Vegan banana cake with chocolate peanut butter frosting - easy to make, fluffy, moist banana cake filled with smooth, creamy peanut butter and chocolate buttercream. The perfect cake for all occasions!
The weather has been so hot recently that every time I buy bananas they ripen so incredibly quickly that we are unable to eat them all before they get too ripe. For me, once they have got black spots they are just too ripe to eat as they are. They are excellent for baking with however; and an excess of blackened bananas is the perfect excuse to make this vegan banana cake with chocolate peanut butter frosting.
This is a really easy cake to make, and has a wonderfully light, fluffy texture with plenty of moisture from the bananas.
The buttercream is light and creamy and has a delicious chocolate peanut butter flavour. Obviously both of those ingredients work really well with banana, making this cake incredibly moreish!
I decorated it very simply with banana chips and chocolate curls, which also adds a nice crunchy textural contrast to the soft cake.
I made the vegan banana cake and buttercream using my new Kenwood Kmix stand mixer from JD Williams. It is an absolute powerhouse, a dream to operate and I have been using it near constantly.
So far I have used it to make my vegan chocolate, orange and almond cake (both cake and buttercream), foccacia, and several other recipes that I have yet to post!
It's 1000W motor made light work of kneading bread dough, and can handle mixing at a high speed for a reasonable length of time. It is a reassuringly heavy, solidly built mixer with a large, 5 litre capacity glass mixing bowl.
It has six speed settings which range from very slow, gentle mixing, up to a very fast speed which is perfect for making things like meringue.
It comes with a beater, balloon whisk and dough hook, as well as a splash guard which is incredibly useful when you are making things like buttercream as it prevents your kitchen from being covered in a cloud of icing sugar.
The attachments all store neatly in the bowl with the splash guard on top when the mixer is not in use, so there is no need to find space in a drawer for them.
You also have the option of buying extra attachments for it - things like pasta rollers, grinders, mincers, slicers and fruit presses.
I absolutely love it, it is really easy to use, very versatile and works great. It feels extremely well built and I think that it will last for many, many years. On top of all this it looks really good too and I happily keep mine out on the counter on show.
How To Make Vegan Banana Cake With Chocolate Peanut Butter Frosting:
(For ingredients and full instructions see the recipe card below)
*For the best results make sure that you follow the recipe closely. As always, I highly recommend using the gram measurements (with a digital scale), rather than the cup conversions. Cup measurements are simply not accurate enough for baking and I cannot guarantee the best results if you use them.*
Start by combining flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt and cinnamon in your stand mixer on a low speed.
Whisk together mashed banana, brown sugar, oil, plant milk, vinegar and vanilla.
Add the wet ingredients to the stand mixer and mix on a low speed until just combined.
Divide between two tins and bake until golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
To make the buttercream, whisk together dairy free margarine and vegetable shortening until smooth.
Add sifted icing sugar and whisk on a high speed until well combined (make sure you use the splash guard!).
Finally, whisk in cooled melted chocolate, cocoa powder, peanut butter and vanilla extract.
A Word On Vegan Buttercream:
I find vegan buttercream to be far more temperamental than the regular kind and it can be prone to splitting. I use half butter substitute (the kind that comes in a solid stick rather than the kind in a tub is best) and half vegetable shortening to help combat this but even with the shortening it can still split sometimes.
The things that have worked for me if a buttercream does split are:
- Chill the buttercream in the fridge for a couple of hours until it is very firm then re-whip. Often this is enough to bring it back together.
- Add cooled melted chocolate. Chocolate contains soy lecithin which is an emulsifier, so adding melted chocolate to buttercream can help to stop it splitting.
- Whisk in extra sifted icing sugar.
If your buttercream does split then I would try those solutions in that order to fix it.
More Vegan Banana Recipes:
- Fluffy vegan banana pancakes
- Banana porridge with blueberry compote
- Banana bread cinnamon rolls
- Vegan biscoff banana bread
- Vegan chocolate banana bread
- Banana nut muffins
- Vegan chunky monkey ice cream
If you tried this recipe why not tag @domestic_gothess on Instagram and hashtag it #domesticgothess
Vegan Banana Cake With Chocolate Peanut Butter Frosting
Ingredients
Cakes:
- 285 g (2 ⅓ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour sifted
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 330 g (3 medium) very ripe mashed bananas
- 200 g (1 cup + 1 Tablespoon) light brown soft sugar
- 135 ml (½ cup + 1 Tablespoon) sunflower oil
- 90 ml (6 Tablespoons) unsweetened plant milk (I used soy)
- 1 ½ teaspoons white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Buttercream:
- 100 g (3.5 oz) dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids) chopped
- 75 g (⅓ cup) dairy free margarine (I used Stork stick)
- 75 g (⅓ cup) vegetable shortening (I used Trex)
- 300 g (2 ½cups) icing (powdered) sugar sifted
- 1 Tablespoon cocoa powder sifted
- 75 g (¼cup) smooth, creamy peanut butter (NOT the runny natural kind)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch salt
- a drop of non-dairy milk if needed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Grease two 20cm/8in round cake tins and line the bases with baking parchment.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon and salt on a low speed until well combined.
- Whisk together the mashed banana, light brown soft sugar, sunflower oil, plant milk, white wine vinegar and vanilla extract.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix on a low speed until just combined. Be careful not to over-mix or the cake can become tough.
- Divide the batter evenly between the tins and bake for 25-30 minutes until firm to the touch and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- Leave the cakes to cool in their tins for 10 minutes then carefully turn them out onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely.
- To make the buttercream; melt the chocolate, either in a bowl over a pan of gently simmering water or in short bursts in the microwave, stirring regularly. Set aside to cool a little.
- Place the margarine and vegetable shortening in the bowl of a stan mixer and whisk until smooth. Add the sifted icing sugar and mix on a low speed until combined then turn the mixer up to a high speed and whisk for a couple of minutes until fluffy.
- Whisk in the cocoa powder and melted chocolate followed by the peanut butter, vanilla extract and salt. If it is too thick you can whisk in a drop of non-dairy milk.
- Place one of the cooled cakes on a serving platter or cake stand and spread over some of the buttercream. Place the other cake layer on top and cover the top and sides of the cake with buttercream.
- Decorate with banana chips and chocolate curls if desired. Store in an airtight container at cool room temperature for up to 5 days (keep in the fridge if it is hot out).
I was sent the Kenwood Kmix stand mixer to review but I was not paid to write this post and all opinions are my own.
Katie
This sounds delicious! I absolutely love banana cake, I can't wait to try this vegan version out!
Katie xoxo
Chloe Taylor
This cake had rave reviews from a room of non vegans - so delicious and the perfect texture!
Marie
I just made this, having never done any vegan baking before, and it is insanely good! Light, moist, full of flavour.
Just thought I’d add another frosting solution which may come in handy for some. My frosting turned out way too thick, almost solid and unspreadable (perhaps an idea to add the last cup of icing sugar a little at a time). But beating in a few spoons of almond milk sorted it right out,
Jen
My frosting was also WAAAAAAY too thick. And that seemed like a lot of sugar for that amount of butter. I’m wondering if maybe that was a typo?? Like it was supposed to be 1 1/2 cups?
hannahhossack
Hi Jen, sorry to hear that, you can whisk in a drop of non-dairy milk if the frosting is too thick. If you used the cup measurements then I think perhaps the cup conversion was off; I've updated the recipe. Although I provide them due to popular demand I never bake using cups myself as they are wildly inaccurate. I really recommend using a digital scale instead if you do not already.
Sally
Hi Hannah,
Do you think the frosting will work with coconut butter? I've got some left over from another recipe.
hannahhossack
Hi Sally, I've got no idea I'm afraid! I've never used coconut butter; sorry I can't help!
Sally
Well I went ahead and used it and all had gone well. It tastes exactly like dairy butter cream and twice as nice once it has a load of melted chocolate and peanut butter in it. Looking forward to eating it later.
hannahhossack
Hi Sally, excellent! Good to hear that I worked, I will have to give coconut butter a try myself!
hannahhossack
Hi Claire, no, plain/all-purpose flour does not have added baking powder. Did you use the bicarbonate of soda and vinegar? That is what creates the rise in this recipe and there is no need for any baking powder; I've made it multiple times and never had an issue with the rise. It might be worth checking if your bicarb is in date and still effective as it can lose potency over time and that could be the issue here. If you mix 1/4 tsp bicarb with 2 tsp vinegar it should bubble up immediately. If not then it needs to be thrown away.
Krista
This cake was AWESOME!! Even my non-vegan family loved it. Keep the great vegan recipes coming. Thanks for posting this - will definitely be making this again! I frosted with a vegan chocolate buttermilk frosting and it was delish.
Paytonn
Can I use coconut oil instead of sunflower? Thanks in advance
hannahhossack
Yes that should be fine but you will need to make sure that the milk is room temperature or slightly warm so that the oil doesn't resolidify.
Mindy
Can I use non vegan ingredients like regular milk and butter and be ok? I just really think this looks amazing but don’t care to make it vegan. Thanks.
Hannah
Hi Mindy, yes that will work.
Justin from dailyveganmeal
WOW, this cake just sounds and looks absolutely divine. Bookmarking! Thanks for sharing it 🙂
Rebel Jana
Hello there,
The cake looks lush but I'm not completely sure what is vegetable shortening. Any advise on what I can replace it with?
Thanks
hannahhossack
Hi, vegetable shortening is a solid vegetable fat, in the UK it is called Trex and in the US Crisco. If you aren't able to get hold of it then you can swap it for more vegan butter/margarine, but make sure that you use the kind that comes in a solid block, not the spreadable kind in a tub otherwise the buttercream is more likely to split.
Esterrr
Hi looks amazing! Would this work if I made it as one cake (so put all the mixture in one tray) rather than making two separate ones?
Thanks!
hannahhossack
Thank you! As long as you've got a deep cake tin that should work fine - either 20 or 23cm round, about 8cm deep. Or a 23cm square tin should work too. Bear in mind that the cake will also take longer to bake.
Georgia
I made this for my mum and brother's birthday (I'm the only vegan, but would rather not miss out on cake)! It turned out perfectly and was a big hit with everyone! Crazily delicious! I used Pure vegan spread in the frosting - couldn't find any vegan block butter - and encountered no issues whatsoever. 🙂
Tyna
Had to use less sugar because it´s be too sweet, but I love this recipe! It works and the cake turned out really well and yummy.
Holly Hynds
Can I use safflower oil instead of sunflower oil? Or what can I use if I can’t find sunflower?
hannahhossack
Hi Holly, yes that's fine, any neutral flavoured oil will work (vegetable/canola/mild olive oil etc)
Ane
Can I use malt vinegar for this? And do you think this would freeze well, if I cut them into slices? I have a strong urge to make it but only a couple of people to eat it hehe.
hannahhossack
Hi Ane, yes malt vinegar will work and I think it will freeze ok. I hope you enjoy it!
Nolan Males
the best cakes/cupcakes we ever had!!! My mom said it was the best icing ever made! So making these again 🙂 Love them. Will try them again soon!!!
Milan
Can we use white vinegar instead of white wine vinegar?
hannahhossack
Hi Milan, I would use either cider vinegar or lemon juice instead if possible; white vinegar is a bit harsh in flavour but it will work if there is no alternative.