time as I have giant chunks of folded in bananas. It was, however, extremely too sweet for me with 3 cups sugar in the batter plus the glaze. It sounds as if others have successfully cut it back without changing the texture; will adjust accordingly next time.
Rachel K
So delicious. Made as written, huge hit!
smpaine
Followed the recipe exactly and it came together perfectly. Maybe my cinnamon was old and tired, maybe the bananas weren't verging on overly ripe, but there was very little banana flavor. Has anyone tried adding a dash or 2 of nutmeg?
half recipe
Halved the recipe, used John’s note for turning all purpose to self-rising flour. I used a Bundt pan and it rose to about 3/4 of the way up the pan. Used .8 white and .2 brown sugar in the batter used 1 extremely large banana and was generous on my measurements for the bananas foster sauce. I still had to add extra cognac to the sauce to make the glaze. cake turned out fantastic! Extra booze in the glaze was delicious. When I make it again, I will go at least 1.5 x the banana and 2x the sauce.
Luther
Great cake! Will keep a week in fridge. Followed recipe. Did not have 12c Bundt pan so used 18c poundcake pan. Good thing I did as batter completely filled the pan as it was baking. Did have issue with lack of syrup to be drained from bananas, perhaps more butter when making banana foster. Suggest using buttermilk over water when thinning glaze. Remove cake from pan after 15 minutes and completely cool on wire rack. Used dark Jamaican rum.
ShaneK
Very sticky! Grease the pan extra well. And watch carefully when it’s in the oven. The top burnt a little before the center was done. I suggest a slightly lower oven temperature.
virginia cook
I made it as written the first time (buttering and flouring the pan) and it came out great! I just made it a second time and traded the bananas for strawberries and it was equally delicious and a little more suited for spring.
AnnetteK
This recipe made a lot of batter for my KitchenAid Classic mixer. I would make 2/3 of the cake recipe next time (probably with same amount of bananas foster). Also, I couldn't set the whiskey on fire, even though I tried several times; maybe it was because it was old/already-opened bottle?
DF
Made this recently, and it was a big hit. My family and friends loved it, and even the dessert-averse found it delicious. Served it with passion-fruit ice cream, which had a nice tang to complement the sweetness of the cake and glaze.
TD
Do you have to flame the liquor? What happens if you add the liquor without lighting it?
DF
Not much, really. The glaze will have a sharper taste and higher alcohol content. I thought the same thing and set aside a small amount of the banana mixture before I ignited the rest. I preferred the taste of the flamed mixture.
marchone
Kudos to the Times for including metric measurements.
mjan
Are the bananas supposed to be mashed before adding to the batter? The cake doesn't look like it has chunks of bananas folded into it.
Just me
This was so delicious even though I messed up from not reading carefully. It calls for self-rising flour, not all-purpose flour. Per reader notes, I cut the sugar in 1/2 and it was still pleasantly sweet. Also I used a concoction of nonfat Greek yogurt and half-and-half to substitute for sour cream. Can’t wait to make it again!
Kristen
I cut this in half except used three bananas and put it in a smaller bundt pan and baked for 50 minutes. It came out incredibly moist and delicious, but I wonder if I should have baked it longer. The toothpick came out clean. Next time, I will try the full recipe.
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