Moist, tender and incredibly satisfying – you don’t need to be gluten free to enjoy a slice of this delicious banana cake! It’s filled with a brown sugar & banana sauce and finished with a rich and creamy, cinnamon-kissed cream cheese frosting.

I was commissioned to make a wedding cake a few weeks back with a version of this banana cake as the top tier. It was SO good I had to make sure I shared it with you here!

🍌Gluten Free Banana Cake🍌

Just a few reasons you’ll LOVE this cake:

• Mouthwatering, buttery banana flavor
• Cinnamon weaved into every part of the cake
• Soft and tender crumb, dense but not heavy
• Brown-sugar and banana caramel-like filling
• Rich and creamy cinnamon & cream cheese frosting
• Excellent in a layer cake or for a special occasion

Key Cake Ingredients

Altogether the ingredients are fairly simple – things you likely have ready if you do a lot of gluten-free baking.

• banana – Use ripe bananas with brown spots for a sweeter the flavor. They’re also much easier to mash.
• gluten free all purpose flour – Most basic, gluten-free flour blends that are meant to be used as a 1:1 substitute for regular all purpose flour should work here.
• xanthan gum – If your flour blend already contains xanthan you can leave it out here.
• baking powder + baking soda – The cake leaveners (helps it rise up in the oven).
• yoghurt – Provides moisture and reacts with the baking soda which helps the cakes rise up in the oven.
• sugars – Use both brown sugar and white sugar.
• eggs – These add moisture, binding and lift to the cake.
• butter – For a tender crumb and buttery flavor.
• cinnamon + vanilla – The flavor enhancers

Banana + Yogurt Prep

Mash bananas in a small bowl then add the yogurt. Set aside.

Dry Ingredients + Butter & Sugars

• Dry ingredients: Whisk together in a large mixing bowl: flour, xanthan, salt, baking powder/soda & cinnamon.
• Butter + Sugars: In another large bowl beat butter on high until creamy then add the sugars.
• Eggs + Vanilla: Add eggs 1 at a time mixing well before adding the next, followed by the vanilla.

Combine Ingredients

• Mix in about 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the butter & sugar bowl.
• Add about 1/2 of the mashed bananas and mix.
• Repeat with the remaining dry ingredients and wet ingredients until you end up with a thick cake batter with no remaining pockets of flour.

Bake & Cool

• Divide the batter between 3 (6-inch) cake tins or 2 (8-inch) cake tins.
  • Each 6-inch cake pan should hold about 12 oz (340g).
  • Each 8-inch cake pan should hold about 18 oz (510g).
• Place in the middle of the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes for a 6-inch cake or until a tooth pick inserted into the center comes out a clean. Adjust baking time to 32-36 minutes for an 8-inch cake.
• Let cake cool in the pan about 5-10 minutes, then flip over on to a wire rack to finish cooling.
  • Tip! Make sure the cakes are completely cool before frosting!

Filling

• Melt butter in a pan or sauce pot over a medium heat.
• Add the brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and rum (or water). Mix together and bring to a boil (2-3 minutes).
• Stir in the sliced bananas and walnuts and cool another 1-2 minutes.
• Remove from the heat and let cool before frosting.

Cake Assembly Tips

• Pipe a frosting border around the edges of the cake to keep the filling from spilling out the sides.
  • Tip: If you don’t have a piping bag – use a ziploc bag instead!
• Try not to add too much filling to center or it will slip out the sides at best and make for slippery layers at worst.
• If you want to ensure you end up with a thick and creamy frosting. Try to use full-fat cream cheese sold in block form if you can. Cream cheese sold in a tub has more water than the one sold as a brick. More water will make a more slippery frosting.

More Gluten-Free Banana Recipes you might like:

• Gluten Free Banana Muffins
• Easy Gluten Free Banana Bread Recipe (Vegan Option)
• Crunchy Banana & Chocolate Granola
• Apple Banana Smoothie (Dairy Free)
• Paleo Banana Coffee Cake

Enjoy!

Let me know if you try this gluten-free banana cake recipe! Leave a comment and review with your thoughts. I always appreciate the feedback and serving suggestions that you come up with!

Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!

Recipe

Gluten Free Banana Cake with a Cream Cheese Frosting

Yield: 3-layer (6inch) cake Prep Time: 30 minutes Cook Time: 35 minutes Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

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Moist, tender and incredibly satisfying - you don't need to be gluten free to enjoy a slice of this delicious banana cake!

Ingredients

Cake

• 2 cups gluten free all purpose flour (280g)
• 3/4 tsp xanthan gum
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, soften to room temperature (113g)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup overripe bananas, mashed (225g | 3 bananas)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar (100)
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar packed (110g)
• 1/2 cup plain yoghurt, room temperature (120g)
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter (30g)
• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar lightly packed (50g)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon dark rum or water (15ml)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large bananas slightly underripe, sliced into 1/2" pieces
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts, optional (30g)

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 8 oz full-fat cream cheese, soften to room temperature (226g)
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, soften to room temperature (113g)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 cups powdered/icing sugar, sifted (375g)

Need help converting to weights? Check out my cups to grams Conversion Guide.

Instructions

Cake

1. Preheat oven to 350̉°F (180°). Grease and line three 6" cake pans with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
3. In a small bowl: combine mashed bananas and yoghurt. Set aside.
4. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or with an electric mixture, beat butter until smooth. Add sugars. Beat on med-high until pale and fluffy (2-3mins).
5. Reduce speed and add eggs one at a time fully incorporating after each addition. Add vanilla and mix until combined.
6. On a low speed, add about 1/3 of the flour mixture. Mix then add 1/2 the banana mixture. Repeat until everything has been combined and you end up with a thick batter.
7. Spread batter evenly into prepared pans. Place in the middle of the oven and bake for about 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean then place cakes on wire rack to cool for 5-10 minutes then turn out onto wire rack to cool completely.

Filling

1. In a medium pot, melt butter over medium heat.
2. Add brown sugar, cinnamon, rum (optional) and vanilla. Stir and cook until mixture starts to bubble, about 2-3 minutes.
3. Add banana slices and walnuts. Gently stir and cook another 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside. Cool completely before using.

Frosting

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese and butter. Mix together on high with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
2. Add the vanilla extract, cinnamon and powdered sugar. Beat on a low speed at first to gently incorporate the powdered sugar then beat on high for a couple of minutes to whip up the frosting.
3. Taste and add more cinnamon and/or sugar as you see fit. More powdered sugar will make for a thicker icing which will be easier to use as a frosting. Add an extra 1/2-1 cup powdered sugar if desired.

Assemble

1. Optional: Use a serrated knife to cut off the domed cake tops to make flat cakes that are easier/neater to frost and stack.
2. Place one cake layer on your cake stand or serving plate. Spread a thin layer of cream cheese frosting over the top of the cake. Pipe a border around the outside of the cake to hold the filling in.
3. Add a couple spoonfuls of filling in the middle of the cake border. Spread the bananas out into a single layer. Don't add too much filling or it will spill out the sides.
4. Repeat frosting and filling with the next cake layer.
5. Frost the outside of the cake with the remaining frosting and enjoy.
6. Cover leftover cake and keep stored in the fridge up to five days.

Notes

• Make an 8-inch cake: Fill two 8-inch cake pans (about 18 oz/510g) and bake for 32-36 minutes.
• For best results: Use full-fat cream cheese sold in block form (not a tub).
• Yoghurt: You can use reulgar or greek yoghurt.

Make ahead: 

• Cakes: Bake the cake layers and cool completely. Wrap up tightly in plastic wrap and store in the fridge up to 2 days. Cakes are much easier to frost after chilling.
• Filling: Prepare 1 day in advance. Store in an airtight container in the fridge until needed.
• Frosting: Prepare up to 1 week in advance. Keep stored in an airtight container in the fridge. Warm up to room temperature before frosting.

Freeze for later: 

• Cake can be wrapped up and frozen (frosted or unfrosted) for up to 3 months.
• I recommend freezing frosted sliced as individual slices to make defrosting faster/easier.

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.

© A Saucy Kitchen, Sarah Nevins

Course: Desserts Cuisine: American

In Case You’re Interested

The finished wedding cake:

• Top Cake: This gluten free banana cake made nut & rum free. I also made a cinnamon buttercream frosting for the middle.
• Middle Cake: I made a vegan lemon with a lemon curd filling using my vegan vanilla cake as the base.
• Bottom Cake: I adapted my gluten free carrot cake to bake into a 10 inch (3-layer) cake.

Since the middle cake needed to be vegan, I made a basic vegan vanilla American buttercream to frost the outside layers of the cake.