The Best Gluten-Free Banana Cake. An ultra-moist cake that’s so decadent you can forgo the frosting. We won’t tell if you eat it for breakfast. (We do!)
The Best Gluten-Free Banana Cake
Growing up, my mom would make this cake, and my brother and I would devour it as quickly as my kids and hubby now do.
Over the years, I’ve made adjustments to make it gluten-free and lower in calories and fat. The best part is, you can’t tell I’ve made changes and it remains as moist and decadent as the original version.
It’s so good we rarely eat it with frosting. Maybe that makes us feel less guilty when we eat this cake for breakfast!
FROSTING IDEAS
I know I just said we don’t usually frost it, but if we’re eating it for dessert, frosting is a must. Here are our favorites:
- Cream Cheese Frosting. It’s a classic banana cake pairing.
- Buttercream Frosting. A sweet and salty buttercream also pairs well with this cake.
- Salted Butter. Treat it like banana bread and add a pat of butter on top.
- Vanilla Cashew Cream (Dairy-Free). This is what is on the cake in my photos. It’s from the True Roots cookbook. We’re obsessed with this stuff. We mainly use it as the best apple dip ever, but my husband mused that it would be yummy on my banana cake. He was so right. And bonus, this one is healthy enough to call breakfast frosting!
Banana Cake RECIPE NOTES
- Don’t care about it being Gluten-Free? No problem. Just use regular all-purpose flour.
- The yogurt I use in this recipe. I use 0% Fat Greek Yogurt in this cake, which replaces the original sour cream. Yogurt contributes to keeping the cake moist while cutting fat and calories. I’ve used regular plain yogurt and even vanilla yogurt in a pinch and they’ll all work.
- You can sub coconut cream for the yogurt. For this blog post, I made two cakes: one with the yogurt and one with 1 Cup of Coconut Cream (from the can). This cuts the amount of dairy in the cake. I eat dairy-free, except for grass-fed butter. I’m happy to report that in our blind taste tests, no one could tell the difference (or taste the coconut). I even thought the coconut cream version might be a bit moister. It did take five extra minutes baking time, and it browned a bit faster, so cover with foil near the end if needed.
- Eat a piece while it’s still warm! Let it cool for 15-20 minutes after baking. But then dig in, because my favorite bites of this cake are when it’s still warm and just a bit crisp on the outer edges.
DIETARY INFO
- Gluten-Free. The recipe, as written, is gluten-free.
- Dairy-free. To make this dairy-free, use Coconut Cream (canned) in place of the yogurt. You’d also have to sub the butter with alternate options such as coconut oil, apple sauce, vegan butter, or shortening. I have not tried replacing the butter, so keep that in mind that it may affect baking time and cake texture.
STORAGE AND FREEZING
- Unfrosted, the cake will keep for 1-2 days at room temp and up to a week in the fridge.
- If you frost it, I’d recommend storing it in the fridge.
- We’ve never had any leftovers to freeze, but banana bread freezes well, so I’d think this cake (unfrosted) would too.
- Allow cake to come to room temp before serving for the best texture.
The Best Gluten-Free Banana Cake
An ultra-moist cake that's so decadent you can forgo the frosting. We won't tell if you eat it for breakfast. (We do!)
Ingredients
- 3 overripe medium bananas
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup plain non-fat Greek yogurt
- 2 cups all-purpose Gluten-Free flour
- 1/2 cup salted butter
- 1 1/2 cup organic sugar (I often use a mix of coconut sugar or maple sugar)
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Mash bananas thoroughly and work in baking soda and baking powder.
- Add yogurt to the banana mixture. Stir until well combined and set aside.
- Place 2 cups flour in a bowl and set aside.
- In a stand mixer, cream butter with the sugar.
- Add eggs one at a time.
- Whip in vanilla.
- Add the flour & banana mixture alternately, about a half-cup of at a time, until all ingredients are well combined.
- Pour into a buttered and floured 9×13 baking pan.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Notes
I love the Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour as well as the King Arthur brand.
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Nutrition Information
Serving Size 2x3x2 sliceAmount Per Serving Calories 239Total Fat 5.8gSaturated Fat 3.4gCholesterol 32mgSodium 151mgCarbohydrates 35.8gFiber 0.9gSugar 23.1gProtein 12.3g
Nutrition facts based on an unfrosted cake made with non-fat Greek yogurt, cut into 18 servings.
I hope you enjoy this Gluten-Free Banana Cake as much as we do!
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