Gluten Free Banana Cake | With Lighter Option
This super tender gluten free banana cake that's a bit sweeter and more delicate than our favorite gf banana bread, and has a sweet cream cheese frosting to be savored. There's a lighter version to save some calories if you need it!
Yield: 1 cake (9-inches)
Equipment
- Hand mixer (or stand mixer)
Ingredients
For the cake
- 2 cups (280 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend (I used my Better Than Cup4Cup blend; please click thru for appropriate blends)
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum omit if your blend already contains it
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 tablespoons (84 g) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 6 tablespoons (72 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (55 g) packed light brown sugar
- 2 (100 g (weighed out of shell)) eggs at room temperature, beaten
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (200 g) mashed VERY ripe bananas (about 2 medium-sized bananas, peeled and mashed)
- ½ cup (4 fluid ounces) milk at room temperature
For the frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons (28 g) unsalted butter at room temperature
- Seeds from 1/2 vanilla bean or 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (115 g) confectioners’ sugar
For a lighter version of the cake
- 5 tablespoons (70 g) unsalted butter in place of 6 tablespoons
- 1 (50 g (weighed out of shell)) egg in place of eggs
- 2 (50 g) egg whites in place of eggs
- ½ cup (120 g) light sour cream in place of 1/2 cup milk
For a lighter version of the frosting
- 6 ounces light cream cheese at room temperature, in place of cream cheese and butter
- ¾ cup (86 g) confectioners’ sugar
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 325°F. Line a 9-inch square baking dish and set it aside.
Make the cake.
- In a small bowl, place the flour blend, xanthan gum, baking soda, baking powder and salt, and whisk to combine well. Set the bowl aside.
- In a large bowl, place the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and eggs, and beat well with a hand mixer until smooth and light. Add the vanilla and mashed bananas, and mix with a spoon until just combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl, and then the milk, mixing until just combined after each addition. The batter will be thick.
- Scrape the cake batter into the prepared pan, and smooth into an even layer with a wet spatula.
- Place the pan in the center of the preheated oven and bake for 22 to 24 minutes, or until the cake springs back when pressed gently in the center.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the frosting.
- Place all the frosting ingredients in a large bowl (or the clean bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment) and beat with a hand mixer until smooth.
- Spread the frosting on top of the cooled cake, and slice the cake with a sharp knife into 9 or 12 pieces—or slice the cake bare and frost individual pieces. Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition Information per piece of “lighter” cake, as calculated with recipes.sparkpeople.com (I only provide nutrition info for recipes that I call “light” or “lighter”), assuming 12 pieces of cake:
Calories 192.8 | Total Fat 6.2 g | Cholesterol 30.3 mg | Sodium 202.1 mg | Potassium 100.8 mg | Total Carbohydrate 31.8 g (Dietary Fiber 0.8 g; Sugars 16.5 g) | Protein 3.0 g
Frosting adds the following per piece (assuming 12 pieces of cake):
Calories 45.8 | Total Fat 1.1 g | Cholesterol 4.5 mg | Sodium 43.2 mg | Total Carbohydrate 8.0 g (Sugars 7.7 g) | Protein 0.5 g
Originally published on the blog in 2014. Most photos new, video new, recipe modified to make lighter an option, most text new.