Fluffy Gluten-Free Banana Cake Recipe Will End All Future Searches

Pro tips for fluffy Gluten-free banana Cake

After years of experimenting with banana cake recipes made with gluten-free flour, and dozens of disappointments, I knew I had to take matter into my own hands. Time and again my attempts resulted in thick, dense, and heavy cakes.

I hoped to achieve the perfect cake crumb balance, a mixture of moist, yet fluffy. It took me over 30 (yes, for real!) recipe testing attempts, but I finally figured out how to make the perfect gluten-free banana cake!

Below I’ll share what I learned when making this homemade banana dessert. These tips are a combination of previous gluten-free baking expertise and some recent discoveries while experimenting with this layer cake recipe.

Some of it was I quite surprised at because it didn’t hold true for other gluten-free banana recipes on the site, but I’m happy to have finally figured it out, share the results, and put this recipe-testing chapter finally behind me!

Lesson One: Use a combination of fats

Generally using all oil works well for gluten-free banana bread because it characteristically needs a nice, moist crumb, while cakes should have a lighter, airy, more open texture. To achieve this I used a combination of oil, softened butter, and a little sour cream.

The oil and sour cream combo helps coat the starches without making it overly greasy. Butter added additional fat for flavor and moisture, but yields a lighter crumb overall.

Lesson Two: Mixture of sugars

Generally banana cakes use brown sugar because the hint of caramel really enhances the flavor. However, when making a banana cake gluten-free, this could potentially weigh down the crumb. Therefore, I primarily relied on granulated sugar for sweetness, with a smaller portion of brown sugar for moisture and taste.

Lesson Three: Use Less Banana

This was, by far, the hardest conclusion to come to and ultimately was the reason why I had to go through so many tests! Ironically I only landed on this deduction because of a miscalculation made during one of my attempts.

For one trial I mistakenly added half amount of banana and the cake turned out unlike any test before. It was so close to perfection! I never would have guessed the trick to the best gluten-free banana cake was using drastically less banana.

Banana does add a consider amount of moisture, though, and has a tendency to weigh down texture. Since cakes made with a gluten-free flour blend have a harder time absorbing moisture, the excess unabsorbed liquid causes common gummy, dense results.

However, by cutting back the amount of ripe bananas, I didn’t want to eliminate the most essential criteria – great banana flavor! Therefore, I added banana extract, along with a hint of cinnamon, and the taste was spot on!

Lesson Four: Let the Batter Rest

This is a trick I use for a lot of gluten-free baked goods, from muffins, cookies, scones, quick breads, and more. As I mentioned before, gluten-free baking can be temperamental due to moisture absorption problems.

Letting the cake batter rest for 15 minutes before baking, gives extra time for saturation and softens the starches. This was also helpful to rid the cake of any potential gritty or ricey texture, which arises in certain GF flour brands.

Additional Testing Notes

To avoid writing a novel about banana cake with cream cheese frosting (although I could probably write a thesis about it at this point!), I’ll briefly touch on a few other discoveries and helpful tips.

If you have trouble with fallen or sunken cakes, try baking a little longer. With GF baking, it’s fine to error on the side of slightly over-baking by a couple minutes. Sometimes baked goods will appear “done,” but fall once cooled.

Although this could happen due to a few things, a common reason is not giving enough time for the moisture to fully evaporate and set the crumb. Look for the center to bounce back when lightly touched, risen and set in the center, and a toothpick coming out completely clean.

I also tested the recipe with a few different gluten-free flours to make sure the results were consistent. Overall, the best texture and flavor came from using Cup4Cup gluten-free flour, which I highly recommend in a variety of baking recipes.

King Arthur Measure-for-Meaure also worked out very well and yielded an easier to spread batter, but the taste was slightly grittier. Bob’s Red Mill will also work, but I find the taste to be strong and off-putting, and makes for a slightly heavier crumb.

If you need a gluten-free dairy-free banana cake recipe, you will have to avoid using Cup4Cup flour, which contains milk powder. The buttermilk can be replaced with coconut milk and substitute vegan butter and sour cream.

How to make gluten-free banana cake

Luckily, figuring out the method and ingredient ratios was the hard part, but making an easy gluten-free banana cake with fluffy cream cheese frosting is actually a breeze! Even novice GF bakers will flawlessly be able to pull off this recipe!

(Below shows step-by-step photos and modified instructions. For the complete recipe, along with ingredient amounts, scroll down to the recipe card.)

1. In a large mixing bowl, blend together the sugar, brown sugar, oil, sour cream, and butter until creamy, about 2 minutes.
2. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well between each addition. Add the mashed banana, banana extract, and vanilla extract and mix to combine.
3. To the batter alternate between adding the dry ingredients and buttermilk. First add 1 cup gluten-free flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Mix on low speed to combine. Pour in about ¼ cup buttermilk and beat again. Repeat the process two more times, ending with buttermilk.
4. Evenly divide the batter between two 9-inch cake pans. Let the batter rest for 15 minutes before baking. This allows time for the liquids to absorb into the starches, making the crumb fluffier.
5. Bake in a 350ºF oven for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 5 minutes and then turn onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.

Cream cheese frosting and alternatives

A banana cake with cream cheese frosting in a classic combination, but since I worked so hard on achieving a light crumb, I didn’t want the cake to be weighed down by a heavy frosting. Therefore, this version of cream cheese frosting uses heavy cream for a lighter texture.

There are two important things to remember when making a fluffy cream cheese frosting. First, use cold cream cheese, not room temperature. When mixing in the heavy cream, you will want all the ingredients to be as cold as possible to build volume.

Also, once the cream is incorporated into the cream cheese, be sure to beat the mixture for 3 full minutes. Similar to making homemade whipped cream, the mixture needs time to build up to the full volume.

Making a sheet cake

This recipe is adaptable to make a banana cake however you like! For a banana snack cake, pour the batter into a 9X13-inch baking pan. You will not need to adjust the ingredient amounts. However, you will need to bake the cake for about 48-52 minutes, and use the same clues for knowing when the cake is done.

To use a 8X8-inch baking dish, cut the ingredients in half and bake for 35 minutes. I have not tested the recipe yet for cupcakes, but if you do please leave me a note in the comments below!

Recipe variations and mix-ins

One of my favorite ways to fill a layer cake is with this homemade banana cake filling. If you do choose this option, you will have extra cream cheese frosting since you won’t be using it as a filling. Therefore, I would cut back to 8 ounces cream cheese, ⅔ cup powdered sugar, ¾ cup heavy cream, 1 tsp vanilla and ⅛ tsp salt.

Of course banana goes with a variety of other flavors! You can mix in 1 ½ cups miniature chocolate chips, replace the frosting with fluffy chocolate buttercream or pipe on stabilized chocolate whipped cream frosting.

On top of the frosting consider sprinkling on chopped nuts, toasted coconut, or drizzling on a little salted caramel for the ultimate birthday cake!

Storing, freezing, and make-ahead tips

Since the cake has cream cheese frosting, leftovers will have to be stored in the refrigerator. Press a piece of plastic wrap against the cut edges and store up to 2 days. The cake will dry out as it is stored, so it best eaten within 24 hours of making.

If serving after it has been chilled, the cake crumb is optimal at room temperature. Set out the cake up to 3 hours to come to room temp before serving.

To make this cake ahead of time, I recommend making the entire frosted cake and then freezing until solid. Once frozen, wrap securely in several layers of plastic wrap and cover with foil.

You may also make the cake layers ahead of time, wrapping securely and freezing after they have cooled. Proceed with frosting the cake after the layers have thawed at room temperature.