If you are a banana fan or love using up those ripe bananas in your kitchen you will love this moist gluten free banana cake recipe. I am a huge fan of reducing food waste and it is a bonus when I can reduce food waste by making a cake! This gluten free banana cake with cream cheese frosting is always a win and the cinnamon cream cheese frosting just complements the flavor of the bananas so well.
I wanted to make a gluten-free banana cake and used my gluten free chocolate chip banana bread recipe as a base when developing this recipe. I have made different variations and have included some of them below for you to try also. If you like banana recipes you might also like my gluten free blueberry banana bread.
Sheet cakes are perfect for making ahead and taking along to family events or parties. Check out my other sheet cakes such as my gluten free lemonade cake, Chocolate crumb cake, Gluten free chocolate sprinkle cake, and Gluten free traybake.
Ingredients
Equipment
- 8 x 8 square baking tin
- Electric beaters (not essential) - Don't worry if you don't have electric beaters for the frosting. With a little work you can still make the icing perfectly.
Ingredients
Gluten free Banana cake
- Gluten free self raisng flour - I used Doves free from self raising flour. You can use your preferred brand of gluten free self raising flour.
- Light brown sugar - I love using light brown sugar as I feel it helps with making this cake beautifully moist. If you prefer you could use white sugar and this will still work well.
- Butter - I use unsalted butter and melt in the microwave and let it cool slightly before using. If you want to make a gluten and dairy free banana cake you can substitute the butter for your preferred dairy free block.
- Eggs - Use large eggs at room temperature.
- Vanilla essence
- Ripe Bananas - This banana bread only uses two bananas. If you want a more intense banana flavor you could use 3 bananas.
Cinnamon and vanilla cream cheese frosting
- Cream cheese - I used Philadelphia cream cheese and remove from the refrigerator one hour before making the cream cheese icing. You can use your preferred brand of cream cheese.
- Butter - (Room temperature)
- Powdered sugar - (Icing sugar) Sieved
- Ground Cinnamon
- Vanilla essence
Instructions
Recipe steps
- Preheat oven to 175°c/340°F/Gas Mark 4.
- Prepare baking tin with greaseproof paper. I like to wrap paper over the edges of the tin as it makes it easy to lift the cake out when cooled.
- Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl and set aside.
- In a separate bowl mix together melted butter, eggs, and vanilla then add mashed bananas.
- Add wet mix to dry mix and stir until fully combined.
- Transfer mixture to the lined baking tin and spread evenly. Place the tin in the oven for approximately 25-30 minutes. Do not open the oven until this time as you don't want the heat to be lost from the oven.
- Check your cake with a skewer when it looks golden brown and has slightly risen. When it comes out almost clean it is ready to be moved to the cooling rack. Leave the cake in the tin until fully cooled as the cake will be too delicate to slice while it is still warm.
- Leave to fully cool before making the cinnamon cream cheese icing.
- Once the cake is cool and you have made the cream cheese frosting spread evenly over the top of the cake.
Recipe Tips
- Gluten Free Flour – I used a shop bought Gluten free flour blend from Doves Farm Freee from range. Which is a flour blend of Rice, Potato, Tapioca, Maize and Buckwheat flour. I have had reports that others have used Bob’s Red Mill and other Gluten free All purpose blends with my recipes that have worked well. I would love to know what flour blends worked for you. So feel free to get in touch by leaving a comment below or you can contact me directly.
- Kitchen Scales - Using digital scales is recommended when baking. I always measure using scales and in grams as baking is a science. When baking gluten free it is essential to weigh out ingredients to get the best results! There is no need to purchase expensive digital scales and you can find them available cheaply online.
- Oven Temperatures - Your oven temperature may be slightly different. As all ovens vary in temperature and the baking time is used as a guide. Some ovens run hotter than others. You could invest in an oven thermometer to be more accurate.
Variations
If you are a fan of banana cake and want to try different flavors then this recipe is so adaptable. I have made a list of different variations of this recipe that you can also give a try. If you have added your own twist to the cake I would love to hear about it in the comments. I have also included some of the variations I think you will love.
- Chocolate chips - Adding 100g chocolate chips to the cake batter to make a gluten free chocolate chip banana cake with yummy little pockets of chocolate.
- Ground Cinnamon - If you love the combination of bananas and cinnamon you could add ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon to the cake batter.
- Chocolate - Instead of cream cheese frosting you could top the banana cake with melted chocolate or chocolate frosting for a delicious gluten free chocolate and banana cake.
- Walnuts - You can add 100g of chopped walnuts to the cake batter or alternativly on top of the cream cheese frosting for a gluten free banana and walnut cake.
Recipe FAQs
You have come to the right place as this banana cake is gluten free. Be sure that you use gluten free flour and all other ingredients are gluten free.
Yes, that is no problem. To make gluten dairy free banana cake just substitute the butter for your preferred dairy-free butter block. You can make the icing dairy free by substituting for your preferred dairy free alternative.
Xanthan gum is a regular ingredient when gluten free baking. This is one of my cake recipes with no xanthan gum added. My flour blend does have some xanthan gum included so you could add ¼ teaspoon of xanthan gum if your flour blend does not have any included.
You can store the banana cake in an airtight container for 2-3 days.
Yes, If you want to make the banana cake in advance it freezes really well in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Defrost at room temperature and then top with icing once fully defrosted.
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📖 Recipe
Gluten free Banana Cake
Nutritional information is meant as a guideline and all information is approximate.
Equipment
- 8 x 8 square baking tin
- Electric beaters (not essential)
Ingredients
Gluten free Banana cake
- 280 grams Gluten free self raisng flour To make self raising flour at home by mixing 2 teaspoons of baking powder with every 125 grams of Gluten free All purpose flour (Plain flour in the UK).
- 150 grams Light brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- 160 grams Butter (Melted)
- 3 large Eggs
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 2 Ripe Bananas
Cinnamon and vanilla cream cheese frosting
- 100 grams Cream cheese
- 50 grams Butter (Room temperature)
- 200 grams Powdered sugar (Icing sugar) Sieved
- ¼ Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- ¼ Teaspoon Vanilla extract
Instructions
How to make Gluten free Banana cake
- Preheat oven to 175°c/340°F/Gas Mark 4.
- Prepare baking tin with greaseproof paper. I like to wrap paper over the edges of the tin as it makes it easy to lift the cake out when cooled.
- Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl and set aside.
- In a separate bowl mix together melted butter, eggs, and vanilla then add mashed bananas.
- Add wet mix to dry mix and stir until fully combined.
- Transfer mixture to the lined baking tin and spread evenly. Place the tin in the oven for approximately 25-30 minutes. Do not open the oven until this time as you don't want the heat to be lost from the oven.
- Check your cake with a skewer when it looks golden brown and has slightly risen. when it comes out almost clean it is ready to be moved to the cooling rack. Leave the cake in the tin until fully cooled as the cake will be too delicate to slice while it is still warm.
- Leave to fully cool before making the cream cheese icing.
How to make cinnamon cream cheese frosting
- Beat Cream cheese and butter together until light and fluffy.
- Add the powdered sugar a few tablespoons at a time whisking between until fully combined.
- Add Vanilla and cinnamon and whisk until light and fluffy (I recommend electric whisk for around 5 minutes)
- Place frosting in the fridge for at least 15 minutes before putting the icing on the cake as this will make it easier to spread.
- Once the cake is cool and you have made the cream cheese frosting spread evenly over the top of the cake. You can leave the frosting on its own or decorate it with your preferred topping or decoration.
Notes
Nutrition
Disclaimer
Nutritional information is meant as a guideline and is always an approximate calculation. Recipes may include information of various products used. It is your responsibility to check that ingredients you use when making a recipe are gluten free.
I hope you enjoyed this Gluten free Banana Cake recipe.
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Did you make this recipe? I would love to hear from you!