Banana Cake With Caramel Icing

1. 1

   Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.** Grease and flour a 12-cup bundt pan.

2. 2

   Cream butter, sugar, and bananas together (I used a paddle attachment on my mixer); add eggs one at a time.

3. 3

   Dissolve the soda in the buttermilk and blend into the butter-sugar-egg mixture.

4. 4

   Sift the flour and baking powder together and add gradually, with the mixer on low.

5. 5

   Bake for 35-40 minutes until a tester comes out clean. I know you're impatient, but let the cake cool before unmoulding or it'll fall apart when you're removing it from the bundt pan.

6. 6

   Make the icing while the cake cools: Cook sugar and cream together until it forms a soft ball when dropped in cold water, remove from stove, add butter, and beat well before spreading on cake.

7. 7

   To caramelize bananas for decoration: Slice a banana. Melt a pat of butter in a non-stick pan over medium heat and mix a couple of tablespoons brown sugar in with a spatula. Add the bananas and cook for a minute or two on each side, until a tiny bit brown.

8. 8

   To make burnt sugar shards: Place 1/2 a cup of sugar in a small sauce pan and mix in 1 teaspoon water, so it takes on a sandy texture. Melt the sugar over high heat until it reaches a medium-dark amber color, then cool on a Silpat and break into shards.

* Per serving · 4 servings · Values may vary.