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    A Full Living » Blog » Dessert Recipes

    Published: Mar 28, 2021 · Modified: May 22, 2022 by Briana · This post may contain affiliate links.

    Banana Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting (Low Carb)

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
    Low Carb Banana Dream Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting graphic with text

    Looking for am easy and decadent low carb and gluten free dessert? This Banana Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting is like a fluffy banana bread, with a thick layer of frosting, laced with creamy peanut butter. We do use some real bananas in this banana cake, but still manage to keep it low carb!


    two layer slice of a banana dream cake with peanut butter frosting and a chocolate ganache

    None of your family members or friends will be able to tell that this cake is low carb, gluten free and refined sugar free. The banana flavor in this low carb cake is unmatched. Pair that with a rich and thick peanut butter cream cheese frosting between the cake layers, and you're in for a heavenly bite.

    Look, I don't really consider myself much of a baker intuitively. Cake decorating? Definitely NOT my strong suit. Cooking savory items and mixing low carb cocktails is a strong point. I'm a student of low carb and gluten free baking, always.

    Gluten free baking itself has a ton of additional challenges. I often find myself very frustrated developing baked good recipes. Not this time. What I'm trying to say is, if I can perfect this peanut butter banana cake, you can make it at home too, with ease!

    The BEST Homemade Banana Cake with Peanut Butter:

    This cake recipe is super reminiscent of one my grandmother used to make me as a child. It's absolutely indulgent, without the sugar or gluten this time around! Each bite of this banana cake with peanut butter is made light and fluffy, and it's naturally super moist, without the addition of sour cream and applesauce that many cakes use!

    This cake and frosting recipe combo was inspired one of my grandmother's banana cakes she used to make with peanut butter frosting. After developing a seriously delicious, tried and true Low Carb Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Skillet recipe, I figured, you know what? I can do this, and I can make it low carb, too!

    While we don't use chocolate chips in this cake's batter, (you could totally add them if you want!!) we do melt a little bit of sugar free chocolate chips to make a ganache to top our cake. This peanut butter banana cake is next level, and I say this with confidence. The ganache is optional of course though.

    If a baked good recipe makes it to our website, you better believe it's damn good! Now if you're tired of all this back story, feel free to skip to the recipe card. If you have questions, make sure to read through the body of the post where I'll discuss everything in more detail!

    overhead view of a banana cake with peanut butter frosting and chocolate ganache on top of a marble cake stand with a pink napkin

    Ingredients:​

    Dry Ingredients:

    • Almond flour - Almond flour is just one of our go-to keto pantry items, and it makes for incredible baked goods. If we're not picking some up at Costco, we're most definitely purchasing Bob's Red Mill super-fine blanched almond flour.
    • Coconut flour - Coconut flour and almond flour are NOT interchangeable. Coconut flour is incredibly drying, but we often use a combo of coconut flour with almond flour to achieve that just right texture. Our favorite brand is Bob's Red Mill.
    • Kosher salt - Baked goods need salt, too!
    • Xanthan gum - Since this recipe is gluten free, we use xanthan gum to bind the batter together. While technically optional, omitting it will make your cake a little more crumbly. This is another Bob's Red Mill product that's always in our pantry.
    • Gluten free baking powder - Most versions of baking powder you will buy in store like Clabber Girl or Bob's Red Mill are gluten free. We opt for Bob's (probably obvious at this point) because it is certified gluten free. Always make sure to read labels to be sure!
    • Ground cinnamon - Technically optional, but we just adore cinnamon as a spice so we recommend it.
    • Sweetener - Our favorite for this cake (and for most things we bake) is Swerve granular. We love Swerve since it measures 1:1 like regular sugar, and it's available pretty much everywhere. Plus, it's super tasty, pet friendly, and it won't upset your stomach! You will need Swerve powdered for the frosting!

    The Wet Ingredients:

    • Unsalted butter - We suppose you could use any oil of choice here, but butter makes this cake just utterly delicious and rich. Using unsalted butter helps control the salt level in this cake. We use melted and cooled butter in the cake batter, and room temperature batter in the frosting.
    • Vanilla extract - Vanilla extract is just essential, for any baked good, in both the cake and the frosting.
    • Banana extract - Technically optional. It helps us jump up the banana flavor in our low carb baked goods. We can personally vouch for McCormick's Spice. It's tasty, with no additives, made from real banana, and it's gluten free!
    • Eggs - Room temperature!
    • Mashed ripe banana - Yes, you read that right. REAL banana! Keto or low carb folks might be shocked, but trust us. The mouth feel and flavor of adding a small amount of banana is worth it, to us. More on this later.
    • Cream cheese - Full fat, room temperature is needed for the peanut butter frosting.
    • Creamy peanut butter - Look for the no sugar added kind, if possible.
    banana cake on a blue plate standing straight up with a fork

    Making The Low Carb Banana Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting:

    • Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans. Place all dry ingredients in a large glass bowl. Whisk and/or sift to make sure there are no lumps. Mash your ripe banana in a separate small bowl. Set aside.
    • Cream your butter and sweetener together in a large bowl until completely combined. Add the mashed banana, vanilla extract and banana extract and mix with a hand mixer until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes.
    dry ingredients in a glass bowl for making a banana cake
    whisked dry ingredients for gluten free banana dream cake
    mashed bananas in a glass bowl with a fork
    mashed banana butter and vanilla extract in a bowl
    creamed butter  sweetener and bananas in a glass bowl
    • Mix in eggs one by one into the wet bowl and combine completely into the batter.
    • Gently fold in the dry ingredients slowly, being careful not to over mix. You just want to stir in the dry ingredients until everything is combined.
    ingredients in a wet bowl with butter eggs and sweetener
    slowly adding dry ingredients to wet ingredients for banana dream cake
    banana dream cake raw batter with a rubber spatula
    • Divide evenly into greased cake pans, and bake until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. About 21-25 minutes. Allow to cool in the pan for a few minutes, then transfer cakes to a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
    raw banana cake batter in cake pans
    cooked banana cakes in pans
    banana dream cake cooling on cooling rack
    • In a large bowl, combine butter, peanut butter and cream cheese. Mix with a hand mixer until velvety smooth. Add in powdered sweetener slowly, and mix again until totally smooth. Add in vanilla extract and salt, mix again, scraping the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
    peanut butter cream cheese frosting coming together in a bowl with a rubber spatula
    powdered sweetener added to peanut butter cream cheese frosting
    peanut butter cream cheese frosting with vanilla extract and salt
    complete peanut butter keto cream cheese frosting
    • Once cake is completely cool, add a thick layer of frosting between the two layers, frost, decorate and enjoy! We love to add banana slices and a quick chocolate ganache. We warm up ¼ cup of heavy whipping cream, then pour it over our sugar free chocolate chips and allow it to sit for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, stir, and you will have a silky smooth ganache!
    banana dream low carb cake with peanut butter frosting on a cake stand
    hand pouring spoonfuls of chocolate ganache onto banana dream cake
    hand adding slices of bananas to a banana dream cake
    hand smoothing chocolate ganache to a banana cake
    completed banana dream cake with chocolate ganache

    Tips For The Best Banana Cake:

    • It's best to only add the optional banana slices and chocolate ganache right before serving, if you're making this banana cake with peanut butter frosting ahead of time. 
    • You can freeze the cake layers wrapped tightly in plastic wrap to help make this cake ahead of time. Allow to defrost (still wrapped) in the fridge for 8 hours before frosting.
    • The peanut butter frosting can also be made ahead of time, just be sure to let it sit out at room temperature for about 30 minutes to frost the cake easily.
    • Use room temperature eggs, butter and cream cheese for the best results.
    • For the batter, allow your butter to be melted and then cool it before using to avoid scrambling the eggs.
    • Allow the cakes to cool completely before frosting them.
    • We always recommend using a food scale to weigh your ingredients for the most precise results.

    Storing This Peanut butter Banana Cake:

    If you decide to keep the banana cake with peanut butter frosting and eat it at a later date, you can freeze it in individual slices wrapped in plastic wrap, and that will keep for a couple months. Alternatively, you can simply freeze the cake layers and let them defrost before putting the cake together with frosting on the day of.

    If enjoying within a few days, keep in an airtight container in the fridge. Before enjoying, allow the cake to sit out at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

    slice of banana dream cake laying flat on a blue plate with a fork in it surrounded by a pink napkin

    Are Bananas Low Carb?

    Technically, no, bananas are not low carb. However, we use just one in this banana dream cake, and there are 16 servings, so the carb and sugar count gets spread out and is pretty minimal. The flavor and mouthfeel of adding banana to this cake can't be beat.

    We don't really like to follow any sort of keto or low carb "rules" especially when it comes to produce. Produce is one of our greatest joys in life, and we find ways to use our favorite fruits and veggies, and keep our food low carb! After all, it probably wasn't fruit or veggies that made us gain weight before anyway. Real bananas make this banana cake just dreamy!

    banana dream cake with a slice being lifted out

    More Recipes To Try:

    • Gluten Free Blood Orange Chocolate Cupcakes (Low Carb)
    • Low Carb Chocolate Chip Skillet Banana Bread
    • Carrot Cake Cupcakes (Low Carb)
    • Low Peanut Butter Chocolate Mousse
    • Keto Salted Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
    flat lay overhead of banana dream cake with peanut butter frosting chocolate bananas

    Shop This Recipe!

    Want to get supplies for this banana cake with peanut butter recipe or shop our keto kitchen or pantry? We've linked our favorites above and right here in our Amazon Store!  A Full Living is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associate program, an affiliate advertising program designed to promote a means for sites to earn advertising fees by linking products to amazon.com. We only share products we use and love. It doesn't cost you anything extra to shop using our links, but we earn a small commission that helps us keep this site going! 


    If you get a chance to try this recipe, let us know what you think, would ya?! Leave us a comment, or catch up with us on Facebook or Instagram, or pin to your favorite Pinterest board for later. We love sharing your versions of our creations over on Instagram @afullliving!

    slice of banana cake being pulled from a frosted cake

    If you could please leave a comment and/or a rating if you loved this peanut butter banana cake recipe, we would be forever grateful! (Ratings helps users find our recipes, since users say that they like them!)

    Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to subscribe to our email newsletter so you're the first to know about new recipes we post on our blog.

    Until Next Time,
    Briana & Chamere

    📖 Recipe

    two layer slice of a banana dream cake with peanut butter frosting and a chocolate ganache

    Banana Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting

    Looking for am easy and decadent low carb and gluten free dessert? This Banana Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting is like a fluffy banana bread, with a thick layer of frosting, laced with creamy peanut butter. We do use some real bananas in this banana cake, but still manage to keep it low carb!
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Pin Rate SaveSaved!
    Prep Time: 30 minutes
    Cook Time: 25 minutes
    Cooling time (for cake): 1 hour
    Total Time: 1 hour 55 minutes
    Servings: 16 servings
    Author: Briana

    Ingredients

    For the banana cake:

    • 2 cups almond flour
    • ¼ cup coconut flour
    • 2 teaspoons gluten free baking powder
    • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
    • 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
    • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
    • 2 sticks unsalted butter, melted and cooled
    • ¾ cup granular sweetener of choice
    • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
    • 1 tablespoon banana extract
    • 1 large banana, ripened and mashed
    • 6 whole eggs, room temperature

    For the peanut butter cream cheese frosting:

    • 16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature (2 blocks)
    • 1.5 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature (12 tablespoons)
    • 1.5 cups natural creamy peanut butter (no sugar added)
    • 1 cup powdered sweetener
    • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
    • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

    Instructions

    For the cake:

    • Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans. Place all dry ingredients in a large glass bowl. Whisk and/or sift to make sure there are no lumps.
    • Cream your butter and sweetener together in a large bowl until completely combined. Add the mashed banana, vanilla extract and banana extract and mix with a hand mixer until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes.
    • Mix in eggs one by one into the wet bowl and combine completely into the batter.Gently fold in the dry ingredients slowly, being careful not to over mix. You just want to stir in the dry ingredients until everything is combined.
    • Divide evenly into greased cake pans, and bake until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. About 21-25 minutes. Allow to cool in the pan for a few minutes, then transfer cakes to a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.

    For the frosting:

    • In a large bowl, combine butter, peanut butter and cream cheese. Mix with a hand mixer until velvety smooth. Add in powdered sweetener slowly, and mix again until totally smooth. Add in vanilla extract and salt, mix again, scraping the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
    • Once cake is completely cool, add a thick layer of frosting between the two layers, frost, decorate and enjoy! We love to add optional banana slices and a quick chocolate ganache.

    Notes

    Not a low calorie food! 
    To make an optional chocolate ganache (not included in nutrition facts): We warm up ¼ cup of heavy whipping cream, then pour it over about 2 ounces of sugar free chocolate chips and allow it to sit for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, stir, and you will have a silky smooth ganache!

    Nutrition

    Calories: 450kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 40g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 58mg | Sodium: 485mg | Potassium: 276mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 641IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 178mg | Iron: 1mg

    These nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy and are only estimates. We cannot guarantee the accuracy.

    Did you love it?If you made this recipe, make sure to show us on Instagram at @AFullLiving or tag #AFullLiving! We love to see what you guys are making!
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: American
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    Garlic Butter Steak Bites with Lemon Zucchini Noodles »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Michelle says

      May 22, 2022 at 6:17 am

      What size pan..9 inch? It doesn’t say..

      Reply
      • Briana says

        May 22, 2022 at 1:15 pm

        Sorry about that. Typo, yes, 9-inch round cake pans!

        Reply

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