Damn Good Peanut Butter Banana Cake (gluten free, grain free)
Guess who’s back? Back again. Another AK cake recipe is back. Tell yo friends.
Hopefully you get that Eminem song reference and if not, let’s just move along to this DAMN GOOD PEANUT BUTTER BANANA CAKE. And surprise: this easy banana cake is gluten free, grain free and easily dairy free too. It’s a little healthier than most cakes, making it perfect for kiddo’s birthdays, or just anytime you want a DAMN GOOD cake.
I created this recipe almost 5 years ago on a whim and shared it as one of my annual Valentine’s Day cake recipes. Since then, I’ve already made it countless times with various frostings (cream cheese, chocolate, vanilla and pb); but I found that pairing the peanut butter banana cake with peanut butter frosting was the clear winner. You know what they say: double the peanut butter, double the love.
Jk, that’s only me. ANYWAY, this cake is so good that I had to make it for the season finale of Good Mood Food. Watch it here or scroll below to see it!
Ingredients in this gluten free peanut butter banana cake recipe
- Almond flour: I recommend using a fine blanched almond flour. Make sure you pack the almond flour like you would with brown sugar!
- Coconut flour: this is a great gluten free flour to help absorb moisture in recipes and also add fiber and nutrition. No need to pack the coconut flour.
- Vanilla: an essential in baking.
- Eggs: this peanut butter banana cake recipe calls for four eggs to help create a fluffy consistency and texture. To make this cake vegan you could try using 4 flax eggs (4 tablespoons flaxseed meal + 12 tablespoons water), but please know that I haven’t tested a vegan verison.
- Bananas: you’ll get major delicious, moist banana bread vibes but in cake form (omg yes). Make sure your bananas are ripe to provide a good amount of all-natural sweetness.
- Pure maple syrup: I love love baking with pure maple syrup for a touch of sweetness and moisture in baking.
- Peanut butter: because it’s a peanut butter cake, of course! Be sure to use an all natural creamy peanut butter that has just peanuts + salt. I love this brand for anything/everything but Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods both sell awesome peanut butters with just peanuts + salt as the ingredients. You’ll use peanut butter in both the cake batter and the fluffy peanut butter frosting.
- Mini chocolate chips: everything’s better with a little chocolate, right? You’ll add some mini chocolate chips directly to the cake batter, but feel free to jazz it up with some on the top & sides after you frost. Feel free to use dairy free mini chocolate chips like these if you’d like.
- Butter: along with the creamy peanut butter, the frosting calls for butter to create an incredibly delicious peanut butter buttercream. Feel free to use a vegan buttery stick, too.
- Powdered sugar: adds the perfect amount of sweetness to the frosting. You can also try my paleo powdered sugar recipe!
Can I use different flour?
Unfortunately, no, I cannot recommend a flour substitute in this cake recipe as it will come out much differently. Please stick with the almond flour and coconut flour.
Dairy free and vegan swaps
- To make dairy free: simply use vegan butter in the frosting (such as Earth Balance) and dairy free chocolate chips (such as Enjoy Life).
- To make vegan: I haven’t tried making this cake vegan, but you could try replacing the eggs with flax eggs. Learn how to make flax eggs here, and let me know if the comments if you give it a shot! Then be sure to make the above dairy free swaps as well.
Let’s talk about the fluffy peanut butter frosting
Guys. This peanut butter frosting is fluffy, perfectly sweet and slightly addicting. To make it you’ll need just:
- Softened butter (or a vegan buttery stick)
- Powdered sugar
- Natural, creamy peanut butter
- Vanilla
- A few splashes of almond milk to make it extra creamy
Whip it up and spread it on to take this banana cake to the NEXT LEVEL. I re-tested it a couple of times to make it perfect, and let’s just say Abra and I were straight dipping apples in it the second time around. If you have extra frosting I’d recommend using it as a dip for your favorite fruit, pretzels, graham crackers or even a cookie recipe!
Tips for making this grain free peanut butter banana cake
- Use the right tools. You need a few essential kitchen tools for this recipe including: 6 inch cake pans (or you can use two 8-inch pans), parchment paper, an offset spatula for the frosting, a good set of mixing bowls and a cake stand.
- Use ripe bananas. Be sure you choose bananas with a few brown spots. This helps obtain the perfect cake texture, sweetness and consistency.
- Cool before frosting. Please be sure to follow the directions as written, and wait until the cake layers are completely cool before frosting them. After they are frosted, I recommend storing this gluten free peanut butter banana cake in the fridge for optimal freshness.
- Do a crumb coat. Frost the layers as you normally would, coat the outside of the cake with a very thin layer of frosting, and then place the cake in the fridge for 10-15 minutes before you finish frosting. This is so that the crumbs stick to this layer of frosting and not your main layer.
How to store this easy peanut butter banana cake
One of the best parts about this easy banana cake recipe is that you can make it 1-2 days ahead of time. I like to make the cakes ahead of time and keep them in the fridge for easy assemble, but you can also store it after you’ve frosted the cake too.
- To store: feel free to leave the fully-frosting peanut butter banana cake on the countertop wrapped in tinfoil for one day. After that, transfer the cake to the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- To freeze: you can actually freeze this peanut butter banana cake either frosted or unfrosted for up to 2 months! When you’re ready to serve it, simply thaw it in the refrigerator overnight and then let the cake come to room temperature before serving.
More cake recipes you’ll love
Get all of my delicious cake recipes here!
I hope you love this grain free peanut butter banana cake as much as we did! If you make it, be sure to leave a comment below and rate the recipe. xo!
The
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Damn Good Peanut Butter Banana Cake (gluten free, grain free)
Damn good grain free peanut butter banana cake filled with mini chocolate chips and topped with a luscious peanut butter frosting. This incredible gluten free peanut butter banana cake recipe is easy to make and perfect for Valentine’s Day, birthdays and special occasions!
Ingredients
- Wet ingredients
- 3 very overripe medium bananas, mashed (1 ¼ cup mashed overripe banana)
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- ¾ cup (234g) pure maple syrup
- ¾ cup (192g) natural creamy peanut butter (only peanuts & salt as ingredients)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Dry ingredients
- 2 cups (224g) packed super fine blanched almond flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill)
- ½ cup (56g) coconut flour (do not pack)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (180g) mini chocolate chips, dairy free if desired
- For the frosting:
- ½ cup (113g) butter, at room temperature (or sub vegan butter)
- ½ cup (128g) natural creamy peanut butter (just peanuts + salt)
- 2 cups (226g) powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2-3 tablespoons unsweetened almond milk (or milk of choice), to make the frosting creamy
- To garnish the cake:
- Mini chocolate chips around the edges of the cake
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line the bottom of three 6-inch round cake pans or two 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper rounds. Spray parchment paper and sides of pan with nonstick cooking spray. YOU SHOULD USE PARCHMENT PAPER or the cake is likely to stick. Please do not forget.
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In a large bowl, whisk together mashed bananas, eggs, pure maple syrup, peanut butter and vanilla extract until smooth.
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In a large bowl, whisk the almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda and salt together. Set aside. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon until well combined. Fold in mini chocolate chips.
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Divide batter evenly between pans and spread out with a spatula to smooth the tops. Bake for 20-30 minutes if using two 8-inch pans and 25-35 minutes for three 6-inch pans. Cakes are done when a tester comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached. Allow cake to cool completely before frosting or removing from the pans. The cake should be room temperature or cold when you frost it. This is very important. Cakes can be made a day ahead and stored in the fridge if you’d like.
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Make your frosting: In the bowl of an electric mixer, add the softened butter and peanut butter and whip on high until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar, vanilla and 2 tablespoons almond milk. Beat slow at first, then increase speed to high and beat for approximately two minutes. Frosting should be nice and creamy, if you want it extra creamy, add another tablespoon of almond milk and beat again.
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Now it’s time to frost the cake: place about 1-2 tablespoons down onto the cake stand and spread out. Invert 1 cake onto the cake stand, add about ½ heaping cup frosting between each layer, repeat with each cake, then frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting. If you’d like, you can do a crumb coat for the frosting first (to avoid crumbs in the frosting) by doing the following: Frost the layers as you normally would and then coat the outside of the cake with a very thin layer of frosting and place in fridge for 10-15 minutes before you finish frosting. This is so that the crumbs stick to this layer of frosting and not your main layer.
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Cake will stay good for 5-7 days in the fridge, and should be covered to ensure freshness. Serves 16.
Recipe Notes
To make vegan: I haven’t tried making this cake vegan, but if you want to try you can use 4 flax eggs (4 tablespoons flaxseed meal + 12 tablespoons water).
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
