Gluten Free Banana Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting brings the classic flavors of banana and chocolate together in a fluffy and balanced cake. It bakes up moist and tender, so you'll never guess it's gluten free. It's a simple, feel good dessert that everyone can enjoy whether they are gluten free or not.
Have you ever eaten banana bread and thought it would make an amazing cake with just a few tweaks? I definitely have, so I decided to make it happen. And urning banana bread into a cake means we can top it with a delicious layer of chocolate frosting. Also, bananas are perfect for a gluten free cake. They add natural moisture and structure, keeping the cake soft instead of dry and crumbly as can happen when using gluten free flour. And since cake has a lighter texture than bread, it's an even better fit for gluten free baking.
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Ingredients for the banana cake
- Gluten free one-for-one flour replacement
- White sugar
- Spotted bananas
- Eggs
- Salted butter
- Whole milk
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
See recipe card for quantities.
Ingredients for the chocolate cream cheese frosting
- Cream cheese
- Salted butter
- Powdered sugar
- Cocoa powder
- Heavy whipping cream
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions for decorating the cake
Step 1: Add a thick layer of chocolate cream cheese frosting and level it off.
Step 2: To decorate the cake, make waves by slightly dipping and then flicking the spatula or knife in random directions.
Substitutions
- Gluten free flour - the best gluten free flour for baking is typically a one-for-one flour replacement. I currently use King Arthur's brand but have often used Bob's Red Mill gluten free baking flour. You can use another brand or type of gluten free flour. But, I have found that gluten free flour that is a mix of different types of flours works better than gluten free flour made from a single type of flour. This recipe also works well with regular all-purpose flour and cake flour as well.
- Chocolate cream cheese frosting - if you don't want to to use chocolate cream cheese frosting, other great frosting options are regular cream cheese frosting like we use for carrot cake, cinnamon cream cheese frosting from my zucchini cupcakes recipe or just a regular chocolate buttercream that we use for chocolate zucchini cake.
Equipment
A hand mixer or stand mixer is helpful to make the banana cake and chocolate frosting.
Storage
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Next Level Tips
- This gluten free banana cake goes well with frosting, but it's also one of those cakes that doesn't need any frosting. If you want to serve it with coffee for breakfast, just dust it with powdered sugar to make it look pretty. Or I've also made this cake with a streusel topping like in my pumpkin bread with streusel topping recipe. I've also substituted oatmeal for the pumpkin seeds for the strudel on banana cake. I love having options, so I want to share those options with you too.
- If you find cream cheese frosting too sweet, add salt. Even a pinch will help, but I recommend adding ⅛ teaspoon. Sprinkle it evenly and mix it well. If it's still too sweet, add an additional ⅛ teaspoon of salt. Salt balances out the sweetness without making the frosting taste salty.
- Bananas add moistness and structure to gluten free cake. Pumpkin puree does the same thing. So if you like this cake, also check out my gluten free pumpkin cake.
FAQ
The best bananas for banana bread and banana cake are spotty, a bit mushy and past the point where you would want to eat them. Overripe bananas became sweeter with a deeper banana flavor. Some recommend using fully browned bananas, but I don't recommend this. That's the point where it could start to ferment, so it's a bit of a gamble. If you're using overly dark bananas, always smell them to make sure they haven't started to ferment or smell off. If they smell off, they will taste off too and may ruin your bread or cake. That's also the point where they can start to split and breed fruit flies, which no one wants! So I use up my bananas long before then.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Gluten Free Banana Cake
Equipment
- 1 Stand or hand mixer
Ingredients
Gluten free banana cake
- 2 cups one for one gluten free flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 8 tablespoons salted butter softened
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 large eggs beaten
- 2 tablespoons whole milk
- 3 medium bananas (about 360 grams) mashed well
Chocolate cream cheese frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- 4 tablespoons salted butter room temperature
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- 2-3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
Instructions
Make the cake
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Spray an 8x8 pan with cooking spray or line it with parchment paper.
- Add the gluten free flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt to a small bowl. Stir well and set aside.
- Add the sugar and butter into the mixing bowl and mix on medium until light and fluffy.
- Add the beaten eggs and milk to the mixing bowl and mix on low until combined.
- Add the flour mixture in two groups to the mixing bowl and mix until combined.
- Mash the bananas well with a masher or a fork and add them to the mixing bowl. Mix on low until combined.
- Pour the batter into the baking pan. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.
- Allow cake to completely cool before frosting.
Make the frosting
- Add the cream cheese, salted butter and the cocoa powder to a mixing bowl. Mix on medium speed until all the cocoa powder has been fully incorporated and the mixture is light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides once or twice.
- Then add 4 cups of powdered sugar and two tablespoons of the heavy whipping cream to the mixing bowl. Mix on medium high until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides several times, about 5-6 minutes. [Depending on the temperature of the butter and the humidity of the kitchen, you may need to add more heavy cream if the frosting is too heavy/thick. Add additional heavy cream one tablespoon at a time (mixing for one minute in between) until the desired texture is achieved.]
- Frost the cake by using an icing (offset) spatula, a regular knife or by piping it on. For banana cake, I usually add all the frosting onto the cake and level it off with an offset spatula. Then I make dipping and flick motions with the spatula to create decorative waves over the entire cake.
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