salt n sprinkles

This banana coconut cake recipe is the perfect gluten free treat! Layers of fresh banana cake are covered in a fluffy, easy to make coconut cream cheese filling that’s also refined sugar free. Bake this cake for yourself, or bring it to your next dinner party!

TELL ME MORE ABOUT THIS CAKE!

Ok, here’s the background on this banana cake: my Salted Caramel Banana Cake recipe was such a hit that I knew I needed to make that again, but I wanted to do a layered version with lots of delicious frosting.

So, then I was dreaming up a frosting recipe when I remembered how much I love the frosting from My Mom’s Coconut Cake Recipe, which I’ve made so many times. And, yes, that frosting is so fluffy and not too sweet, so it just seemed right that I would combine both elements from these favorite recipes.

Thus, this Banana Coconut Cake was born. This simple banana cake recipe is not only easy, but it’s also gluten free! Yup, how cool is that? And, we use almond flour as the dry base for our banana cake, along with wholesome ingredients like maple syrup or honey in place of refined sugar.

Better yet, this powdered sugar free coconut frosting pairs perfectly with the delicious banana cake. And this cake isn’t just tasty, it’s also moist, fresh, and not too sweet sweet. So, that’s a win win win!

HOW TO MAKE THIS BANANA COCONUT CAKE

Good news, this is a pretty straightforward cake recipe that isn’t super complicated (if you’re used to making cakes)! So, if this is your first cake, then take comfort in knowing that you can’t mess this up! Simply follow the instructions closely and measure everything accurately to get the best gluten free banana cake of your life.

Then, all you have to do is whisk together the almond flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, in a large bowl. Now, in a separate medium bowl, mix together the coconut oil, bananas, eggs, maple syrup, and vanilla.

Next, add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, stirring it together until it forms a batter. The batter will be thick. Then, divide the batter evenly between both pans, smoothing the tops so it’s flat.

Finally, bake and then slice the cooled cakes in half to create four cake layers.

Now, as the cakes cool, prepare the refined sugar free coconut frosting. What you’ll do is beat together the maple syrup, cream cheese and unsweetened shredded coconut. Then, stack the cooled cake layers to assemble, brushing each layer liberally with coconut milk and 1/3 of the filling mixture.

Lastly, combine the reserved cup of filling mixture with the Cool Whip and spread on top and sides of cake. Then, sprinkle with additional shredded coconut, if desired. Yum!

KEY INGREDIENTS

CAKE

• almond flour

• cinnamon

• coconut oil, melted

• ripe bananas, mashed

• maple syrup, or honey

• eggs

• vanilla extract

FILLING AND FROSTING

• maple syrup, or honey

• cream cheese

• shredded coconut, unsweetened

• coconut milk

• Cool Whip

HOW LONG DOES THIS CAKE TAKE TO MAKE?

Well, as with all cakes, you have to allow the layers to cool completely before frosting them. That adds at least two hours of inactive time, which is a nice rest for your feet, if you ask me.

However, not counting inactive time, there are a few steps to making this easy banana coconut cake at home:

• Preparing the cake batter, which takes about 15 minutes

• Baking the cake for 35 minutes

• Whipping the cream cheese frosting, which takes about 10 minutes

• Filling and frosting the cake takes about 20 minutes

So, in total, this cake takes about 1.5 hours to make.

IS THIS CAKE VEGAN AND GLUTEN FREE?

Yes, this cake is 100% gluten free and refined sugar free, but it is not vegan due to the eggs in the banana cake.

However, if you are dairy free, there are a few simple swaps you can make to remove the dairy from this recipe, which I note in the instructions section below.

HOW DO YOU STORE THIS CAKE?

Because this cake uses cream cheese and Cool Whip for the frosting, you have to store this cake in the fridge (not on the counter).

That being said, this cake will stay fresh for 2-3 days after baking.

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If you love this recipe be sure to leave a review! And feel free to reach out to me with any questions or comments via my Contact page. You’ll hear back from me soon!

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