Browned Butter Banana Bundt Cake

Browned butter is a flavor that goes well with just about everything, adding an extra toasty, nutty and rich flavor to almost any dish. There are a few flavors that it goes particularly well with and banana is one of them. The sweet flavor of a very ripe banana is greatly enhanced buy the savory notes that browned butter adds, and that is what inspired me to make this alliteratively named Browned Butter Banana Bundt Cake

The bundt cake uses browned butter, bananas, sour cream, brown sugar and vanilla to create a delicious cake that is easy enough to make for everyday snacking. The cake is moist and tender, with a soft, light crumb. It isn’t heavy or dense, as some banana breads can be. None of the flavors overwhelm the others in this cake. Instead, they all seem to come together and blend seamlessly. This means that it will be hard for anyone you serve it to to put their finger on exactly what makes this cake so good.

I added a browned butter glaze to the cake to add a little extra sweetness and further enhance the browned butter flavor in the batter. I browned the butter on the stovetop for the cake and made a little bit extra, so I could set some aside for the glaze. If you do this, your reserved butter might firm up while you wait for the cake to finish baking. Don’t worry if this happens, as the butter can be easily remelted in just a few seconds in the microwave. If you have a large microwave-safe container, you can actually prepare all of your browned butter in the microwave instead of on the stovetop to save a little bit of time (although you will still need to keep a close eye on it as it cooks and take care to use a large bowl). The glaze is so good that I will definitely look for other cakes and cupcakes to top with it – and might just start putting it on my regular banana bread, too!

Browned Butter Banana Bundt
3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 ripe, medium bananas, mashed (about 1 – 1 1/4 cups)
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350F and lightly grease a 10-inch bundt pan
In a small saucepan, brown the butter (see below for detailed instructions). Pour into a small bowl and allow to cool for about 10 minutes.
In a large bowl, whisk together browned butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs one by one, waiting until each has been incorporated to add the next. Beat in vanilla extract and mashed bananas.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add half of the flour mixture to the butter mix and stir to combine. Add in the sour cream, followed by the remaining flour mixture.
Pour batter into prepared pan
Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean and the top springs back when lightly pressed.
Allow cake to cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then turn cake out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Browned Butter Glaze
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
approx 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

In a small skillet, brown the butter (see below). Pour into a medium bowl and allow to cool slightly.
Whisk milk, vanilla and about 1/2 cup confectioners sugar into the browned butter until smooth. Gradually blend in additional confectioners sugar until you have a glaze that is smooth and thick enough to drizzle generously over the cake.

To make Browned Butter: Melt butter (I prefer unsalted for this) in a small saucepan on the stove. Continue cooking it on medium-high heat until the butter boils. Turn heat down to medium. Don’t worry if your butter bubbles or foams; just keep cooking it. As the butter begins to brown, you will see specks of darker brown develop at the bottom of the pan. Stir these up and cook until the butter has a nice and even dark honey color. Remove from heat and transfer to another container to cool.