Gluten Fre Double Decker Banana Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

This gluten free banana chocolate cake celebrates those hard-to-eat chocolate-dipped frozen bananas that always seemed to appear at summer county fairs or your neighbor’s pool party treat trays, but it makes it way easier for you to enjoy the floral, soft appeal of bananas and the (of course) dreamy addition of chocolate of any kind. Plus, biting into a frozen banana now sounds like a dentally discomforting ordeal so why not eat a cake instead? The double-decker banana cake with chocolate cream cheese buttercream frosting is that cake and by golly it’s easy to make, just you wait and see how decadent something so simple can look.

This recipe is a mash-up of my banana snacking cake (minus the butter and sugar caramelized on top – or not, add it on if you’re feeling fancy) and my new favorite frosting recipe for chocolate cream cheese buttercream. Pro-tip, if you have extra frosting after making this cake, put it in a container and pop it in the freezer – you’ll thank me later when you’re snuggled up for Netflix and chill with a tub of what tastes like chocolate mousse ice cream.

With any composed, layered cake, the presentation is 100% up to you, so get creative (or just throw on the frosting and get eating – whatever your priorities are here). I added extra banana slices in between the layers, in addition to a thick layer of the buttercream to sandwich the two cakes, and then just covered the entire thing in even more buttercream (clearly the banana cake is just a vehicle to eat loads of frosting). Do be sure to use underripe bananas so you aren’t left with a browner, more traditional banana bread look, or with mushy brown bananas on the top. If this tickles your fancy, go forth and try our other banana snacking cake (slightly easier to make if you’re craving something right now), or these chocolate peanut butter banana protein pancakes!

Print Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Gluten Free Banana Cake with Chocolate Buttercream

Tiered light banana cake with chocolate frosting

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Cook Time50 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free

Keyword: banana, banana cake, buttercream, chocolate

Servings: 16 people

Calories: 200kcal

Author: Amelia Farber

Equipment

• 9-inch round pans

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 1/2 Cup good quality salted butter softened
• 1 1/4 Cup white sugar
• 7 large bananas (3 are optional)
• 1/2 Cup sour cream
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp. Vanilla extract
• 2 Cups gluten free flour 1-1 mix with xanthan gum
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt

For the frosting:

• 1 Cup good quality salted butter at room temperature
• 2 8 oz packages cream cheese at room temperature
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 3/4 cup good quality cocoa powder
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp salt

Instructions

• Heat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit and grease two 8-inch round pans with butter or cooking spray. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy and lighter in color, then set aside. In a small bowl, mash 3.5 bananas together, then add to the butter and sugar mixture and blend. Add in the eggs, sour cream, and vanilla – mix with the electric mixer until well blended.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt, then add into the wet ingredients and mix until just blended.
• Pour batter into the greased pans. You can slice the remaining 3.5 bananas and lay slices carefully on top of the cake or you can leave the tops of the cakes plain and save the bananas to decorate the frosted cake – or do both! Bake for 40-50 minutes or until a knife inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Let cool completely before flipping the cakes out of the pans and assembling.
• While the cakes are cooling, take your now-room-temperature cream cheese and butter and blend them together using an electric mixer. The mixture should be light and fluffy, give it a couple of minutes. Add in the cocoa and blend, then add in the sugar 1/2 cup at a time and taste in between (you can cut the sugar if you like it less sweet). Add in the salt and vanilla extract and blend. If the frosting is too stiff, you can add a tbsp of milk or cream. This frosting is totally up to your taste – I like mine not too sweet but others might light the fluffy, extra-sweet version. As with anything, add a bit of sugar and cocoa powder to start, taste as you go, and keep adding until you’re satisfied with the result.
• You can frost the entire cake, or just pile heaps of frosting in between the layers and on the top and adorn with extra bananas. If you want an extra bit of chocolate, you can add chocolate shavings or chocolate chips on top for a bit of extra pizazz.

Tag @sisterssansgluten on Instagram if you snap a photo of your cake!

Food photography and styling by Amelia Farber