Peanut Butter Banana Bread Cake

One bite and you’ll be swooning over this Peanut Butter Banana Bread Cake with a fudgy chocolate peanut butter frosting. The banana cake is fluffy and pairs perfectly with the rich chocolate and salty peanut butter in the frosting. I added sliced banana coins on top for some added creamy sweetness, but chocolate chips would be tasty too!

I’m absolutely in love with this cake, I mean what’s not to love about banana + peanut butter + chocolate?! Share with loved ones or don’t, I won’t judge 😉

For another tasty banana cake creation, check out my Banana & Coconut Cream Cake recipe. It tastes like the classic banana and coconut cream pie but in a soft and fluffy cake form. The coconut cream adds a good rich flavor + keeps it extra moist. It’s also topped with a heavenly whipped coconut cream topping that is dairy free and that I usually eat by the spoonful – it’s that good!

Ingredients in Banana Bread Cake

Banana – The riper the better for that sweet banana flavor. I used about two and a half bananas that were nearly black (so ripe!). If you don’t have banana that are nearly black, make sure they are super spotty and brown. This effects the sugar content in the final cake recipe, so as I said, the riper = the better.

Eggs – Needed to hold the structure of the cake and help it bake well as a gluten and grain free creation.

Coconut Oil – Adds a healthy source of fat to bind the cake and keep it moist.

Maple Syrup – A refined sugar free sweetener that pairs perfectly with banana in this cake.

Peanut Butter – I use a natural peanut butter without added sugar or oils. I prefer this as sometimes the added oil/sugar can impact texture and flavor while baking!

Almond Flour – A great choice for gluten and grain free baking. I usually buy mine from Bob’s Red Mill as I love the quality and fine ground texture of it. Make sure to use super fine blanched almond flour and not almond meal, which is a darker and more dense flour.

Coconut Flour – Another gluten free and grain free flour option that I love to bake with. You don’t need much of it as coconut flour absorbs a lot of moisture. A little bit goes a long way!

How to Make Banana Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350F and line a 8”x8” pan with parchment paper. 
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients with a whisk until combined. 
3. In a separate, smaller bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
4. Add dry ingredients to bowl of wet ingredients, and stir with a wooden spoon or spatula until just combined
5. Move batter to the parchment-lined 8”x8” pan and spread in an even layer with a spatula. Bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes (mine took 32 minutes), or until top and edges are golden brown and a toothpick/knife inserted comes out crumb-free (mine was moist, but not sticky with no visible crumbs).
6. Let cake cool completely on a wire rack, and then move to the freezer for 20-30 minutes prior to frosting. This will make spreading the frosting 10x easier!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Frosting

Thick, creamy, fudgy, and oh so delicious, this chocolate peanut butter frosting is a show stopper. I could eat it by the spoonful and be perfectly content *however* … spreading it overtop this fluffy banana bread cake is even better.

The rich chocolate and salty peanut butter pair perfectly in this healthy and yummy frosting. Use it to frost this banana cake or get creative with it!

You’ll need powered sugar, cocoa powder, natural peanut butter, almond milk, and vanilla extract. Then you’ll simply add all the ingredients to a bowl and whisk together with a hand blender until smooth. I like to use a deep bowl so the powdered sugar and cocoa powder don’t fly everywhere.

I like to leave the cake in the freezer for about 20 minutes prior to frosting as it makes it easier to frost the cake. You can then cut the cake into 9 or 12 slices. When doing so, make sure to clean the knife in-between cuts as the frosting is very sticky and can make cutting the cake a little difficult.

Cake Frosting Tips

Is there anything better than a well frosted cake? I always feel like a baking pro when my frosting is spread evenly and looking real good on the cake. Just something about that frosting aesthetic!

I’ve picked up a few tricks over the years so I’ll share the below. Let me know if you’ve tried any of them (with success) or if you have your own to share.

1. Chill the cake after baking and before frosting. As the steps in the recipe state, chilling the cooled cake in the freezer for 20-30 minutes helps it firm up and not crumble when you frost it. This keeps everything looking nice and allows you to evenly spread the frosting without it clumping in certain areas.
2. Use an offset spatula to evenly spread the frosting and then spread it in an “S” shape to create pretty designs. It gives a bit of a swirl effect and creates texture on the cake!
3. Adjust the frosting consistency as needed. If the frosting is too thick, it can clump and not want to spread evenly. If it’s too thin, it can run off the cake or not hold an even layer once spread out. Follow the recipe as is, then adjust by adding almond milk to thin it out or more powdered sugar to thicken it up.

Healthy Banana Desserts

For more banana action, check out these healthy recipes for dessert (or breakfast?!)

Double Chocolate Banana Bread with chopped peanut butter cups swirled into the batter for warm and gooey pockets of delicious in every bite. This banana bread is extra moist and just sweet enough for an indulgent breakfast or tasty dessert!

Almond Flour Banana Muffins with melty chocolate in every bite. These moist and fluffy muffins are perfect with a cup of coffee or glass of cold milk. To bump these up a notch on the decadence scale, add a layer of chocolate peanut butter frosting overtop!

And if you try this recipe, please let me know by leaving a comment and rating in the boxes below! I always love to hear from you, and it also helps other people find this recipe when they search online for the BEST Peanut Butter Banana Bread Cake 🙂

Peanut Butter Banana Bread Cake

Author Casey Colodny

Prep: 20 minutes minutes

Cook: 30 minutes minutes

Total: 50 minutes minutes

Servings: 12 bars

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Fluffy grain-free peanut butter banana bread cake with a fudgy chocolate frosting. The iconic banana + peanut + chocolate flavor combination gets taken to a whole new level with this banana cake!

Ingredients

Wet

• 1 cup ripe mashed bananas the darker the better (~2.5 super ripe bananas – mine were black!)
• 2 ea large eggs
• ¼ cup coconut oil melted & cooled
• ⅓ cup maple syrup
• ⅓ cup creamy natural peanut butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Dry

• 2 ¼ cups super fine blanched almond flour
• 3 tbsp coconut flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp salt

Chocolate Peanut Butter Frosting

• ¾ cup powdered sugar
• ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tbsp creamy natural peanut butter
• ¼ cup + 1 tbsp almond milk leave out extra tbsp if you prefer a thicker frosting
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• salt pinch

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350F and line a 8”x8” pan with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients until combined.
  
• In a separate, smaller bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
  
• Add dry ingredients to bowl of wet ingredients, and stir until just combined
  
• Move batter to the parchment-lined 8”x8” pan and spread in an even layer with a spatula. Bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes (mine took 32 minutes), or until top and edges are golden brown and a toothpick/knife inserted comes out crumb-free (mine was moist, but not sticky with no visible crumbs).
  
• Let cake cool completely on a wire rack, and then move to the freezer for 20-30 minutes prior to frosting. This will make the frosting easier to spread.
  
• Next, make your chocolate frosting. Add all ingredients to a bowl and whisk together with a hand blender until smooth.I like to use a deeper bowl so powdered sugar / cocoa powder doesn’t fly everywhere in my kitchen.
  
• Remove cake from the freezer and top with frosting, spreading into an even layer with a spatula.
  
• Cut into 12 slices, making sure to clean the knife in between cuts. Enjoy!
  

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