Is it just me or do your bananas go bad at an alarmingly fast rate too?! I mean, it seems like I can’t keep bananas around in my house and no, it’s not because my family eats all of them. Lol. I did hear that if you individually plastic wrap the top of each banana, they will last significantly longer. But who has time for that?! Plus, then you won’t have a huge bunch of overly-ripe bananas to make my Vanilla-Infused Banana Cake with! And trust me, you don’t want to miss out on this cake!
I originally made this for Valentine’s Day last year, but it has quickly become a family favorite and is now a staple in my house. [The pic above is my 4th of July version (where I layered the cake + added berries and slivered nuts on top to make it look more festive), and the pic below is from St. Patty’s Day. I’m telling you, it’s addicting!]
I literally eat this Cake for breakfast and dessert and feel great about my decision every time! Healthy and delicious, the Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting is the perfect addition and is surprisingly healthy as well, especially if you substitute the powdered sugar for powdered Monk Fruit or Erythritol (or whatever sugar-substitute you love). And to think, I never knew I liked Cream Cheese Frosting [before trying this one]. Man, was I missing out!
INGREDIENTS:
Cake Ingredients:
- 2 cups mashed, very ripe Bananas
- 1 ½ cups Gluten-free Flour (Cassava Flour is another great alternative here)
- ½ cup Coconut Flour
- ¼ cup Ground Flaxseed
- ¼ Sweetener of choice (WholeEarth Baking Blend is one of my go-to’s; Agave, Maple Syrup, etc. works great here too)
- 2 TB. Plant-based Milk (I used Cashew Milk)
- 4 large Eggs
- 2 tsp Baking Powder
- 2 tsp Baking Soda
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 tsp Sea Salt
- Beet Powder, optional (for the red color, but an all-natural food coloring works here too)
Frosting Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup Vegan Cream Cheese
- 1/4 cup @mycoconutkitchen Coconut Butter (get 10% OFF with code FITFABMOMS10)
- 1/3 cup Powdered Erythritol (I love the one from NowFoods)
- 1 Tb. Stevia Simple Syrup, optional (if you want it sweeter)
- 2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
- A few drops all-natural Food Coloring, optional (if you’re going for a colored frosting here)
DIRECTIONS:
For the Cake:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Coat a 9×11 pan with Coconut Oil [spray] and set aside.*
- Simply mix all the ingredients together so they are well incorporated and bake for approximately 25 minutes. (This will create a slightly denser, moister cake. If you separate the batter into 2 pans, this timing is perfect to make it more of your typical cake-like texture).
- If you want to get fancy and/or have the cake a little bit on the fluffier side, you can also measure the dry and wet ingredients separately and then add them. I guess it depends on how quickly you want to eat this because, with this recipe, you really don’t have to!
For the Frosting:
- Simply beat it all together with an electric hand mixer, and you’re good to go!
- Just make sure the cake cools before you try and frost it! (I initially made that mistake and had melted frosting run down the side!)
- Enjoy!
NOTES:
- *I used 2 separate pans so I could make 2 different sized hearts (when originally making this for Valentine’s Day, with the batter measuring about 1 1/2 inches thick), but work with what you have! Just be aware that it will take less time to cook if you do this.
- In my version below, I added blueberries. It turned out great! Chocolate chips would be a great addition too!
