Gluten Free Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Banana cake is a delightful option to find in the dessert display case and even more splendid when you can say you’ve made it yourself! Life gets busy, and hobbies tend to fall by the wayside. Such was the case when I realized it had been years (plural!) since I had baked a layered cake from scratch. That needed to be remedied; thus, the gluten-free banana cake was born. . .er, baked.
Banana Cake, but Gluten-Free
Gluten-free baking has its quirks, to be certain. Baking chemistry with normal flours can be challenging enough. Then you remove the gluten, which is surprisingly crucial to the texture of baked goods. So, when I find a gluten-free recipe that comes out perfectly with no science required, it’s a winner in my book! This banana cake checks that box. It is fluffy and moist (which is just the best descriptor -sorry). It has a crumb that would make Paul Hollywood proud. Add to that the creamy icing. Your partner will gladly clean off of the spatula for you, no questions asked. Finally the visual appeal yields a cake that is dinner-party-worthy or perfect for an indulgent night in.
When I was younger, my mother and I would bake mini loaves of banana bread every Christmas for my teachers. We would wrap them in little Christmas bows and deliver them the day before Christmas break. The teachers, of course, always loved the gesture but seemed to also love the banana bread. When I had to make the switch to gluten-free, creating a safe, gluten-free alternative to my nostalgic banana-based treats was at the forefront of my list of priorities. The banana bread was easy enough to create. Thankfully, most sweet things can be made gluten-free with a mere switch of flour. This banana cake, however, was a more ambitious endeavor. Thankfully, it produced great results. I hope you agree!
Gluten-Free Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Equipment
- Oven
- 2 9 inch round cake pans
- Mixing bowl or electric mixer
Ingredients
The Cake Components
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ⅓ cup oil (I used melted coconut oil)
- ⅓ cup sour cream (or greek yogurt)
- ¼ cup butter softened
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup mashed banana (about 2-3 bananas, depending on size)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups gluten-free all purpose flour
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon (or as much as you feel is right)
- ½ tsp salt
- ¾ cup buttermilk
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 1 cup powdered sugar (confectioner's sugar)
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp salt
Instructions
For the Cake
- Preheat your oven to 350℉. Adjust as needed if your oven is like mine and doesn't cook to the proper temperature. (An oven thermometer can tell you how well your oven does its ONE JOB.)
- Grease your two cake pans and set aside
- In your mixing bowl, blend together the sugar, brown sugar, sour cream, oil, and butter until smooth and creamy
- Add the eggs, one at a time and blend in
- Incorporate the mashed banana and vanilla extract; mix to combine
- Now it's time to add the flour and buttermilk, BUT mix them in like this: 1 cup of flour, followed by ¼ cup of buttermilk – then mix. Then, cup #2 of flour and ¼ cup of buttermilk, and mix. Finally, the third cup of flour and the rest of the buttermilk, and mix well.
- Pour the batter into the two cake pans; try to get them even with one another. (A kitchen scale can help with this if you don't trust your eyeballing technique.)
- Let the batter rest for 15 minutes before you put it into the oven
- Bake for 40-45 minutes, depending on your oven. The top should be golden brown, and an inserted toothpick should come out clean.
- Cool in the pans for about 10 minutes, then turn the cakes out of the pans onto wire cooling racks.
- While they are cooling, prepare your frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Mix the softened cream cheese and powdered sugar on low speed until combined.
- Beat it on high until it looks nice and fluffy
- Add the heavy cream, vanilla extract, and salt, and beat at low speed
- Mix on high until fluffy and glorious. Feel free to adjust the texture with more cream or more sugar as needed. The final frosting ¼texture should hold a peak on a spoon, and not be too runny.
- Once the cake has cooled COMPLETELY, you can begin icing your cake
- Decorate the final product with banana slices or cinnamon
- Enjoy your masterpiece!
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