Gluten Free Peanut Butter Banana Cake

You'll love this moist and tender Gluten Free Peanut Butter Banana Cake with a luscious peanut butter glaze. With bananas, peanut butter, and a little buttermilk tang, this is a treat you will end up making over and over again.

Recipe Ingredient Notes

Gluten Free Flour: For this Gluten Free Peanut Butter Banana Cake, I use my own gluten-free flour blend, which gives it a light and tender crumb. I have also tried the recipe with Bob's Red Mill and King Arthur Measure for Measure. Both flour blends make this snack cake perfect. There's no reason why other brands won't work in this recipe. Flour blends used to develop this delicious banana cake do contain xanthan gum.

Bananas: I like to use ripe bananas, with a lot of brown spots but aren’t mushy. Previously frozen bananas also work great in this recipe. To freeze bananas, just place them with their peel in the freezer. When I am ready to use them, I place them in a bowl and allow them to thaw at room temperature. They will release some liquid which you may discard.

Peanut Butter: I prefer baking with “conventional” peanut butter such as Jif or Skippy. Conventional peanut butter is made with fully hydrogenated vegetable oils, which help stabilize the peanut butter and prevent it from separating. In my opinion, it’s more reliable in baking than natural peanut butter (which is perfect for snacking!).

Buttermilk: Like greek yogurt and sour cream, this acidic ingredient helps to create a tender crumb and soft texture. It also gives the peanut butter banana cake a little tang which goes very well with the sweetness and flavor of the bananas. To replace buttermilk, you can use homemade buttermilk (milk with vinegar and lemon juice) or sour cream.

How to make a Peanut Butter Banana Cake

This gluten-free peanut butter banana cake can be made with an electric hand mixer or with a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Eggs and Buttermilk need to be at room temperature. I like to just place the eggs in a bowl of warm water while I gather all the other ingredients. Room-temperature ingredients will cream together more easily than cold ingredients.

As for the bundt pan, I recommend using a pan that holds 10-12 cups. I use a 9" Bundt Pan for this cake. If you do not have a bundt pan, you may also bake it in a 9x13" pan or bake two cake layers by using two 9" round cake pans. Be careful not to overfill the pans. And yes, this recipe can also be turned into Peanut Butter Banana Bread Recipe and be baked in TWO 8x4 Pullman Loaf Pans.

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 325F.

Step 2: In a medium bowl combine the gluten-free multi-purpose flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, ground cinnamon, and kosher salt. Whisk together and set aside.

Step 3: In a separate bowl mash the bananas with a fork. It's okay if there are still some bigger chunks.

Step 4: To the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl add the oil, peanut butter, white sugar, light brown sugar, and vanilla extract. Cream for 2-3 minutes until fully incorporated.

Step 5: Once the ingredients are fully combined, add the large eggs, one by one, beating well after each addition. Use a flexible spatula to scrape the bowl's sides.

Step 6: Add the mashed bananas and the butter milk to the bowl and mix until combined.

Step 7: Mix in the dry ingredients and mix until the gluten free peanut butter banana cake batter has a smooth consistency. Don't overmix the cake batter or you will end up with a denser bundt cake. As mentioned before, chunks of bananas are okay. Using a flexible rubber spatula, give the batter a few good stirs making sure there are no pockets of flour hiding at the bottom of the pan.

Step 8: Spray the inside of the Bundt pan with nonstick spray or grease thoroughly with butter. Pour the peanut butter banana cake batter into the bundt pan and with the back of a spoon or flexible spatula spread it out evenly. Allow the cake batter to rest on the counter for 5-10 minutes. This gives the flour time to hydrate which means the cake will have a better structure.

Step 9: Bake the bundt cake at 325F for 50-55 minutes. The top of the cake will be golden brown and a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean (a few moist crumbs are okay) If using a digital thermometer, the internal temperature should be at least 200F.

Step 10: Carefully remove the bundt pan from the oven and place it on a cooling rack. Allow the bundt cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes.

Step 11: Invert the slightly cooled bundt cake onto a wire rack set over a sheet tray. If you have sprayed your bundt pan generously, it should slide out of the pan without any issues. Allow for it to cool completely before glazing! This can take at least 2hrs or longer.

Peanut Butter Glaze

I was torn about what glaze I should use for this Gluten Free Peanut Butter Banana Bundt Cake. In the end, Peanut Butter won since Peanut Butter and Bananas are a match in heaven. If you are looking for a chocolate glaze, use the one I shared with my Gluten Free Chocolate Bundt Recipe. And if you are more in the mood for cream cheese, use the Cream Cheese Glaze Recipe from my Gluten Free Funfetti Cake.

To make the Peanut Glaze, add the peanut butter to a bowl and with an electric mixer mix for roughly 1 minute until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons of milk, and vanilla extract, and starting at a slow speed, mix until smooth. Should the peanut butter glaze be too thick, add a little bit more milk until it has the right consistency. It should be smooth and silky (and cover the back of a spoon).

Once the gluten peanut butter banana cake is cool, place the wire rack with the cake on top of a parchment-lined sheet tray. With a spoon, drizzle the peanut butter frosting over the cake.

Garnish the cake with some mini chocolate chips or shavings, roasted peanuts, or even chopped Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Allow the glaze to set up at room temperature for 10-15 minutes before slicing the ultimate gluten free banana cake.

Storage & Freezing

This Gluten Free Peanut Butter Banana Cake stays moist for 3-5 days when kept in an airtight container at room temperature.

It also freezes wonderfully. The peanut butter glaze can be a bit sticky so I recommend arranging the pieces of the bundt cake standing up in an airtight container. And freeze them this way. If you wrap the slices individually the peanut butter glaze may stick to the plastic wrap. Keep them in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature or in the fridge overnight.

How do you make sure bundt cake doesn't stick?

Wait with prepping the bundt pan until you are ready to add the cake batter. You can either use a Gluten Free All-Purpose Baking Spray or just brush the pan with some oil.

When the bundt cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. This allows the cake to be set up enough without breaking when removing it from the pan. Beware - Cooling too long in the pan will cause the cake to be damp and stick to the pan. Invert it on a cooling rack and if you prepared the pan properly, it should right away slide out.

SHOULD it stick to the pan and refuses to move, use a wooden spoon and tap on the top of the pan. This should help loosen the bundt. Worst case, use a small offset knife or butterknife and loosen the sticky spots.

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