For those of you who’ve made several of my gluten free recipes before, I hope you’re sitting down, because my daughter, as well as at least one recipe taste-tester, have proclaimed that this gluten free Banana Cake may just be the best thing I’ve ever made.
I’ll let that sink in.
That compliment doesn’t come lightly, especially considering one of those taste-testers has arguably tasted almost every one of the over 470 recipes on my gfJules site! Granted, everyone has different preferences, so there’s that, but suffice to say that this gluten free banana cake comes with high praise.
I’ll let you be the judge, (hint hint: you should make it yourself, and soon!) but I’m now questioning why I haven’t made it myself in so long! It’s one of the oldest recipes in my repertoire!
This recipe actually hails from my first cookbook published in 2006, Nearly Normal Cooking for Gluten Free Eating. This version adds the super awesome modification that you can make it with my gfJules Best Gluten Free Cake Mix. Perhaps that’s the secret sauce, so to speak?
Now that I’m thinking about it, maybe it’s all starting to make sense. You see, my 2006 cookbook was based on the very first iteration of my homemade gluten free flour blend — a blend that has been modified and changed so much over the years that it’s barely recognizable!
In fact, not only are the ratios no longer the same, but the ingredients aren’t either. The ingredients I use for my gfJules Gluten Free Flour blend aren’t even ones you can buy in the store. I can purchase them in my role as a food manufacturer (something I most definitely was not in 2006!) but some of these ingredients didn’t even exist back then, either!
I’ve modified and updated my blend multiple times over the many years since those early days, and my gfJules Best Gluten Free Cake Mix is something I only dreamed about back then. If only I could have had something so yummy and so easy when I was so new to being gluten free myself.
We are so lucky times have changed, aren’t we? Which is why I’m SO happy to bring you this heavenly recipe for Gluten Free Banana Cake! You can make it with my cake mix and it’s The. Most. Easy. Cake. Ever. to make, YAY! You’ll win friends and influence people and of course they’ll never know it’s gluten free!
Or you can follow this base recipe to whip up a dry cake mix to make it from scratch with my gfJules Flour if you’d rather.
But either way, don’t even think about wasting your precious time and taste buds with something less than the best when you now know the best has been created and is available! Don’t go back in time and use gritty rice flour or smelly bean flours or other funky blends that just don’t cut it. I’ve done the hard work for you over the years, now it’s time for you to reap the rewards and the compliments!
Either way you choose to make this delicious gluten free Banana Cake — with my gfJules Best Gluten Free Cake Mix or with my gfJules Gluten Free All Purpose Flour and from-scratch ingredients — it’s a cake that will make every banana lover happy.
If you love banana bread, you will absolutely love this banana cake! Save those precious bananas!!!
And as for frosting, you have options! But I highly recommend my Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe — it’s not too sweet and it lets the bananas stay the star of this show!
I can’t wait to hear what your friends and family think of this old / new gluten free Banana Cake Recipe!
Did you use use my gfJules Best Gluten Free Cake Mix? How easy was that??
Gluten Free Banana Cake
This banana lover's dream come true takes banana bread into the dessert category, with this delightful 3-layer Gluten Free Banana Cake that will win friends and influence people!
Ingredients
- 1 gfJules Best Gluten Free Cake Mix (or make from scratch - see notes below)*
- 6 ounces (3/4 cup) butter or vegan butter (e.g. Earth Balance Buttery Sticks)
- 3 eggs, mixed (or egg substitute like 9 Tbs. aquafaba)
- 5 ripe bananas, mashed
- 1/4 cup buttermilk (or 1 Tbs. lemon juice + remainder to equal 1/4 cup non-dairy/dairy milk)
- 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup chopped pecans (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F.
- Lightly oil and line with parchment or flour with gfJules Flour 3 9-inch round cake pans and set aside.**
- If not using buttermilk, add 1 tablespoon lemon juice to a liquid measuring cup and fill remainder to 1/4 cup with milk; set aside.
- Place entire contents of gfJules Best Gluten Free Cake Mix in mixing bowl and add cold butter, cubed. Cut in with pastry blender or using the paddle attachment of a stand mixer, mixing only until the butter is incorporated into the dry ingredients to a small pebble or gravel-like texture.
- Add mixed eggs, buttermilk, mashed bananas and vanilla extract, mixing until thoroughly combined. Stir in chopped pecans, if using.
- Transfer batter evenly to prepared cake pans and place in preheated oven. Bake for 20 minutes and begin testing with toothpick; rotate pans if necessary. Cakes are done when the tops are light golden brown and spring back to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, not wet. Remove to cool on wire racks.
- Frost when totally cooled with Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting or Banana Frosting from Nearly Normal Cooking for Gluten Free Eating.
Notes
*to make equivalent dry cake mix ingredients from scratch with gfJules Flour instead, double dry ingredients including sugar in my Best Gluten Free Cake recipe in place of gfJules Best Gluten Free Cake Mix for this recipe.
** While I haven't yet tried it, to bake this batter in a 9x13 sheet pan instead, I would recommend baking it for at least 35 minutes before testing for doneness. You may be better served with this much batter to bake in two square pans instead, in order to better cook the middles.
Pin for later!!
Bananas can vary in size significantly. About how many cups of mashed banana would you expect to use from your 5 bananas?
Fair point, Barbara! You’re shooting for about 2 cups mashed bananas in this case. The bananas should be average sized, as pictured, and very ripe. I hope that helps!
~jules
this is a ?. what other fruit can be used instead of banana?
Hi Rose, my best guess would be that you could use 2 1/2 cups applesauce instead, but it’s just a guess. I haven’t tried it yet, myself, and it will likely require some tweaking!
It is a Banana Cake, after all! 😉
~jules
Some other ideas for banana substitutes – avocado, pumpkin puree, sweet potato, tofu (silken), mango.
*I have not tried any of these so, don’t know if adjustments may be needed.
Love these ideas, Eric! I was thinking about pumpkin puree, as well. Could be yummy!
~jules