During my teenage years I was absolutely guilty of sneaking food into the movie theatre. I’m not sure who ISN’T guilty of tucking a few bags of candy, bars of chocolate or bottled drinks into their purse to bypass the murderous prices of buttered popcorn or neon blue slushies at the ticket counter.
My movie snack of choice? A tub of funfetti frosting + a spoon. Seriously. Those jars of premade Betty Crocker or Pillsbury frosting were my jam. I’d happily plow through an entire container during a good rom-com.
My tastes have matured a bit since my high school days, but I still love a good cake batter/frosting/funfetti style treat. My Gluten Free Cake Batter Banana Bread ticks all of the right boxes. It’s sweet and buttery, moist + tender. Banana + Cake Batter = bread heaven.
Real Food Ingredients
While my taste buds still adore the creamy, sweet flavour of cake batter, my mind is a little more attune to the questionable ingredients in my sprinkle filled frosting fav. And the truth is a little shocking. Check these out:
Sugar, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean and Cottonseed Oil, Corn Starch, Water, High Maltose Corn Syrup, Palm Kernel Oil. Contains 2% or less of: Nonfat Milk, Salt, Distilled Monoglycerides, Polysorbate 60, Color (Yellow Lakes 5&6, Red Lake 40, Blue Lakes 1&2, Yellows 5&6 and other Color Added), Modified Cellulose, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Soy Lecithin, Natural and Artificial Flavor, Citric Acid. Freshness preserved by Potassium Sorbate.
Terrifying. I know that word feels a bit dramatic, but the first 3 ingredients alone have been linked to all sorts of disease, health ailments + behavioural disorders. To me, it’s not worth the few moments of enjoyment that I get as I lick the spoon. I wouldn’t regularly feed this to my (future) kids, my husband or myself.
The ingredients in this Gluten-free Cake Batter Banana Bread, however, are all pronounceable. They’re all from real food sources, like cashews and maple syrup. They boast health benefits instead of threatening health hazards.
- Cashews: Packed with vitamins E, K, and B-6, along with minerals like copper, phosphorus, zinc, magnesium, iron, and selenium.
- Maple Syrup: An all natural, unrefined sugar that is super high in healthy minerals like manganese!
- Bananas: Offer a rich source of essential potassium, which is essential for maintaining heart health.
- Eggs: High in protein and actively improve our HDL (good cholesterol) levels!
Plus, using oat flour as our main flour, it means that we can easily make this loaf gluten free for those of us who can’t have wheat based items!
Making the Gluten-Free Cake Batter Banana Bread
Besides the incredible flavour + the outstanding list of real food ingredients, my other favourite part of this recipe is how simple and how easy it is to throw together. I need a roster full of quick, crowd pleasing recipes to have on hand for a rainy day when a group of friends decides to pop around. Or, for an actual rainy day when I just need a warm pan of something yummy to have with my coffee alongside of a good book.
This recipe is stupidly easy. You’ll only need two bowls (one if you really can’t be bothered with two) and a spoon. That’s really it! Simply mix together all of your wet ingredients and add your dry ones. There’s no hand mixer, no whisking egg whites, no proving bread, no waiting. It’s just mix, bake + enjoy!
The one extra step that I would recommend, as noted in the recipe, is to be sure that you line your bread pan with some parchment paper. If you don’t have parchment paper, just be sure to grease your pan really well! You could even sprinkle some of your oat float on top of your butter, cooking spray or coconut oil to really ensure that your bread won’t stick. There’s nothing more disappointing than a loaf that won’t turn out well!
Maximum Cake Batter Pleasure
This bread is perfect, as is, straight from the oven. However, if you really want to up the cake batter flavour, I recommend topping it with a bit of “cream”. This could be some greek yogurt or whipped cream if you aren’t dairy-free. If you are, coconut cream works well OR try my incredible Cashew Cream Drizzle (recipe included). I sllllaaattthhhhheeeerrr that stuff on top with a few sprinkles for added crunch. You didn’t hear it from me, but the cashew cream is incredible stirred into coffee too.
This Gluten-Free Cake Batter Banana Bread is great warm, room temp or even cold from the fridge. I can personally attest to all 3! It will keep for a few days on the counter, a week or so in the fridge, or for a few months in the freezer. If I’m honest, it seems to get even better as it stands! The texture becomes even more moist.
You should absolutely try this banana bread if you are a human who even mildly like banana bread. This recipe will change your bread loving life. If you DO make this recipe, be sure to tag me on instagram in your photos or leave a review below to help other people find it! You can also pin the image below so you can easily find the recipe later 😉
Gluten Free Cake Batter Banana Bread
Ingredients
Cake Batter Banana Bread
- 1 cup mashed, ripe banana (roughly 3 medium bananas)
- 3 eggs
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 cup cashew butter*
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp almond extract (optional, but adds to the cake batter taste!)
- 1 1/3 cup oat flour** (use gluten-free, if necessary)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
Cashew Cream Drizzle
- 1 cup soaked cashews
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 1/2 cup almond milk
Instructions
Cake Batter Banana Bread
- Preheat the oven to 350f or 175c. Line a standard sized loaf pan with parchment paper and grease.
- In a large bowl, combine the mashed banana, eggs, maple syrup, cashew butter and vanilla. Stir until thoroughly mixed!
- In a separate bowl, stir together the oat flour, baking soda, baking poweder and salt.
- Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and fold together until just mixed. There shouldn't be any streaks of wet or dry ingredients left in the batter, but don't overmix it!
- Pour into the loaf pan and bake for roughly 40 minutes. (This baking time is largely contingent on your oven! Begin testing at 35 minutes, but it may take up to 45 minutes to bake through.)
- Serve warm, cool or at room temperature. For optimum enjoyment, top with the optional cashew cream drizzle (recipe below) and sprinkles!
Optional Cashew Cream Drizzle
- Soak cashews in boiling water for at least 10 minutes, but for up to a few hours!
- Drain cashews and add them to a high speed blender or food processor with all of the other ingredients.
- Blend until smooth + slather on top of a warm slice of banana bread!
Delicious!! The almond extract was the perfect addition.