Happy Thursday! My friends from Stroh sent me a nice gift a couple of months ago and I baked a delicious banana cake topped with a rum caramel topping.

Stroh is an Austrian rum that’s distilled from fermented molasses and is commonly used in baking or splashed in tea.

Let’s start with the recipe.

Yield 1 nine inch pan

Ingredients

For the caramel and banana topping

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar

pinch of salt

2 tablespoons rum. I used STROTH

4 medium bananas, sliced

For the cake

1 and 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

8 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature

3/4 cup white granulated sugar

2 large eggs at room temperature

1/2 cup milk at room temperature. Any kind of milk you want

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup banana, mashed (1 banana)

3/4 – 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions

For the caramel and banana topping

1.- Grease the bottom and sides of your pan. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2.- Melt the 4 tablespoons of butter and brown sugar in a medium size sauce pan. Mix until the butter and sugar are liquified and start to bubble. Add a pinch of salt. Remove from heat and add the rum. Be careful because the mixture will bubble.

3.- Pour the caramel on the bottom of your pan. Add sliced bananas on the top of the caramel.

4.- Set aside. Now, let’s make the cake batter.

For the cake

1.- Mix all the dry ingredients: Flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.

2.- In a bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter for a couple of minutes. Then, add sugar and mix for a couple of minutes until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one by one, beating well after each addition.

3.- Add vanilla extract. Add add mashed banana. Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients. Mix in low speed. Add half of the milk. Then, add the other third of the dry ingredients, mix. Add the last half of milk. Mix. Add the last part of the dry ingredients. Mix.

4.- Add chopped walnuts (if using). Fold them slowly with a spatula.

5.- Pour cake batter on the top of the banana/caramel base. Bake for about 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

6.- Remove the cake from the oven and let stand for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the outside of the cake to help it release from the pan, and turn it out onto a serving platter or cooling rack, wearing oven mitts and taking care to avoid drips from hot caramel. Do not waste the caramel that is left in the pan, use a spoon to pour it on the top of the cake.

7.- Slice and serve! You can add some vanilla ice cream on the side.

This cake is the best when eaten the same day you bake it!