This healthy banana nut cake, with its deliciously rich chocolate frosting, is a decadent and indulgent dessert made with wholesome ingredients and perfect for those who are on a gluten free. dairy free or grain free diet.
I topped this healthy banana nut cake with shaved dark chocolate, shredded coconut and hazelnuts, but you are welcome to use your favorite nuts or fresh diced fruit as well. A drizzle of melted chocolate makes it even more indulgent, and – again – you can drizzle almond or peanut butter of you prefer.
As this healthy banana nut cake is pretty low in fat, it’s better to enjoy it within the first two days after baking so it’s still moist and spongy. Make sure to store it in the refrigerator covered with a cake lid, as the frosting is made with coconut milk and fresh banana.
What you need to make this Healthy Banana Nut Cake:
The ingredients to make this Healthy Banana Nut Cake are really simple:
- Almond Flour (you can either buy it or make your own by grinding almonds in a high speed blender or food processor. If you decide to do so, make sure you only let it process for a few seconds as you don’t want them to turn into almond butter 🙂
- Cassava Flour (one of the most popular grain free flours – you find a full list of grain free flours here. If you can eat gluten free grains, you can replace this with rice flour.
- Coconut or Date Sugar (you can replace it with erythritol if you want a completely sugar free version)
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil (what else would you expect from an Italian?!
- Eggs (they really help keeping the texture spongy and moist)
If you're a cake lover ...
Here’s some more dairy & gluten free cake recipes you may like:
Healthy Banana Nut Cake with Chocolate Frosting (GF, DF, Paleo)
Equipment
- Hand Mixer
- High Speed Blender
- Silicon spatula or cake leveler
- Parchment Paper
- 7" (18 cm) Baking Pan (measurements for a 9” pan are in the notes at the bottom of this recipe card.)
- A digital scale is preferred to cup measurers
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 7.7 oz Banana mashed
- 2.5 tbsp Almond Butter or Peanut Butter
- 1 ½ tbsp full fat Coconut Milk (Aroy D is the best brand)
- 3 Eggs
- ½ cup Almond Flour (can be replaced with Tigernut Flour)
- ⅓ cup + 1 tsp Cassava Flour
- 1 ½ tbsp Coconut Sugar or Date Sugar
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- ⅛ tsp Ginger Powder
- ⅛ tsp Cinnamon
- 2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- 2 tsp Baking Powder
For the Frosting:
- 4.2 oz Banana
- 2 tbsp full fat Coconut Milk
- 3 tbsp Cacao Powder
- 2 tbsp Almond Butter
- 1 tsp Honey
- ½ tbsp Coconut Oil
- ½ tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1/4 tsp Cinnamon
For the Toppings:
- 1 oz 90% Dark Chocolate (I use this one)
- 1 tsp Unsweetened Coconut Flakes
- 1 ½ tbsp Hazelnuts
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F / 180 C.
- In a large bowl, mash the banana and mix in the nut butter.
- Add in the eggs and coconut milk and mix with a hand mixer until smooth and creamy.
- Add in the flour, sugar and spices, mix again, and lastly add in the apple cider vinegar and baking powder.
- Pour the batter in a circular cake pan (mine had a 7” diameter) and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, depending on your oven.
- Turn off the oven, open the oven door only a tiny bit and leave the cake in for 10 more minutes.
- While the cake bakes, prepare the frosting by blending all ingredients in a high-speed blender until creamy. Store the frosting in the fridge to thickens while the cake bakes.
- When the cake is cold, cover it with the frosting helping yourself with a silicon spatula and place the chocolate spiderwebs on top.
- Lastly, 3/4 of the dark chocolate (shave the rest and use it to decorate the cake) and drizzle it over the frosted cake.
- Decorate with the toppings like you see in the photos and serve!
Notes
Share this recipe on your Facebook and Pinterest or print it out so you can always have it handy when you are ready to bake this Healthy Banana Nut Cake!!… And don’t forget to share a photo with me on Instagram! and subscribe to my weekly newsletter so that you never miss a post!!
Lots of love and I will catch you at the next post!
Ambra
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2 Comments
Could coconut butter be subbed for the nut butter, to make it AIP compliant?
Hey Anj, swapping the nut butter wouldn’t make it AIP compliant because it contains eggs…. So unfortunately this recipe will not work for you id you are on the AIP. But I do have lots of great AIP dessert recipes here: https://www.littlebitesofbeauty.com/recipes/ You can filter by “food type” (dessert) and “diet” (AIP) in the search tool at the top of the page.
Hope this helps,
Ambra
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