Banoffee Cake – A Gluten Free Layer Cake

Gluten Free Banoffee Cake! The perfect celebration for Banoffee lovers… Deliciously moist banana cake, layered with freshly whipped cream, caramel sauce and crunchy baked biscuit crumbs… All decorated with chocolate. And no one will EVER know it’s gluten free and Coeliac safe.

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Introducing my Gluten Free Banoffee Cake

Banoffee Pie is iconic. But have you ever thought of making a decadent, utterly celebratory Banoffee Cake? That heavenly blend of banana and toffee works perfectly as a layered sponge… Indeed, my gluten free Banoffee Cake is totally delicious (and I mean TOTALLY delicious). It’s ‘up there’ with the BEST…

So, if you’re tempted to try it, read on for a recipe to make you swoon…

The heavenly marriage of banana and toffee

I’m a HUGE fan of the banana-toffee pairing. It’s a combination that sends my taste buds into ecstatic gratitude with every mouthful.

At Gluten Free Alchemist Banoffee (as it is known) has been celebrated in many forms. Seriously, if you love Banoffee, check out these recipes…

• Mini Banoffee Loaf Cakes
• The extremely popular Banoffee Trifle
• Oozy, gooey, caramel-filled Gluten Free Banoffee Cupcakes
• Gluten Free Banana Pancakes with Caramelised Banana Sauce
• And the most decadent Banoffee Cheesecake with salted caramel.

But I have to admit… Even if it isn’t the prettiest, this particular Banoffee Layer Cake is near the top of the list for my all-time best gluten free celebration cakes and banana-toffee inspirations.

Recreating the flavours and textures of banoffee pie as a Banoffee Layer Cake

When creating my Banoffee Cake, there was a clear brief in my head that it needed to honour the famous Banoffee Pie, but in cake form. It was important that the final cake included the textures as well as the flavours of banoffee pie.

For the uninitiated… Banoffee Pie is ‘traditionally’ made using a biscuit-crust case, filled with fresh banana and sticky-sweet caramel or ‘dulce de leche’… All topped with lashings of pillowy whipped cream and a sprinkling of chocolate.

For my particular Banoffee layer cake, this translated into…

Gluten Free Banana Cake

A tried and tested, verified yummy, gluten free Banana Bread/Cake recipe, baked into round cake tins. It’s super-bananary, and soft and tender, yet sticky with banana and gorgeously textured with a hint of nuttiness from ground almonds.

Whipped Cream

To mirror the light, airy creaminess of the traditional pie topping, the banana cakes are sandwiched and topped with a thick, decadent layer of cold, pillowy whipped cream… Which (let’s be honest), is Way better than sugary frosting and completely true to its dessert inspiration.

Toffee Sauce

Banoffee Cake absolutely needs toffee! And for this recipe, it comes in the form of caramel sauce… Thickly drizzled over the layers of cream, so that it mingles on the taste buds in each and every bite and drips teasingly down the sides of the cake.

Crunchy Biscuit Crumbs

Any Banoffee Pie lover knows that the biscuit base is a crucial part of the magical combination. The crunchy contrast against the soft banana and cream is essential to making the pie work. And so it should also be for a truly inspired Banoffee Cake!

Thus… THIS cake takes the traditional biscuit base… crumbles it into ‘crumbs’… and scatters it both onto the central cream layer and top of the cake… Crunchy textural perfection, partying on the palate! It works SO well.

Dark Chocolate

The crowning finish is a top decoration of dark chocolate. For this, I used some crushed cigarillos (that I buy from the Chocolate Trading Company). But it’s fine to use other chocolate curls or sprinkles, grated chocolate or chocolate shards.

Is this Banoffee Cake Coeliac (Celiac) friendly?

Being Coeliac, I am passionate that being gluten free for health reasons should NEVER mean having to miss out. Equally… It should NEVER mean eating cake (or anything else) that isn’t as good as the ‘real deal’.

Gluten free cake should not only look the part, but should taste at least as good… AND last as well. You won’t find any dry, rock-hard cakes at Gluten Free Alchemist. We’ve made it our mission ensure taste and texture win out every time.

And this Banoffee Cake? Absolutely it’s friendly and safe for people with Coeliac Disease (Celiac). Even better… No one would EVER know that it’s gluten free. And that’s a promise!  

Do I need any special equipment to make Gluten Free Banoffee Cake?

Nope! This one’s a cinch, as long as you have the usual basic cake-making equipment…

• Two 8 inch cake tins (I always use the ones from Masterclass)
• Good quality baking paper to line the tins or baking paper circles
• Oven and hob
• Non-stick saucepan
• Baking tray
• A good set of Kitchen Measuring Scales
• Measuring Spoons
• An electric whisk (I use a KitchenAid electric hand whisk)
• a flexible Spoon/Spatula
• Mixing Bowls
• A Wire Rack

Ready to make Gluten Free Banoffee Cake?

I really hope you try my gluten free Banoffee Cake. It’s a triumph… And without doubt, it ticks the banana-toffee taste box, while still delivering the creamy-crunchy sumptuousness of traditional Banoffee Pie. So… Let those bananas ripen… Grab the cake tins, whisk and bowls… Whack up the oven… And bake!

As always… If you do make it, let me know what you think. Rate the recipe (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️), leave a comment and tag me on social media with those layered banoffee photos. I can’t wait to see how they turned out.

While I reckon there are very few out there who don’t ‘do’ banoffee, if you’re one of them, there’s plenty of other gluten free cake inspiration over in our Big Cakes and Celebration Cakes Index. From gluten free Chocolate Cake to Coffee and Walnut… Traditional Black Forest Gateau to Carrot Cake… And there’s so much more.

For everything else? Grab a coffee and tap your way through our fully photographed Gluten Free Recipe Index. Sweet and savoury, there’s hundreds of recipes to browse and inspire. Just treat it as a FREE recipe book.

With my love

More scrumptious Banoffee treats at Gluten Free Alchemist

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5 from 2 votes

Banoffee Cake (gluten free)

The perfect celebration for Banoffee lovers… Deliciously moist banana cake, layered with freshly whipped cream, caramel sauce and crunchy baked biscuit crumbs… Decorated with chocolate. And no one will EVER know it’s gluten free and Coeliac safe

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Prep Time50 mins

Cook Time40 mins

Total Time1 hr 30 mins

Course: Birthday, Cake, Dessert

Cuisine: British, Gluten Free

Keyword: banana, Banoffee, layer cake, sponge, toffee

Servings: 12

Calories per serving: 554.2kcal

Author: Gluten Free Alchemist – Kate Dowse

Key equipment

• 2 x 8 inch round non-stick baking tins
• baking paper
• oven + hob
• Kitchen scales
• measuring spoons
• Mixing bowls
• electric whisk
• fork
• mixing spoon/spatula
• wire racks
• Baking tray
• large plastic food bag + rolling pin
• medium saucepan

Ingredients 

0.33x0.5x0.66x1x2x

MetricUS Customary

Banana Cake

• 210 g plain gluten free flour blend eg. Gluten Free Alchemist Mix A – See NOTES
• 100 g ground almonds (almond meal)
• 1 tsp xanthan gum
• 1½ tsp baking powder gluten free
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
• 1 tsp fine sea salt
• 100 g unsalted butter softened
• 150 g caster sugar preferably golden caster
• 125 g soft light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs at room temperature – lightly beaten – UK large (Canadian ‘Extra Large’; Australian ‘Jumbo’; and US ‘Extra or Very Large’
• 1½ tsp vanilla extract
• 3 medium very ripe bananas
• 175 ml buttermilk

Crunchy Baked Biscuit Crumbs

• 200 g gluten free biscuits digestive or chocolate chip
• 80 g unsalted butter cubed

Caramel and Cream Filling & Decoration

• 500 ml double cream
• 225 g good quality toffee sauce or dulce de leche approx weight
• handful toasted chopped hazel/brazil/macadamia nuts optional
• crunchy baked biscuit crumbs see separate details above
• dark chocolate curls/broken cigarillos/shards etc
• edible glitter optional

Instructions

Banana Cake

• Base-line two 8 inch non-stick round baking tins with baking paper.
• Preheat the oven to 180 C/350 F/Gas 4.
• Weigh and mix together the flour, almonds, xanthan gum, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt and set aside. (TIP: weigh into an 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 (or 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.

Crunchy Baked Biscuit Crumbs

• Line a small baking tray with non-stick baking paper.
• Preheat the oven to 180 C/350 F/Gas 4.
• 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 biscuit crumbs with the melted butter 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.

Assembling and Decorating the Layer Cake

• Place one of the sponges on a serving plate.
• Whip the cream to soft peaks (so that it holds its shape) 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 (saving plenty for the top of the cake).
• Place the second sponge cake layer carefully on top of the filling.
• Top with another layer of whipped cream and drizzled toffee sauce.
• Decorate with a rim of crunchy biscuit crumbs, followed by some chocolate curls/crushed cigarillos in the centre.
• Dust with a little edible glitter for 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.

Notes

* Note: nutritional information is an estimate & may vary according to portion size/ingredient variants.

Gluten Free Alchemist Flour Blend A can be found on the GFA Flours & Flour Blending Page. If using an alternative flour blend, the texture may be slightly different.

Nutrition

Calories: 554.2kcal | Carbohydrates: 57.5g | Protein: 7.3g | Fat: 34.7g | Saturated Fat: 18.7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8.1g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 146.9mg | Sodium: 421mg | Potassium: 187.4mg | Fiber: 3.4g | Sugar: 33.4g | Vitamin A: 1075.3IU | Vitamin C: 2.8mg | Calcium: 130.8mg | Iron: 1.5mg

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© 2019-2023 Kate Dowse All Rights Reserved – Do not copy or re-publish this recipe or any part of this recipe on any other blog, on social media or in a publication without the express permission of Gluten Free Alchemist

Banoffee Cake shared with

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• Full Plate Thursday #581 with Miz Helen’s Country Cottage
• What’s for Dinner #357 with The Lazy Gastronome
• Cook Blog Share 2022 Week 11 with Melissa Traub
• Sundays on Silverado #85 with The House on Silverado