Banana Hazelnut Cake

Please welcome back Melanie from Garnish and Glaze as she shares this positively gorgeous cake recipe!

I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty picky with my bananas.  There is about a two day window of when the bananas have the perfect taste and texture and then they just get too weird to eat plain… so then I use the extras in yummy recipes like banana bread, banana coffee cake, and this amazingly gorgeous Banana Hazelnut cake.

I absolutely love bananas paired with peanut butter, chocolate, or NUTELLA!  Whoever invented Nutella was a genius!  I love that chocolate nutty flavor.  So yummy on desserts or even on breakfast foods like waffles, pancakes, and crepes.

Let’s discuss this little beauty of a cake.  First, the cake is perfectly sweet, bananay, and has a light and fluffy crumb.  Second, the frosting is killer.  It’s a silky smooth, not too sweet, and yummy chocolate/hazelnut flavor.  Third, it’s got crunch and more Nutella drizzled on top if desired (who wouldn’t!?).

Serve it with some fresh sliced (and perfectly ripe) bananas for a lovely dessert for a dinner party.  I am pretty sure ice cream would pair awesome with it as well.

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How to make

Banana Hazelnut Cake

Yield: 10

Prep Time: 40 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Inactive Time 40 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours 5 minutes

Banana Hazelnut Cake is the perfect combination of banana, chocolate, and nuts.

Ingredients

For the Cake:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 7 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup (about 2) mashed bananas
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 3/4 cup chopped hazelnuts

For the Frosting:

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (NOT powdered sugar)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/3 cup Nutella or hazelnut spread
• 1/3 cup chopped hazelnuts

Directions

For the Cake:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F (350° if your pans are dark). Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, starch, baking powder, soda, and salt. Set aside.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar together. Beat in the eggs until smooth and then add the bananas and buttermilk, mixing until fully incorporated. Stir in the flour until just combined. Fold in the hazelnuts. Spread equally into two pans.
4. Bake for 22-25 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 5 minutes on a cooling rack and then remove from pans onto rack to cool completely.

For the Frosting:

1. In a small sauce pan, whisk together cream and flour. Add milk and heat over medium-high heat whisking constantly. Cook until it turns into a thick sauce like pudding. Remove from heat and pour into a shallow container. Place in fridge or freezer and stir every 5 minutes until it has cooled to at least room temperature.
2. In the bowl of a standing mixer, use the whisk attachment to beat the butter and sugar for 2 minutes or until fluffy. Add the cooled milk mixture, Nutella, and vanilla and beat for 6-10 minutes until it comes together and is fluffy. If the frosting is too airy, switch to using the paddle attachment and beat on low for 2-4 minutes.

Assembling the Cake:

1. Place one cake on a cake stand and top with one fourth of the frosting. Place the second cake on top upside-down. Apply a thin layer of frosting on the top and sides of cake to create a crumb layer. Place cake in the fridge for 30-60 minutes and then frost the top and sides. Pipe additional decorations on top. Sprinkle the top of the cake with chopped hazelnuts and press more into the sides.

Recipe Notes

Banana Cake- adapted from Sweet Serendipity; Frosting- inspired by Our Best Bites

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

If you make this recipe, be sure to snap a picture and share it on Instagram with #handletheheat so we can all see!

Recipe by Melanie Dueck