Billionaire Banana Pudding Cake is exactly what you would expect
If you love Banana Pudding you are going to love this one!
Fluffy caramel cake and vanilla pudding with fresh bananas bursting in every bite
The billionaire addition is a layer of caramel as well as in the cake sponge itself!
I love me some caramel any chance I can get so for me this was a total win!
A perfect combination of flavors with the vanilla and banana of traditional Banana Pudding Cake and silky caramel buttercream icing seals the deal!
Nilla Wafers are the signature touch in every traditional banana pudding recipe
But unfortunately they are definitely not vegan so
I had to create my own recipe first!
It’s a really simple recipe with only four ingredients
But of course the cookies are simply added garnish and not completely necessary for this cake
CLICK HERE TO GO GRAB THE NILLA WAFERS RECIPE
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Notes for Success:
The caramel recipe can be made as far as a week ahead of time!
Honestly if you are not a fan of caramel you can totally leave it out of this recipe altogether!
Caramel Cake layers can be baked and refrigerated for a couple days as long as they are wrapped well to prevent drying
You can also freeze the cake layers for up to a month!
A combination of cake flour and all purpose flour is my choice in the cake recipe
But if you have trouble getting cake flour you may use all ~all purpose flour instead, just take out ¼ cup of the total amount of flour
My preference is to always prepare the custard on the day I am ready to build the cake so the custard is able to set more firmly INSIDE the cake
When measuring cornstarch for the custard I cannot stress enough that a kitchen scale is the best way to go.
Cornstarch is a very difficult ingredient to measure consistently with a volume/spoons measure
So while I list both measures below I cannot stress enough how the grams measure with a scale is going to give you the best results.
I almost always bake 3-7″ layers for my cakes versus 8″ cakes, it’s just my preference
But if you only have 2-8″ pans that totally fine, just divide the batter between 2 -8″ pans
CLICK HERE TO WATCH HOW TO MAKE THE CARAMEL SPONGE CAKE RECIPE!
Billionaire Banana Pudding Cake
Ingredients
For the Caramel Sponge Cake
- 1½ cup Plant Milk 1½ cups (355ml)
- 1 Tbs White Vinegar (15ml)
- ½ cup Vegan Butter (113g)
- ½ cup Vegetable oil (117ml)
- ¾ cup Granulated Sugar (150g)
- 1 cup Caramel Sauce *from recipe listed below (237ml)
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 3 teaspoon Vanilla Extract (15ml)
- 2 cup All Purpose Flour (250g)
- 1 cup Cake Flour (120g)
- 2 teaspoon Baking Soda
For the Vanilla Custard
- 2¼ cup Plant Milk (533ml)
- ¾ cup Granulated Sugar (150g)
- 6 Tbs Cornstarch (48g)
- ¼ teaspoon Turmeric
- 1½ Tbs Vegan Butter (21g)
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract (5ml)
For the Caramel
- 2 cup Granulated Sugar (400g)
- 6 Tbs Water 6 Tablespoons (90ml)
- 1 teaspoon Lemon Juice or Vinegar (5ml)
- 1 cup Plant Milk (237ml)
- 2 Tbs Vegan Butter (28g)
- 1 teaspoon Sea Salt
- 2 Medium Bananas
For the Icing
Instructions
- First prepare the caramel sauce recipe by combining the sugar, vinegar & water in a medium heavy bottom sauce pot stirring only until is dissolved not after it starts to boil or you will get crystals in your caramel! The acid helps to prevent this, but it can still happen if you stir after it starts boiling
- Watch it carefully as it turns from a light amber to medium amber, take it off the heat when it is medium amber as it will continue to cook & get darker even after you remove it from the heat
- Slowly & carefully pour in the room temperature plant milk & add the vegan butter & salt stirring slowly & carefully. Once the bubbling subsides stir it to a smooth sauce
- Pour into a heat proof container and refrigerate until needed *it will thicken as it sits!
- Divide the caramel sauce into 1 cup for the cake batter / ½ cup for the buttercream & ½ cup for in between the layers
- Next preheat the oven to 350F & grease & parchment line your cake pans
- Prepare the cake batter by combining the vegetable oil with the melted vegan butter, add the vanilla extract & set aside
- Combine the plant milk with the vinegar & let stand for 5 minutes to thicken.
- Sift all the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl, including the sugar.
- Pour the wet ingredients this will be the plant milk mixture & the butter/oil mixture including the cooled caramel sauce into the dry ingredients & whisk smooth about 50 strokes to develop the batter
- Pour the batter into the greased and parchment lined pan(s) & bake immediately in the preheated 350°F oven for 15 minutes, then turn the open temperature down to 325°F to bake the rest of the way, approximately 20 minutes more or when you gently press the centers they are springy to the touch. Or do the toothpick test for moist crumbs.
- Cool in the pan(s) until you can safely touch without burning yourself then turn the cake(s) out onto a cooling rack to cool the rest of the way.
- Meanwhile prepare the buttercream recipe of your choice and at the last stage of mixing add in ¼ cup of that COLD COOLED caramel sauce. Reserve until needed
- Next prepare the vanilla custard by combining all the ingredients except for the vanilla extract & the vegan butter in a medium sauce pot over medium to high heat & bring to a boil stirring constantly to avoid scorching the bottom .
- Once it starts to bubble let it boil on low heat for about 20 seconds.
- Remove from the heat & add the vegan butter & vanilla extract & stir until melted & smooth.
- Let it cool before attempting to build this cake by layering with sponge cake ½ cup caramel 1 sliced banana then about ¾ cup custard.
- Repeat that same layering with the remaining ingredients then ice the cake with the caramel buttercream & garnish with the last of the caramel sauce & Nilla Wafers Cookies
Video
Notes
But if you have trouble getting cake flour you may use all ~all purpose flour instead, just take out ¼ cup of the total amount of flour My preference is to always prepare the custard on the day I am ready to build the cake so the custard is able to set more firmly INSIDE the cake When measuring cornstarch for the custard I cannot stress enough that a kitchen scale is the best way to go.
Cornstarch is a very difficult ingredient to measure consistently with a volume/spoons measure I almost always bake 3-7" layers for my cakes versus 8" cakes, it's just my preference
But if you only have 2-8" pans that totally fine, just divide the batter between 2 -8" pans Storage Because of the custard filling this cake must stay refrigerated. and will stay fresh for up to 6 days
Hi Gretchen, thank you so much for this amazing recipe. In the Carmel, for the plant milk should I use canned canned coconut milk, beverage coconut milk, or are there other plant milks that have a high fat content that you would use besides coconut milk.