• Banana Cake Layers
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour three 8 inch cake pans. We also like to line the bottoms of the pans with circles of parchment paper.
• In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt for 30 seconds, set aside.
• In another bowl, add the buttermilk, vanilla and mashed bananas.  Blend and set aside.
• In the bowl of your mixer, add the slightly softened butter and mix at medium speed until smooth. 
• Gradually add the sugar and continue to mix on medium speed for 3 to 5 minutes until lightened in color and fluffy. 
• Add the eggs one at a time mixing until the yellow of the yolk disappears.
• With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients (3 additions of dry ingredients and 2 of liquid.  Mix just until well blended- be careful not to over-mix.
• Pour batter into prepared pans and bake at 350 degrees F for 25 to 30 minutes.  Cake is done with a toothpick comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached.  
• Cool in pan for 5-10 minutes on a cooling rack before turning out.

For the Caramel Glaze and Caramel Frosting

• We are making the caramel sauce first. Part will be reserved as a glaze. The rest will be used for the frosting.
• Using a large saucepan (deep enough to prevent boil over) melt the butter over medium heat.
• Add the brown sugar, whipping cream, salt, and light corn syrup.
• Stir to blend, try to keep mixture off the sides of the pan. Once the mixture begins to boil, reduce the heat to low.
• Simmer for 6 minutes, checking often to make sure that it is not going to boil over. It should still be bubbling. After 6 minutes, remove from heat.
• Allow the caramel to cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Scoop one cup from the saucepan and reserve it in a bowl. This is what we will use or the caramel glaze in between the cake layers as well as on top.
• The remaining caramel (approximately 2½-2¾ cup) will be used for the frosting. Pour into a heat proof mixing bowl.
• Add the confectioners sugar to the hot mixture bit by bit, mixing at medium speed until smooth.
• The mixture will thicken as the powdered sugar is added.Add a small amount of very hot water (one teaspoon or tablespoon at a time) as needed until the frosting reaches a good consistency for spreading. Makes about 4-4.5 cups of frosting. When not using the frosting, place plastic wrap over the bowl.

Assembly of the Cake

• Place the first banana cake layer on the cake base or pedestal. Spread with a layer of frosting, drizzle with the reserved, cooled caramel (keeping away from the edge of the cake.) I drizzled my caramel through a disposable piping bag with the tip snipped away.
• Top with the second cake layer and repeat (spread frosting, drizzle with caramel.) Top with the third cake layer. Fill in any gaps between the cake layers with frosting. I like to do this using a disposable piping bag with the tip snipped away.
• Frost the top and around the sides of the cake with a very thin layer of frosting. At this point, we like to chill the cake to firm everything up in the freezer for 15 minutes, or longer in the refrigerator.
• Then, apply the second layer of frosting. The frosting sets up very quickly- you can always mix hot water in very small amounts into the frosting bowl to thin the consistency. If you are going for a smooth finish, gliding over the freshly frosted cake with a hot spatula (heated with hot water) will smooth it. Add additional fresh frosting here and there as needed before smoothing over with the heated spatula.

  *Decorate however you like, but if piping a drip around the sides, the frosting should be smooth enough for the caramel to easily drip down.

Piping the Drip

• Load the reserved, cooled caramel sauce into a disposable piping bag with the tip snipped away. Pipe drips around the top edge of the chilled cake, and then fill in on top as well. You can practice first on the inside of a bowl if you'd like. If the caramel is too thick, warm very slightly in small increments in the microwave- just enough to reach desired consistency.
• I piped a final decorative border around the top edge of the cake using a 21 star tip with the last bit of frosting. Apply the border to the chilled, glazed cake. Make sure the caramel is not still migrating downward or your border may slide.

Storage

• Store the cake in an airtight container or under a cake dome at room temperature for 1-2 days. After that, move to the refrigerator to extend freshness.