This Chai-Spiced Banana Cake is the most delicious hybrid between banana bread and coffee cake but with warm chai spices that give all the fall feelings. It’s sweetened with banana and coconut sugar and can easily be made gluten-free!
Substitutions:
This recipe is written using a combination of all-purpose flour and a small amount of oat flour. But, throughout the development process I tried a few gluten-free flours as well. I found best texture results when the 1/2 cup oat flour (divided) was unchanged, but the 1 cup of all-purpose can be easily substituted.
All-Purpose Flour: If you aren’t gluten-free, you can easily make this recipe just as written using an organic all-purpose flour. It’s easy and accessible for most people to find. This flour, in combination with the oat flour, yields a pillowy, moist cake!
- Measurement: 1 cup all-purpose flour, as written in the recipe below.
- Bake Time/Temp: 375F for 30-35 minutes.
Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour: For an easy gluten-free swap, you can try using a gluten-free all-purpose blend like Cup4Cup or King Arthur. This was the first flour I tried in combination with the oat flour, and the flavor came out perfect. Initially, the texture was perfect too but as the cake cooled the texture became slightly gummy. Gluten-free flour blends have a tendency to do this, especially with something sticky like banana. Nonetheless, it was still very tasty and a good option if you’re in a pinch! You can use this flour 1:1 for all-purpose, but the bake time will need increased.
- Measurement: 1 cup of GF flour for 1 cup all-purpose.
- Bake Time/Temp: 375F for 40-45 minutes.
Cassava Flour: The third flour option I tried was cassava flour (again, in combination with the oat flour). Cassava flour is naturally gluten-free and a good substitute for all-purpose flour in many things. In this case, it rises much better than the gluten-free all-purpose blend did. If you opt for this flour option, you can use it 1:1 for the all-purpose as well but will need to add 1/4 cup milk (I used almond milk) along with it, as it absorbs a lot more moisture than the other flours.
- Measurement: 1 cup cassava flour for 1 cup all-purpose + 1/4 cup milk (not listed in recipe below)
- Bake Time/Temp: 375F for 30-35 minutes.
Chai-Spiced Banana Coffee Cake
Equipment
- 8×8 square baking pan
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients:
- 1 cup mashed ripe banana ~3 bananas
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 greek yogurt plain or vanilla
- 2 tbsp coconut oil melted
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Dry Ingredients:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour spooned & leveled, can substitute gluten-free flour / or cassava, see above for exact measurements
- 1/4 cup oat flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ginger
- 1/2 tsp cardamon
- 1/4 tsp cloves
Cinnamon Sugar Layer:
- 3 tbsp coconut sugar
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
Crumb Topping:
- 1/4 cup oat flour
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- 3 tbsp coconut oil
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp cardamon
- 1/8 tsp ginger
- 1/8 tsp cloves
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together all wet ingredients: mashed banana, eggs, greek yogurt, coconut sugar, vanilla extract, and coconut oil.
- In a separate small bowl, mix together dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and gently mix with a spoon until combined.
- Using the same dry ingredients bowl, combine coconut sugar and cinnamon for the swirl layer.
- Add half of the batter to a greased and parchment paper-lined 8×8 baking dish. Sprinkle all of the cinnamon swirl on top. Spoon the remaining half of the batter on top and spread the best you can (if it's not perfect, no worries!)
- In the same small bowl, combine all ingredients listed for crumb topping. Gently mix until a crumble forms. Sprinkle over the top.
- Bake at 375F for about 30-35 minutes. Remove from the oven and slice into 9 pieces. Best if served warm. Enjoy! 🙂
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