This moist and delectable banana cake is gluten free and topped with rich cream cheese frosting. This is the perfect cake to serve for a birthday party or another special occasion. The taste, texture, and flavor of this gluten free cake is absolutely delicious!
We love to use overripe bananas to make desserts at our house. Whether it’s chocolate frosted donuts, banana bread, or this frosted cake, we love banana flavored treats.
Bananas that are a little past their prime are a great way to add flavor and moisture to cakes and other desserts. I often put my overripe bananas in the freezer so that I always have some on hand when I’m in the mood to bake.
This cake recipe is very straightforward. If you have a store bought gluten free flour blend you love, it will probably work in this recipe. I love to use Namaste Perfect Flour Blend, since it works well and is pretty readily available in many stores.
The texture and flavor of this cake is so delicious, and the simple frosting on top is the perfect finishing touch. No one will ever guess that this banana cake is gluten free!
Ingredient Notes
- Gluten Free Flour Blend – I like the Namaste Perfect Flour blend, but I think that most store-bought gluten free blends would work well with this easy recipe. If Namaste doesn’t work for you, you could try Living Now Foods Gluten Free Flour, King Arthur, or 123 Gluten Free.
- Bananas – I used overripe bananas that I had stashed in the freezer to make this cake extra flavorful. Brown bananas will work better than ones that are still firm and yellow.
- Oil – Organic canola oil or coconut oil works well in this recipe. You could also use melted butter or melted vegan buttery spread.
- Cream Cheese – Cream cheese adds a nice tang to the frosting and it goes perfectly well with the flavor of this cake.
Substitutions
- You can make this banana cake with regular all-purpose flour if you want, just substitute it in an equal amount.
- If you are dairy free, it’s okay to substitute your favorite vegan cream cheese in the frosting. We like Daiya plain cream cheese. You could also just make a batch of dairy free buttercream frosting and use that instead.
- If you want to make this into cupcakes, you can do that. You will need to watch the time, but start with about 18-20 minutes at 350 degrees. Once the cupcakes are golden brown and spring back when you press them, they are done.
Cake Pan
I made this in a 9-inch square cake pan. You could also use a 9-inch round pan. If you use an 8-inch pan, it may take just a few more minutes to bake in the middle.
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Storage
Store leftover cake in the fridge. It should stay fresh in the refrigerator for about 5 days.
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Recipe
Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting (Gluten Free).
A moist and delicious gluten free banana cake topped with cream cheese frosting.
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 2 cups gluten free flour blend I used Namaste Perfect Flour Blend
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup organic canola oil or coconut oil, or melted butter
- ¾ cup organic cane sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar packed
- 2 large eggs
- 3 ripe bananas mashed
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
For the frosting:
- 8 ounces cream cheese use vegan cream cheese if you need to be dairy free
- ¼ cup butter or vegan buttery spread
- 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Mix-ins:
- ½ cup mini chocolate chips optional
- ½ cup chopped nuts or sunflower seeds optional
Instructions
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Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9 inch square pan with oil.
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In a medium bowl, mix together the gluten free flour blend, baking soda, and sea salt. Set aside.
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In a separate bowl, mix together the organic canola oil, granulated sugar, and brown sugar.
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Add eggs, mashed bananas and vanilla extract, stirring until well blended. Mix in the dry ingredients and any nuts or chocolate chips if using.
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Pour batter into the baking pan and bake for approximately 35 minutes at 350 degrees F.
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Let the cake cool fully, then make the cream cheese frosting.
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Beat the cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually add the confectioners’ sugar while continuing to mix.
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Spread cream cheese frosting over the cooled cake. Store cake in the refrigerator.
Recipe Notes
If you need to make this egg free, use ⅓ cup unsweetened applesauce in place of the eggs.
Store leftover cake in the refrigerator. It should stay fresh for about 5 days.
You could also freeze this cake. Wrap the entire cake or individual slices in plastic wrap and then foil. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
This was originally posted on August 24, 2010. It has been updated, but the recipe is the same.
Jess
I love this banana cake! The texture is perfect & the frosting is the icing on top! I’ve made it countless times and it always turns out delicious! I use Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 baking flour.
Kathy Jaffer
So excited to make this cake! How long can I store this in the refrigerator?
Kelly Roenicke
This should stay fresh in the fridge for 5 days.
Susan
This was perfection. Moist, soft, light. Better than any gluten version. I replaced 1/4 cup of the gluten-free flour with almond flour, just because I had some to use up. Otherwise I followed the recipe exactly. Will definitely make again.
Chelsea @ Mae's Menu
This cake looks delicious! You can never have enough ways to use overripe bananas, in my opinion. I love how much banana your cake uses. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe. I can’t wait to try this recipe out!
Sandy
I think this is user friendly especially like you say with certain allergens…..thank you for substitutions too. I will definitely try it too.
Katie
Delicious recipe!
Janet Yang
This recipe is wonderful! I made it exactly (used Namaste-my go to flour). The only change was decreasing white sugar to 1/3 cup. It was perfect with the frosting!!! That frosting is wonderful. The combination made for a perfectly moist, perfectly sweet banana cake!
Rozina
Hi Kelly. Thanks for the recipe. I was wondering if I could sub the bananas with mangoes. Also off would be great to have the weights for dry ingredients so that we can our choice flours as I am intolerant to certain grains. Tks
Kelly Roenicke
I have never tried that, so I’m not sure!
NickiB
I made this a few days ago and boy was it ever delicious! I used King Arthur multi purpose gluten free flour.
My husband has sulfite sensitivities, so instead of the canola oil, I used melted butter from grasssfed cows. I added a bit of nutmeg and ground ginger for a little extra flavor, and a handful of Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips.
Favorite gf banana cake I have made yet!
Kelly Roenicke
So glad you liked it! I love your substitutions!
its simple love
Yum! I am throwing a baby shower for a friend this weekend and she has ciliac disease so I have been looking at gluten free recipes! Thanks so much for this one! It’s nice to have one that is tested and recommended.
Rachael
sarah
yum yum yum. i love bananna cake with cream cheese frosting, has to be one of my favorites! :)
Silver Strands
By the looks of that cake I would never guess it’s gluten free! So fluffy and yummy looking :)
oxoxo
Denalee