The best gluten free, dairy free, and paleo-friendly banana cake you will EVER eat. I could not wait to share this new dreamy dessert with you all!

This recipe was inspired by my dad’s favorite banana cake with chocolate frosting that my aunt makes him every year for his birthday- it’s truly the best and one of my favorite cake flavors of all time. This gluten free version checks of all the boxes- fluffy texture, perfectly moist, and amazing flavor.

This banana cake is also perfectly sweet without being overly rich or sweetened. It’s naturally sweetened with maple syrup and bananas, plus a bit of coconut sugar in the simple chocolate frosting.

The frosting is made from full fat coconut milk from the can, cocoa or cacao powder, and a touch of coconut sugar. So simple! And let me just say, it is to die for! It’s light, super creamy, so easy to make, and way lower in sugar than your average frosting.

The cake itself is made from almond flour and tapioca starch. I loosely based this cake off of my favorite gluten free banana bread from the blog, with a few simple changes.

The batter is a one-bowl recipe, and it’s made with some staple ingredients that I always have on hand. It’s hard to mess this one up! It’s a great recipe to try if you’re just getting into gluten free baking; in addition to being easy to make, it tastes like the real deal! The type of recipe that will have people coming back for seconds!

This paleo banana cake is the perfect treat to bring to a birthday celebration, a backyard BBQ, a summer picnic, or any family gathering. It’s such a crowd pleaser! Plus, you can always cut it into smaller squares for more sharing 🙂

As always, I recommend keeping the recipe as written! Any changes in ingredients may result in a different texture, taste, bake time, etc. I cannot guarantee results with any changes made!

I am SO excited to see you guys bake this gluten free banana cake. It is truly heavenly, and so so easy to make. I just know you guys are going to love this one as much as I do!

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Paleo Banana Cake with Simple Chocolate Frosting

  • Author: Mia Zarlengo
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: 916 squares 1x
  • Category: Dessert

Description

The best every gluten free, dairy free, and grain free fluffy banana cake with a simple chocolate frosting made with coconut milk and cacao powder!


Ingredients

Scale

For the cake

  • 2 large ripe and spotty bananas (if bananas are small, use 3)
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 + 1/2 cups almond flour
  • 1/2 cup tapioca flour/starch
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt

For the chocolate frosting

  • 3/4 cup full fat coconut milk (thick creamy part only)
  • 1/4 cup coconut sugar
  • 2 tbsp cacao or cocoa powder
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
  • Pinch of sea salt
  • Chopped dairy free chocolate, for sprinkling 

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F and line an 8×8 or 9×9 square baking sheet with parchment paper (or generously grease the baking dish). 
  2. In a large bowl, mash your bananas. Whisk your eggs, maple syrup, and vanilla in with the bananas until smooth.
  3. Stir in your almond flour, tapioca flour, baking soda, baking powder, and sea salt until a smooth batter forms.
  4. Pour batter into your lined or greased baking dish, then bake for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. 
  5. Meanwhile, open your can of coconut milk. If the thick white part is not separated from the watery part, stick the can in the refrigerator while cake is baking/cooling and be sure not to shake the can. To make your frosting, whisk together the coconut milk (again, be sure none of the watery part gets in), coconut sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, and salt until as smooth as possible. Set in the refrigerator to chill until cake is completely cooled.
  6. Important: allow cake to COMPLETELY cool before frosting,  sprinkling with chopped chocolate, slicing, and enjoying!

Dairy Free, Dessert, Gluten Free, Paleo, Recipes, Snacks, Vegetarian

Category:

May 13, 2021

Paleo Banana Cake with Simple Dairy Free Chocolate Frosting

Did you make this recipe? Be sure to tag @gatherednutrition on INstagram so I can see what you made! Leaving a rating and review on the site is a huge help too!

  1. Cass says:

    Is there anyway to make this cake vegan?
    Thx!

  2. Eileen says:

    Made last night, so yummy!

  3. Jess says:

    Wow! The fanciest banana like bread I’ve ever made yet it was so simple! The only thing I swapped was honey for the maple syrup! The frosting piece was so delicious I ate it straight from the bowl when cleaning. Thank you!

  4. Viviana says:

    Is there an alternative to tapioca flour?

  5. Mandy says:

    Is there an alternative to almond flour? I have a nut allergy

  6. Bee says:

    Hi , I don’t have tapioca flour . What can I substitute it for ? Oats flour ? I usually make my banana bread with oats flour ! And there is no oil /butter needed in this bread recipe ? Thank you !

    • Mia Swinehart says:

      The only sub here is arrowroot startch! Subbing the starch with a different flour will result in a different end result, as all recipes are different!

  7. Marjorie Maye says:

    Can I freeze this? Thanks!

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Simple. Attainable. Gathered Nutrition.