Many of you will have made Banoffee Pie in the past, but have you ever thought of making Banoffee Cake? That heavenly blend of banana and toffee works perfectly as a layered sponge and as I recently had a birthday (the age for which is best forgotten…) I decided to make one as my birthday treat. This gluten free Banoffee Cake is totally delicious (and I mean TOTALLY delicious). Tempted to try it? Read on my lovely readers for a recipe to make you swoon…
I am a HUGE fan of banoffee. It is one of those combinations that sends my taste buds into ecstatic gratitude with every mouthful. In the past, I have honoured this glorious marriage of flavours in the form of Banoffee Cheesecake, Banoffee Cupcakes, Banoffee Coconut Crunch Trifle, and mini Banoffee sponge cakes. This recipe however is up there with my best gluten free celebration cakes, even if it may not be the prettiest.
When I was plotting ways to achieve banoffee in celebration cake form, I knew that I wanted to recreate some of the texture as well as the flavour of banoffee pie. For the uninitiated of you, banoffee pie is usually made using a biscuit-crust case, filled with fresh banana and caramel/dulce de leche, topped with lashings of whipped cream and a sprinkling of chocolate.
I knew I didn’t want to make the cake too sickly sweet and consequently needed to avoid filling and covering it in sugary frosting at all costs. Layering with freshly-whipped cream alongside a balanced helping of toffee sauce, would not only keep the sweetness down, but would replicate the creamy ‘banoffeeness’ of its ‘pie’ equivalent. To be honest, this was no hardship… at GF HQ we far prefer a cream-filled cake, even if it does take up most of the fridge space and has to be eaten twice as quick (although I am not 100% sure that the latter is a negative… Cream cakes in our house never last very long).
Being Coeliac, it was also essential that the sponge was gluten free, so I used my all time favourite, tried, tested and very much loved Banana Bread/Cake recipe, which was one of the first recipes I ever published on Gluten Free Alchemist. The recipe works equally well as a cake or a loaf and has been served as a dressed down version at many cake sales and team meetings over the past 6 years. It is verified yummy!
To achieve the biscuit crunch that you get with banoffee pie, I have added some specially prepared Crunchy Baked Biscuit Crumbs to the layers and decoration. They work perfectly, especially alongside the crisp, crushed dark chocolate cigarillos that adorn the top.
All in all, I am willing to stick my neck out and declare this gluten free Banoffee Cake a triumph…. well actually that was the phrase Mr GF generously used, but blushes aside, I think he may have a point. So if you are looking for a stunner of a cake that ticks the banana-toffee taste box, but still gives you the creamy-crunchy dreaminess of a traditional banoffee pie, let your bananas ripen, grab your cake tins, whack the oven on and bake…
Gluten Free Banoffee Cake
ingredients:
- 210g plain gluten free flour blend (I used GFA blend A from this post)
- 100g ground almonds
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1½ teaspoons GF baking powder
- 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 100g unsalted butter – softened
- 150g caster sugar (preferably golden caster)
- 125g light soft brown sugar
- 2 large eggs (room temperature)
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 medium-sized very ripe bananas
- 175 ml buttermilk
- 200g gluten free biscuits (digestive or chocolate chip)
- 80g butter – cubed
- 500 ml double cream
- 200-250g good quality toffee sauce or dulce de leche
- handful of toasted chopped hazel/brazil/macadamia nuts (optional)
- crunchy baked biscuit crumbs (see separate details)
- dark chocolate curls/broken cigarillos/shards, etc
- edible glitter (optional)
instructions:
How to cook Gluten Free Banoffee Cake
- Preheat the oven to 180 C/350 F/Gas 4 and base-line two 8 inch non-stick round baking tins with baking paper.
- Weigh and mix together the flour, almonds, xanthan gum, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt and set aside (I weigh mine into a large airtight container and shake vigorously).
- In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars together, using an electric whisk until light and fluffy.
- In a small bowl, beat the eggs together with a fork and then add, a little at a time to the butter mixture, beating well after each addition.
- Add and beat in the vanilla extract.
- Mash the bananas in a separate bowl with a fork, before gently folding into the wet mixture.
- Using a large spoon or spatula, gently fold in the buttermilk alternately with the flour mix, about a third at a time, until all the ingredients are JUST combined. Do not over-mix.
- Divide the cake batter evenly between the cake tins and smooth the tops before baking for approximately 30 minutes (until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean and the top is firm to the touch but springs back).
- Leave to cool in the tins for about 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Preheat the oven to 180 C/350 F/Gas 4 and line a small baking tray with non-stick baking paper.
- Place the biscuits in a strong plastic food bag, gently squeeze out the air and hold the top shut. Using a rolling pin, either bash or roll the biscuits to break them down into coarse crumbs. Set aside.
- Melt the butter, stirring in a small saucepan over a very gentle heat (or in a glass bowl in the microwave set at medium, on 30 second bursts, stirring well between each) until just melted.
- Mix the melted butter with the biscuit crumbs until evenly blended and then spread the mixture onto the lined baking tray.
- Place in the oven for 10 to 12 minutes, frequently turning the crumbs to enable them to crisp and ‘bake’ evenly.
- Remove from the oven and set aside to cool completely.
- Place one of the sponges on a serving plate.
- Whip the cream to soft peaks (so that it holds its shape well) and then spread a thick layer onto the base sponge.
- Top the cream layer with a good drizzle of toffee sauce, a sprinkling of chopped nuts (optional) and a good sprinkling of crunchy biscuit crumbs.
- Place the second sponge cake layer carefully on top of the filling.
- Top with another layer of whipped cream and thickly drizzled toffee sauce.
- Decorate with a rim of crunchy biscuit crumbs, chocolate curls/crushed cigarillos and a sprinkling of edible glitter for a little extra sparkle (optional).
- Refrigerate until ready to eat, but remove from the fridge and allow to sit at room temperature for 15 to 30 minutes before serving.
I am sharing my gluten free Banoffee Cake with :
Fiesta Friday #271 with Angie and Ai Made It For You
Love Cake with Jibber Jabber
Baking Crumbs with Apply to Face Blog and Jo’s Kitchen Larder
Gluten Free Alchemist © 2013-19 unless otherwise indicated
It almost seems a shame to cut into it! I love the way the toffee sauce is dripping down the sides. So many delicious flavours in just one cake!
Thanks Ness.
Nah….. never a shame to cut into a cake. Especially one as yummy as banoffee xx
This is a show stopper of a cake and one I would love for my Birthday too. It is absolutely gorgeous and I bet it tastes every bit as good as it sounds! I love all your attention to detail.Thanks so much for sharing it with #BakingCrumbs
Thank Jenny. It was so easy to make too xx
This is a banoffee creation with a wow factor, perfect for a birthday celebration! Thank you for bringing it to #CookBlogShare
Thank you. You're so welcome xx
Just looking at that amazing cake is making my mouth water! I would be honored if you shared some of your recipes at our What's for Dinner party!
http://www.lazygastronome.com/whats-for-dinner-sunday-link-up-196/
Thank you Helen. I am not sure why I haven't shared. I had you on my 'must remember' linky list… I think it was just an oversight. I will pop over soon xx
What a fantastic idea and such a delicious looking cake! It looks very easy for me to veganise too so that's always a bonus! I hope you had a lovely birthday Kate. Thanks for sharing at Fiesta Friday.
Thank you. You're welcome.
I'd love to see a vegan version. I hope you make it xx
What a fantastic idea – Banoffee Cake! I think that including crunchy biscuit crumbs in the layer and topping is genius. It's a stunner of a cake and i bet it tastes divine too! Thank you for sharing with #BakingCrumbs 🙂 x
Thanks Jo. The crunchy biscuit crumbs took the cake to another level. SO good! x
My lads would love this and they wouldn't care that it was gluten free, it looks delicious so i should make it when my sister visits as she is a Celiac so good have something that would suit everyone
Thanks Jac. I hope your lads wouldn't know it wasn't gluten free! I work very hard to make sure they are unrecognisably wheat free and I have snuck them past every gluten eater I know! xx
Thanks Jac. I hope your lads wouldn't know it wasn't gluten free! I work very hard to make sure they are unrecognisably wheat free and I have snuck them past every gluten eater I know! xx
Happy birthday – sounds like a wonderful way to celebrate with this cake – I grew up with a caramel tart wth cream and bananas – quite like banoffee but not quite – it is one of my favourite things to have at a family gathering so I am always very sympathetic to banoffee lovers. I am also quite bad at layer cakes and always admire a beautiful towering cake – this looks like a creation to be proud of.
Thank you Johanna. There is something quite divine about banoffee!
I am perplexed that you think you are 'quite bad at layer cakes'. Your cakes always look amazing…. towering or not! x
It's just lovely and delicious looking. Love the decorations as well.
#Bakeoftheweek
Thank you Anca x
Wow this looks so delicious!! And a happy belated birthday to you!
Thanks Kat…. I think birthdays are beginning to feel a little superfluous to requirement and quite scary. Getting a bit old… but cake makes everything better! x
Hi Kate, I am so delighted to have found your Blog Posts. Thank you so much for your generosity i sharing your recipes and flour blends. I am looking forward to making my own blends. In the Banoffee Cake am I correct in reading that we still put in extra xanthum gum even though it is already in the flour blend. I have a birthday in May and maybe this cake is just what I will need to celebrate. Thanks for your guidance.
Hi Carol.
Good to have you here and you are most welcome to ask whatever, whenever. I am always more than happy to share whatever I have found out and made along the gluten free/Coeliac journey.
There is a tiny amount of xanthan in the flour BLEND, which you could probably leave out. It is equivalent to 1 teaspoon per 650g. In reality, it is so small, it is probably not needed, but I think it has always been my security blanket and I haven't ever revisited whether to take it out as it has always been there and no one seems to have said it caused a problem. But thank you for asking the question… I think I will make my next couple of batches without it and make the rest of my recipes in the same way (I am about to go back and make some old favourites to update photos, so it will be a good testing opportunity!).
But in answer to the question…. I digress… Yes, you need to put the xanthan as stated in the RECIPE (or alternatively finely ground Psyllium Husk as an alternative if you don't like xanthan).
I also made extra cake last time I did this recipe… It makes the most incredible Banoffee Trifle too xxxx
Thank you so much for your prompt reply Kate. I like the idea of the 'security blanket' you have -so I shall adopt it too!