Banana Cake

Banana Cake

For the cake:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 ounces unsalted butter, at room temperature (1 cup or 2 sticks)
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs at room temperature
• about 4 very ripe bananas, mashed (1 1/2 - 1 3/4 cups)
• 1 cup Chobani banana Greek yogurt

For the caramel sauce:

• 1 cup sugar
• 5 tablespoons butter, cut into cubes
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• pinch sea salt, to taste

Instructions

For the cake:

1. Center a rack in the center of your oven and preheat to 350. Butter or spray a 12-cup Bundt pan and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy. Add in the sugar, beating until pale and fluffy. Add in the vanilla, then the eggs one at a time, beating for about 1 minute in between each addition. Reduce your mixer speed to low, and add in the banana. Finally, mix in half of your dry ingredients, then all of the yogurt, and then the remainder of the flour mixture. Scrape into your prepared pan and tap lightly on the counter top to smooth out the batter.
4. Bake for 65 to 75 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Check your cake after 30 minutes. Mine was starting to get a little brown on top, so I tented in loosely with foil for the remainder of the baking time.
5. Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan. Allow cake to cool to room temperature, then drizzle with salted caramel sauce, if desired.

For the caramel sauce:

6. In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat sugar over medium-high heat. Stir continuously until sugar melts completely and all of the chunks have dissolved. Stop stirring, and continue to cook until the sugar turns a deep brown and starts to smoke – about 5 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat and wait 30 seconds.
7. Whisk in butter until melted. Next, SLOWLY add in the heavy cream – the mixture will bubble up violently, so make sure you’re using a larger pot than you think you need. Sprinkle in salt and stir to combine. Transfer to a jar and cool completely before refrigerating.