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This gluten free banana cake is super moist and tender even though it doesn't have a ton of added sugar. The secret is in really ripe bananas that are already super sweet!
Why this recipe works
This banana cake is softer and more tender than my recipe for the gluten free banana bread. It has a super open, fluffy crumb, but it's not fragile and makes the best snacking cake.
It's made with ripe bananas, a blend of white and brown sugars that lock in moisture, and plenty of vanilla extract, so it's packed with flavor.
A thin layer of the simplest cream cheese frosting with some vanilla seeds just enough extra sweetness to this perfectly balanced banana cake.
Recipe ingredients
Here's what you need to make this cake, plus some information on the role of each ingredient in the final cake:
- Gluten free flour: Provides most of the structure for the cake. I recommend Better Batter's original blend, Nicole's Best multipurpose with 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum as listed in the recipe, or Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 gluten free baking blend, with an added 1/8 teaspoon more gum (it has some, but not enough).
- Baking powder/soda: Add rise and help the cake brown in the oven.
- Salt: Brightens the other flavors and balances the sweetness.
- Sugars: A mixture of white and light brown sugars adds sweetness, locks in moisture for a tender crumb, and the caramel notes of brown sugar complements the banana flavor well.
- Butter: Only 6 tablespoons of butter in the cake and another 2 in the frosting add moisture, tenderness and buttery flavor.
- Bananas: Ripe bananas have well-developed sugars in them that tenderize and sweeten the cake, plus add tons of banana flavor.
- Eggs: Add structure and help the cake rise and hold its rise as it cools.
- Milk: Adds moisture and flavor, and brings the cake batter together. Avoid fat free milk since fat enhances the flavor and mouth feel.
- Vanilla: Adds depth of flavor.
- Cream cheese: Adds tons of creamy flavor to the frosting, with a subtle tang.
- Confectioners' sugar: Adds sweetness and structure to the frosting.
How to make gluten free banana cake (step by step photos)
Here's a visual overview of how you make this cake, including some information about the reason behind each step:
Combine dry ingredients
Whisk together gluten free flour including xanthan gum, baking powder and soda, and salt to ensure there are no clumps and the dry ingredients are fully blended together.
Cream butter and sugars
In a separate large bowl, beat 6 tablespoons of unsalted butter with white and light brown sugars until light and fluffy with a mixer. This helps dissolve the sugar in the butter to avoid any grittiness, fully distribute the sugar in the batter, and incorporates air to create a fluffier crumb.
Add the eggs
Beat in eggs and vanilla until smooth. Beating in the eggs after creaming butter and sugar allows you to create a smooth emulsion that isn't possible if you add the eggs too soon.
Add the bananas, then milk
Use a spoon or spatula to mix in the vanilla, mashed bananas, and then the milk to avoid liquifing the bananas too much, which could create a soggy cake.
Add dry ingredients
Mix in the the whisked dry ingredients until just combined to create a smooth batter that doesn't overprocess the bananas.
Transfer the batter and bake
Scrape the soft cake batter to a greased and lined 9-inch square baking dish, and smooth the top so it bakes evenly. Bake just until the top springs back when pressed in the center, about 22 minutes. Don't let this moist cake cool too long in the pan or it will steam and contract, becoming gummy.
Finish with the frosting
Beat softened cream cheese, butter, vanilla and confectioners' sugar together until smooth. Frost the cooled cake, slice, and serve.
Expert tips
Freeze ripe bananas
I always have bananas for baking in my house, just in the freezer. When bananas reach peak ripeness, I peel them, chop them into large chunks, and freeze the chunks. For baking, just defrost as much as you need in the microwave, or at room temperature. Add the bananas and their liquid to the batter when you bake.
Make a lighter cake
You can replace the milk with light sour cream, 1 of the 2 eggs with 2 egg whites, and reduce the butter to 5 tablespoons. Replace the cream cheese in the frosting with light cream cheese, or just skip the frosting.
Remove from the pan
After the cake is done baking, don't let it sit in the pan for more than 10 minutes before placing the cake on its own on a wire rack to finish cooling. If you leave it in the pan for too long, the outside of the cake steams in the warm air and can become a bit chewy.
Ingredient substitutions
Dairy free
To make this cake dairy free, replace the milk with your favorite unsweetened unflavored nondairy milk (I like almond milk or Ripple milk). Replace the butter with Melt or Miyoko's Creamery vegan butter. If your nondairy butter is salted, use only 1/8 teaspoon of salt or omit it altogether. For the frosting, either use a nondairy cream cheese if you have one you really like, or just omit it.
Egg free
You can try using one “chia egg” (1 tablespoon ground chia seeds mixed with 1 tablespoon lukewarm water until it gels) per whole egg, and 25 grams of aquafaba per egg white.
Bananas
If you like banana cake, but don't want too much banana flavor, you can use less ripe bananas. I would also add another 2 to 4 tablespoons more granulated sugar so the cake is still sweet and tender enough, though. You can also try replacing up to 50 grams of the mashed bananas with smooth applesauce.
Storage instructions
The unfrosted cake will stay fresh at room temperature, wrapped tightly, for up to 3 days. After you frost it, you don't want the frosting to spoil, so it's best to refrigerate it, still wrapped tightly, for up to another 2 days. After that, it may begin to dry out.
For longer storage, wrap individual squares tightly in freezer-safe wrap and freeze. Defrost at room temperature. If the cake hasn't been frosted, you can microwave frozen slices for about 20 seconds to defrost. Do not microwave frosted cake slices or the frosting will melt.
Gluten Free Banana Cake Recipe
Equipment
- Hand mixer (or stand mixer)
Ingredients
For the cake
- 2 cups (280 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend, (See Recipe Notes)
- ½ 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. Grease and 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 6 tablespoons of (5 if the lighter version) butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar, and beat well with a hand mixer until smooth and light.
- Add the eggs (or egg and egg whites in the lighter version), and beat until smooth.
- Add the vanilla and mashed bananas and mix with a spoon or spatula until just combined.
- Add the milk, and mix until just combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl, and mix until just combined. The batter will be thick but not stiff.
- 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 (about 3 minutes).
- Spread the frosting on top of the cooled cake, then slice the cake with a sharp knife into 9 equal pieces. Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This looks amazing! I can’t wait to try it. Thanks for another “light” recipe…I love them! Hats off to you Nicole:)
I just love how you even make “light” stuff look awesome! I’m definitely making this, though I may just have to use regular cream cheese frosting on top :)
Good idea, Dana. ;) You might need to thin it a bit with a teaspoon or two of milk at room temp, though, since light cream cheese is much runnier than full fat.
Thank you!! for telling us what flour blend you are using. I hope you continue with all your recipes going forward.
Rene, I did a post recently about which flour blend is good for what sort of recipe. I suggest you take a look at that.
OH, PLEASE Nicole!! Don’t throw it away! If it’s the least bit edible, a “bad” cake can be made into bread pudding!! And banana bread pudding is f.a.b.u.l.o.u.s.!!! Yeah, ask me how I know…it happened. Stuff happens. If you can make lemonade from lemons, I figured I could make bread pudding with a banana cake failure! Of course, it hasn’t happened since and we’ve all lamented that! I guess I could just make it with a perfectly GOOD banana cake!! Oh, and fat-free stuff is NASTY!! I’m sure wishing I had grabbed the discounted bananas on the “dead” rack when I got groceries yesterday…..
Chris, it happens sometimes. Not often, but it does, and can’t be avoided. It’s an unavoidable (albeit small) part of recipe development.
Nicole, this is the first time I am commenting. First—love, love, love your site. Second, love your cookbooks. Third-;love that you are doing some light recipes for those of us who are calorie concious and have a sweet tooth and finally, like the pinterest make gluten free pin site. You are rocking all things gluten free and you do it well!
Thanks, Lisa!!
You are truly my hero! Thanks for thinking outside the box to make lighter versions of recipes (AND hunting down their nutrition facts because i know you are an army of one!). Just want you to know i think you are amazing and REALLY appreciate everything you do for us!
Thank you so much for the kind words, Erin! That means a lot to me. :)
This sounds so good! Perfect afternoon snack- not you rich, but still a nice treat. And you are absolutely right about the serving size thing!
Yeah, no monkey business with serving size. That’s cheating!
And hopefully you knew I meant too rich not you rich. Sigh…. really should have taken typing instead of ceramics in high school…
:)
Nicole!!!! Were you peaking through my kitchen window looking at the 5 almost black bananas that are begging to be made into bread or cake? Woohoo!!! Thanks!!! ~ Cindy
Don’t be alarmed, Cindy. I mean no harm and am only peeking in your kitchen window for recipe ideas. :)
Nicole….this looks great. I love banana bread and so does my husband(he’s my GF household member).
One question….finding flours isn’t easy where I live but I have been able to purchase betty crockers GF flour blend in my stores ( and I have a family member who can provide it for me really cheap…they work for a joint company and they get a discount. I used it over the holiday’s with your angel food cake recipe with great results and I wondered if you had tried this flour or if you will be testing it to give us all some feed back on what you think?
Hi, Danelle,
I have only minimal experience with the Betty Crocker all purpose flour blend (I have only used it once), and judging from that and from the ingredients list, I would say that is quite similar to my basic gum-free flour blend, just with added guar gum—and they do not use superfine rice flours so it is rather gritty. The problem with gritty rice flour blends is that, even if you personally don’t taste the difference, your guests and/or family may and then it tastes, at best, ‘good, for gluten free.’ (which I can’t stand! it should be good, period!). That basic blend is okay for some applications, but isn’t ideal for most. So if you can get it really cheap, I say go ahead and try it in simple recipes like quickbreads, cookies and cakes, but keep in mind the grittiness and that it will not work in all of my recipes. You’ll have to experiment! Hope that helps. :)
I love you and envy you all at the same time. Oh to be the person who doesn’t have to watch what they eat!! I’ve wondered several times how or why you are not 500lbs will all the yumminess that you make and have to taste over and over to make sure that it’s right just for us! I thank you for the bottom of my heart for recipes like this but I’m still jealous!!! lol…
Oh, it’s not that I never ever gain weight or anything, Jennifer! It’s just that I don’t count calories as that would leave me feeling deprived and I would be more likely to overeat/eat when I’m not hungry/fall off the wagon. And I find that eating higher-fat, lower-sugar foods keeps me satisfied and happy without overeating. And much of what I make goes: into the freezer, into the children, into my husband’s office, to our neighbors, to anyone who will have it! :)
I have a nice image now of your children standing next to the freezer, mouths open, waiting to see if the baked goods go into them instead of into the freezer!