I accidently made these gluten free dairy free refined sugar free Banana upside down breakfast cake (say that 3 times) one morning when I wanted to use up the surplus of dying bananas I had in my house. When this cake turned out the way it did, I was honestly shocked at how amazing it tasted for being so guilt free and knew I had just found something noteworthy.
I recently discovered a new way to make caramel sauce that is completely vegan and free of refined sugar. I saw this on Earthy Andys instagram page where she uses coconut cream and coconut sugar. I made this recipe recently and it completely checks out! The caramel comes out perfect and you would have no idea that it isn’t using the processed sugar cane and heavy cream.
Only problem is, getting your hands on coconut sugar is sometimes tough. I actually order mine from Amazon otherwise, if I am lucky I find some at whole foods.
Fast forward a few weeks later and I am fresh out of coconut sugar in the middle of a quarantine where things take a bit longer to ship and my bananas are slowly losing their life span. So I decided to make caramel sauce out of what I had in my pantry and hope it all works out.
And boy did it work out…
I at this point I have already exhausted making banana bread so I decided to make a breakfast cake…Yes, a breakfast cake. The reason you can eat it for breakfast is because it’s really not bad for you and has a lot of nutrition in it. And to make things a bit more fun, I knew I wanted to make an upside down cake, just so I could use a bit more bananas than the typical banana bread since I had so many.
I ended up replacing my coconut sugar with maple syrup and replaced the coconut creme with full fat coconut milk and honestly it worked. I really did doubt myself for a minute!
All you have to do is mix both the coconut milk and the maple syrup together in a pan for 10-15 minutes over medium heat and let it simmer. Once it starts coating the back of your spoon, you have caramel sauce. And for all the coconut haters out there, you really don’t taste of coconut at all. So don’t be afraid.
To get the beautiful pattern on top of the cake, I like to stack my banana slices on top of the caramel in the pan. That way when the cake is done, you flip it upside down out of the pan and the caramel drips down the sides of the cake and the bananas leave this amazing print on top. I’ve even seen upside down cakes where they slice the banana all the way down the center for long strips across the cake instead of small circles. Dealers choice.
If you are wanting to make this cake and don’t have cassava flour in your cabinet, you can easily replace it with any other type of flour like coconut flour, brown rice flour, chickpea flour or almond flour. Trust me, I’ve tried them all! I would say the most common of them that I use is cassava and almond flour just because of their neutral flavors and interchangeable 1:1 factor with all purpose flour. Meaning you don’t need to increase the amount used just because you are using a gluten free flour.
I will note that typically almond flour is a little more course than cassava flour and because of that you might get a denser cake. However, still the same great taste!
The way the caramel coats the bananas while the cake bakes in the oven is such magic. They come out so delicious. I love to make this cake in the mornings when we have company over. I will make it sometimes the night before and leave the caramel and bananas in the bottom of the pan in the refrigerator then pour the batter on top in the morning while the oven preheats. That way all I have to do is pop it in the oven. Then while I make coffee, The room slowly starts to smell delicious and warm. By the time I am hungry, this cake is ready to be served.
I’ve made this recipe a few times where we have had leftovers. I like to store it in our fridge wrapped in plastic wrap then when I have a late night craving, I will pop a pieve in the microwave and then add a dollop of coconut whipped cream on top and I have myself a guilt free dessert.
Gluten Dairy Refined Sugar Free Banana Breakfast Cake
Ingredients
- 7 ripe bananas (2 sliced, divided)
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 cup coconut oil (melted)
- 1 cup maple syrup (divided, sub coconut sugar if you have it)
- 1/4 tsp cardamom
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 cups cassava flour (or any GF flour)
- 1/2 cup coconut milk or cream (full fat)
Instructions
- Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a medium bowl, mash together 5 bananas, eggs, coconut oil, 1/2 cup of maple syrup, cardamom and cinnamon until incorporated and there are no lumps. Next mix in the cassava flour (or any other GF flour that you have) until incorporated. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, mix the other 1/2 cup of maple syrup and coconut milk/cream. Cook until the mixture bubbles then turn it down so it stays at a simmer. Once at a simmer, cook for 10-15 minutes until it coats the back of a spoon. Then pour the mixture into an 8×8 inch pan. Carefully place the remaining sliced bananas on top of the coconut caramel in a single layer.
- Finally, scoop the batter on top of the bananas and spread it so it is even. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean. About 40-45 minutes.
- Remove and let it cool for 10 minutes before flipping it onto a platter or cutting board. Divide and serve.
Notes
