Vegan banana layer cake with chocolate avocado icing: Two layers of banana spice cake with chocolate avocado icing, perfect for birthdays, holidays, and any day you need a treat. It’s naturally sweetened with coconut sugar and maple syrup.
Hello again! Happy Friday and happy beginning of the long weekend. I hope you are enjoying it so far! I wanted to publish this banana cake recipe this morning, but time got away on me. I spent the better part of the day creating a new recipe (chickpea cauliflower shawarma), then got my workouts and walk in while the sun was shining, and, well, here I am!
Banana cake was one of my favourite cakes in middle school. My mom made the best banana spice cake with cream cheese icing, and I’ve tried to replicate that… only with chocolate avocado icing in its place, as chocolate and banana are a match made in heaven, and I can’t seem to enjoy a sweet these days unless it has some chocolate component.
If you’ve never baked a cake before, let alone a layer cake, let me assure you that this is a very easy and approachable recipe to start with. It’s essentially a slightly more decadent banana bread that gets baked in cake pans instead of loaf pans. And it’s a fantastic way to utilize any over-ripe bananas that may be sitting in your fruit bowl at the moment.
the details
This cake takes less than 10 minutes to whip up and 30 minutes to bake. While it cools, you can make the avocado chocolate icing in a food processor. Then, frost the cake and enjoy immediately or cover and enjoy it later. Covered, it keeps for a day or two at room temperature. For longer term storage, I would recommend slicing it and storing in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.
ingredients you’ll need
To make this vegan banana layer cake with chocolate avocado icing, you will need the following ingredients: Ground flax seeds, coconut oil or sunflower oil, coconut sugar, maple syrup, very ripe bananas, vanilla extract, all purpose flour, spelt flour, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves.
how to make vegan banana layer cake
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease the bottom and sides of two 9-inch round cake pans with coconut oil and dust with flour. Shake out any excess. (Alternatively, grease the pans and line the bottom of each with parchment paper cut to fit the bottom of the pan.)
In a large bowl, whisk together the ground flax and water. Wait a couple of minutes, until it thickens. Add the melted coconut oil or sunflower oil, coconut sugar, maple syrup, mashed bananas, and vanilla. Whisk to combine.
In a medium bowl, stir together the flours, baking powder and soda, sea salt, and spices. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and whisk or stir just until the dry ingredients are incorporated.
Evenly divide the cake batter between the two prepared cake pans.
Bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of each cake comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and let them cool in the pans for at least 30 minutes. Run a rubber/silicone spatula around the edges to loosen the cakes, then carefully invert onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely. (If you used parchment paper, carefully remove it from the cakes.)
While the cake cools, make the chocolate avocado frosting: Place the avocados, maple syrup, cocoa, vanilla and a pinch of salt in a food processor fitted with the ‘S’ blade. Process until very smooth, pausing every so often to scape down the sides with a spatula.
Frost the cake. Spread desired amount of chocolate avocado frosting over one of the cakes, then top with the second cake and use the rest of the frosting for the top and sides. Enjoy with a scoop of vanilla coconut ice cream for the ultimate dessert!
a few final thoughts
You can make this into twelve cupcakes, if desired.
If you don’t have whole spelt flour, whole wheat flour should work.
Feel free to omit the spices if you a plain ol’ banana cake. 🙂
more banana recipes
- Oatmeal Banana Almond Breakfast Bars (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
- Vegan Pumpkin Banana Spelt Muffins
- Vegan Peanut Butter Banana Power Cookies
I hope that you love this vegan banana cake with chocolate avocado frosting! If you make it, let me know how you enjoyed it by leaving a comment and rating below. And if you post a photo to Instagram, be sure to tag @upbeet.kitchen and #upbeetkitchen. I love seeing what you’ve made.
Enjoy!!
Print
Vegan Banana Layer Cake with Chocolate Avocado Icing
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 10 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Vegan banana layer cake with chocolate avocado icing: Two layers of banana spice cake with chocolate avocado icing, perfect for birthdays, holidays, and any day you need a treat. It’s naturally sweetened with coconut sugar and maple syrup.
Ingredients
Banana Cake
- 2 tablespoons ground flax seed + 5 tablespoons water
- ½ cup coconut oil, melted, or ½ cup sunflower oil
- ⅔ cup coconut sugar
- ½ cup maple syrup
- 1 ½ cups mashed banana (from 4 medium very ripe bananas)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup whole spelt flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
Chocolate Avocado Frosting
- 2 large ripe avocados, pitted and flesh scooped out
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- ⅓ cup cocoa
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of fine sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease the bottom and sides of two 9-inch round cake pans with coconut oil and dust with flour. Shake out any excess. (Alternatively, grease the pans and line the bottom of each with parchment paper cut to fit the bottom of the pan.)
- In a large bowl, whisk together the ground flax and water. Wait a couple of minutes, until it thickens. Add the melted coconut oil or sunflower oil, coconut sugar, maple syrup, mashed bananas, and vanilla. Whisk to combine.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the flours, baking powder and soda, sea salt, and spices. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and whisk or stir just until the dry ingredients are incorporated.
- Evenly divide the cake batter between the two prepared cake pans.
- Bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of each cake comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and let them cool in the pans for at least 30 minutes. Run a rubber/silicone spatula around the edges to loosen the cakes, then carefully invert onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely. (If you used parchment paper, carefully remove it from the cakes.)
- While the cake cools, make the chocolate avocado frosting: Place the avocados, maple syrup, cocoa, vanilla and a pinch of salt in a food processor fitted with the ‘S’ blade. Process until very smooth, pausing every so often to scape down the sides with a spatula.
- Frost the cake. Spread desired amount of chocolate avocado frosting over one of the cakes, then top with the second cake and use the rest of the frosting for the top and sides. Enjoy with a scoop of vanilla coconut ice cream for the ultimate dessert!
Notes
Covered, the cake keeps for up to two days at room temperature. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days or in the freezer for up to a month.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
Keywords: vegan banana layer cake
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