Gluten Free Banana Cake

5 from 3 votes

This Gluten Free Banana Cake is a sweet yet mild banana cake that’s loaded with mini chocolate chips, surrounded by a brown sugar frosting and chocolate ganache. If that wasn’t enough, it’s topped with banana slices drizzled with more ganache and more mini chocolate chips. Oh did I mention it’s also nut free, egg free and can easily be dairy free (vegan)?! This cake is a must try!

Prep Time45

Cook Time35

Assembly and Chilling Time45

Total Time2 5

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan

Servings: Slices

Calories: 960kcal

Author: Lee

Ingredients

For the Chocolate Ganache

12 oz semi sweet chocolate chips
1 ¼ cups heavy cream

For the Banana Cake

½ cup milk
½ tablespoon white vinegar
2.5 cups multipurpose gluten free flour (I use a gluten free multipurpose flour with xanthan gum already in it)
1.5 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
4 rounded tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 6 tablespoons of water
3 ripe bananas , mashed
6 tablespoons unsalted butter or vegan baking stick, melted
½ cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract (yes tablespoon)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1.5 cups granulated sugar
1 cup mini chocolate chips

For the Brown Sugar Frosting

1 cup unsalted butter or vegan baking sticks, room temperature
¾ cup light brown sugar , packed
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons water

For the Top Decoration (If Desired):

3-4 bananas , sliced
extra ganache for drizzling
¼ cup mini chocolate chips for sprinkling

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Make The Chocolate Ganache

Place the 12 ounces chocolate chips in a heat safe bowl. Set aside.
Pour the 1 ¼ cups heavy cream in a saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly. Once it begins to simmer around the edges, immediately pour the cream over the chocolate chips.
Cover with plastic and let sit one minute. Then remove plastic and whisk until smooth.
Let ganache sit on the counter for 15 min, whisking every 5 min. Then transfer the bowl of ganache to the fridge and whisk every 5 min for about 35-45 min until it has a nice thick consistency.

For The Banana Cake

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease two 8 inch cake pans with vegetable oil, line with parchment paper and lightly grease again. Set aside.
Measure out the ½ cup milk and stir in the ½ tablespoon white vinegar. Let sit for 5-10 min then stir again. The milk will appear chunky; that’s normal.
In a large bowl, whisk together the 2.5 cups multipurpose gluten free flour, 1.5 teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda and 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Set aside.
In a small bowl, using a spoon, mix together the 4 rounded tablespoons cornstarch and 6 tablespoons water until it is thin and watery. It will be thick and tacky at first. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, use the back of a fork to mash 3 bananas really well. Once mashed, give them a good whisk. You want them to be liquidy.
Place the 6 tablespoons unsalted butter in a large heat safe bowl. Place a paper towel on top of the bowl so the butter doesn't splatter. Microwave in 11 second increments until halfway melted.
Into the melted butter, whisk in the mashed bananas, the cornstarch water, the homemade buttermilk, the ½ cup vegetable oil, the 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon and mix until well combined.
Then whisk in the 1.5 cups granulated sugar until combined again.
Using a whisk, stir in the gluten free flour mixture a little at a time until just combined. If it gets too thick, switch to a spatula.
Using the spatula, gently fold in the 1 cup mini chocolate chips until just combined.
Divide the batter evenly into two greased and parchment lined 8 inch cake pans and smooth the tops with a butter knife.
Bake the cakes in the center rack at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes until slightly springy when carefully touched.
Remove cakes from oven and let the cakes cool almost completely in the pan for 15 mins before trying to remove. Then remove from pans and let cool completely on a wire cooling rack.
Once cool, slice both cakes in half horizontally. Now you have 4 thin layers of cake.
If your cakes have dome tops, you can take a thin layer off the tops of the cake with a knife, to make a flat surface.

Make The Brown Sugar Frosting

While the cakes are baking, make the frosting.
In a large bowl of an electric mixer or using a hand held mixer, beat together the 1 cup unsalted butter, ¾ cup light brown sugar and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon until smooth and creamy. About 2-3 minutes.
With the mixer on very low speed, slowly add in the 6 cups confectioners' sugar and 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract; beat until combined.
Slowly beat in the 6 tablespoons water a little at a time until you get the desired consistency. You may not need to use it all.

Assemble The Cake

Divide frosting into 5 equal servings.
Place one layer of cake on the cake stand. Take ⅕ of the brown sugar buttercream and frost the top.
Place another ⅕ of the frosting in a piping bag. Then pipe a ring around the outside edge of the cake.
This is to prevent the ganache from oozing out.
Spoon 3-4 tablespoons of the thick ganache into the middle of the ring of frosting.
Place another layer of cake on top and repeat. Do this process 3 times.
Once you get to the last layer of cake, place it bottom (or flat) side up so the top of the cake is nice and flat. Use an icing spatula or a butter knife to frost the top and a thin layer on the sides of the cake.
You should only use a fifth of the frosting on the top and sides combined.
Pop the entire cake in the fridge uncovered for 15-20 minutes.
After 15-20 min, microwave the remaining ganache in 5 second increments until it is very melted and pourable.
Take the cake out of the fridge and immediately spoon almost all the liquid ganache on top of the cake.
Using an icing spatula, push the ganache around the edges of the cake so it drips down the sides.
If desired, cut about 3-4 bananas into slices and place them in a mound in the top center of the cake while the ganache is still wet.
Drizzle some extra ganache on top of the banana slices and sprinkle a handful of the mini chocolate chips on top of the bananas.

Video

Notes

Vegan: Use a dairy-free gluten free flour, vegan sugar, vegan baking sticks, non-dairy milk, vegan heavy cream and vegan chocolate chips.

If you can't find a vegan heavy cream, check my section entitled "substitutions and variations" for how to make a vegan white chocolate ganache with vegan baking sticks.

All Purpose Flour: I cannot test this due to celiac disease, but use 2 ½ cups packed AP flour (420 grams), only ¼ cup milk and ¼ teaspoon white vinegar.

Storing: Once the banana cake is cut into, it’s best to cut the entire cake into slices, remove the bananas on the top and wrap each slice in foil and store in a zip top bag in the fridge. Eat extra slices within 2 days.

When ready to eat, let the slices sit on the counter, in the foil for about an hour or until the cake is room temperature and soft.

Freezing: If not eating all the extra slices within 2 days, take the slices wrapped in foil (without the bananas on top) and place in the zip top bag and freeze them. You can keep the slices frozen for up to 30 days.

When ready to eat, put the slices in the fridge the night before or leave them out on the counter for 2 hours prior to eating or until the cake is room temperature and soft.

Nutrition: The info below is a generated estimate and is not guaranteed to be accurate.

Nutrition