Paleo Banana Cake
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This Paleo Banana Cake is basically just a fancy paleo banana bread topped with some creamy dairy-free chocolate frosting and sprinkles. This healthy cake is easy to make and perfect for any kind of celebration.
Banana bread and birthday cake came together to make this paleo treat!
I found myself with a surplus of ripe bananas so like any good human I started to think of banana bread recipes, BUT I was also craving chocolate cake. So, I poured my paleo banana bread batter into an 8×8 baking pan instead of a loaf pan.
Then, I wracked my brain for how to make a creamy paleo chocolate frosting. I made brownies with sweet potato before and loved how creamy they were. I took the idea of using sweet potato in baked goods and made a rich and creamy chocolate frosting.
What kitchen tools will I need to make this Paleo Banana Cake?
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- Liquid measuring cup
- Mixing bowls
- Spatula
- Hand mixer
- 8×8 baking pan
What ingredients will I need to make this easy paleo treat?
- Ripe bananas
- Eggs
- Coconut oil
- Coconut sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Almond flour
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Sweet potato
- Cocoa powder
- Maple syrup
Let’s make a Paleo Banana Cake!
Step 1: Mix the batter and steam sweet potato
First, preheat oven to 350F and grease an 8×8 baking pan. Peel and cube sweet potato and steam on the stovetop until soft, about 20 minutes.
Next, mash ripe bananas in a large mixing bowl. Then, add eggs, vanilla extract, coconut oil, and coconut sugar to the bowl and mix again. Mix almond flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder in a separate bowl and fold into wet ingredients.
Step 2: Bake the cake and prep the frosting
Next, pour batter into the baking pan. Then, bake at 350F for 38 minutes. Remove the sweet potato from the heat and mash.
Then, add 1 cup cooled mashed sweet potato to a bowl with cocoa powder and maple syrup. Mix with a hand mixer or food processor until combined. Then, add almond milk to the frosting and mix again until smooth and creamy.
Step 3: Put it together and add sprinkles!
Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool fully. Then, spread the frosting over top, decorate with sprinkles and cut into squares.
Step 4: Enjoy!
How should I store this healthy cake?
Once baked, store this paleo banana bread in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Please do not store this on the counter. It is made with fresh ingredients and will perish quickly.
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
Paleo Banana Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 3 large ripe bananas
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cup almond flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
Icing
- 1 cup cooked and cooled mashed sweet potato
- 3/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 3 tbsp almond milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and grease an 8×8 baking pan or line with parchement paper
- Peel and cube sweet potato and add steam on the stove top until soft about 20 minutes
- In a large mixing bowl, mash banana with a fork or potato smasher
- Add eggs, melted and cooled coconut oil, coconut sugar, and vanilla extract to the mixing bowl with the smashed banana and mix thoroughly
- In a separate mixing bowl combine almond flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt
- Fold dry ingredients into wet ingredients and spread into the 8×8 baking pan
- Bake at 350F for 38 minutes
- While the cake cooks prepare the icing by mashing the sweet potato with a fork or hand mixer
- Add 1 cup cooked and cooled mashed sweet potato to a mixing bowl with cocoa powder and maple syrup
- Mix with an electric hand mixer or in a food processor until combined
- Add almond milk to the icing and mix until smooth and creamy
- Remove cake from the oven and allow to cool fully before topping with icing and sprinkles
Tomoko says
Hmmm, I just bought fresh bananas, but now you’ve got me thinking I need to let a few of them brown just so I can make this!
Madeline says
YES! Do it!
Tomoko says
I only have vanilla oat milk. Can I use it for the icing instead of almond milk?
Peggy says
Very easy and turned out realllly well! I didn’t make the frosting just the cake part.
★★★★★
Madeline says
Thank you for sharing!!! So glad you enjoyed!
Abby says
I made mine cupcakes instead of a cake and they were a perfect treat!
★★★★★
Madeline says
oh I love that !!! Thank you for sharing!!
Kimberly says
This cake was absolutely delicious! We ended up not making the frosting, but did follow the cake recipe exactly and it is perfection. It is even 9 & 7 year old kid approved— HUGE win in our house!
★★★★★
Madeline says
Ah yay!! So glad you and the kids enjoyed it!
McKinley says
Definitely the best baked good I have made with almond flour. The texture is amazing and it has the perfect amount of sweetness!
Madeline says
Awesome!! Thank you for sharing
Rita says
Do you think canned pumpkin would work in place of sweet potato?
Madeline says
I don’t think so. I think it would be too thin and not sweet enough.
Cristin says
Just made this. Not sure what happened but it tastes like salt. Is it supposed to be 1 tsp of salt? Any ideas how to save the cake?
★
Madeline says
Hi I’m sorry that you don’t enjoy the taste! 1 tsp of salt worked well for me and many others.
Madeline says
Perhaps you could add the sweet icing and that would make a difference. I will reduce the amount of salt in the recipe so that this isn’t an issue in the future.
Nancy Riccardi says
Do you think I could use all purpose flour or oat flour instead of almond flour? Sounds so delicious!
Madeline says
Hi Nancy! Yes! I think either would, but they absorb quite a bit more moisture than almond flour so you would not need as much flour. Start with half the amount and then slowly add in more mixing as you go until you get a cake batter texture!!
Nancy says
Thank you SO much for your quick reply and guidance on the substitution! I just tried this recipe tonight with about 1 cup of oat flour and it turned out amazing!! I didn’t have any sweet potatoes so I tried a different chocolate frosting and made this into cupcakes and they are a HUGE hit at my house! Can’t wait to make these again!
★★★★★
Madeline says
YAY! Thank you for your review, Nancy! It will be super helpful for others to know that they can use oat flour!
CC says
This cake is delicious! I’ve been searching for a healthier banana/chocolate cake forever & no need to continue the quest. This is it! I kept it in the fridge and ate a piece nearly every day for over a week. It held up well & seemed to taste better every day. I used Califia Farms Go Coconuts Coconut Water & Coconut Milk Blend instead of almond milk & it turned out perfect. Thanks for the new staple recipe 🙂
★★★★★
Madeline says
Thank you for sharing!! I love the idea of having a little as a treat every day and I agree it definitely gets better over time.
Marianne says
Hello, its my birthday soon and my family loves cake, I’m paleo and not a huge fan of cake but this banana cake is irresistible. The only problem is that I only have buckwheat flour or chickpea flour. Would either work?
Madeline says
Hi! I would try buckwheat but use much less than my recipe calls for! Try just 1 cup
Marianne says
It worked fine, I ended up using 1 cup buckwheat and 1/4 chickpea flour. Tastes amazing and no different to a normal banana cake
Sarah Schweiker says
This cake is AMAZING! I couldn’t stop eating the icing by the spoonful because it was so good and not too sweet. My husband loved it as well!
★★★★★
Madeline says
AHH I am so glad you both enjoyed!! Thank you!!
Eileen A Donovan says
Great recipe! Used this as a sweet brunch treat. Followed some of the suggestions in the comments to make it with a reduced amount of oat flour and it worked really well.
★★★★★
Madeline says
YAY!! glad it worked well with the oat flour!
Ann-Marie says
I LOVE this cake! Do you think I could freeze it? And if yes, I wonder if it would just thaw out in the fridge overnight?
★★★★★
Madeline says
the cake part definitely but I would not freeze and thaw the icing.
Katie says
This recipe was so good. I did swap the almond flour for Bobs gluten free 1 to 1 flour and used flax milk instead of almond milk in the icing. Also I added Hu baking chocolate chips. I will definitely be making this one again, not to mention using this icing on everything now. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
★★★★★
Madeline says
Yay! Thanks, Katie!
Courtney says
Hi I love this paleo recipe however I have an egg allergy. Do you think this would work with an egg substitute? If so, do you suggest one over another? Thank you!!
★★★★★