Gluten-Free Baby Smash Cake with Banana (for 1st birthday)
The cake is incredibly moist from the bananas and date paste, with a tender yet slightly chewy crumb. It's so gently sweetened with fruit and a tiny bit of maple syrup, which in my book makes it basically breakfast food. With maple-sweetened cream cheese frosting, it tastes like banana bread and carrot cake had a baby.
- Prep time
- 30 min
- Cook time
- 40 min
- Yield
- 6 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 1/2 cup packed pitted medjool dates (about 6-8 large)
- 1/4 cup boiling water
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons sweet rice flour
- ½ cup + 1 tablespoon gluten-free oat flour
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons millet flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 cup pureed bananas (from about 3 medium ripe bananas)
- ¼ cup safflower or vegetable oil
- ½ cup date paste (see above)
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 12 ounces full-fat cream cheese (blocked) (room temperature)
- 1/4 cup + 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- Optional: 1-2 teaspoons spirulina
Instructions
- 1
In a heatproof bowl, pour boiling water over dates and use a spoon to press dates into the water. Let sit for 5 minutes to soften.
- 2
Transfer into a small high-powered blender or a small food processor and blend until completely smooth, scraping down the sides as necessary. This may take several minutes, depending on the power of your blender. Make this up to a month in advance and store in the refrigerator in an air-tight jar. You will use 1/2 cup of the date paste for this cake.
- 3
Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare two 6-inch cake pans by lightly oiling them, lining them with a round of parchment paper, then lightly oiling and dusting the bottom and sides with oat flour.
- 4
In a medium bowl, whisk together the sweet rice flour, oat flour, millet flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Set aside.
- 5
In a large mixing bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the flat beater, mix the banana purée, oil, date paste, maple syrup and vanilla until smooth. Add the eggs and beat until just combined.
- 6
Slowly add the dry ingredients and beat until just combined.
- 7
Divide between prepared baking pans. Bake for 35-40 minutes (checking after 30 minutes) until a toothpick comes out clean and the top bounces completely back when gently poked. This is a very moist cake, so err on the side of baking too long if you're unsure. Let cool for a few minutes in the pans, then flip onto a wire rack to cool completely before frosting. Make this up to a day in advance, wrap tightly in plastic, and store in the refrigerator.
- 8
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter over medium speed.
- 9
Add the cream cheese and beat until completely smooth.
- 10
Add the maple syrup and vanilla and beat until smooth. Depending on the temperature of your ingredients and your kitchen, you may find the frosting is a little soft. If this happens, just pop it in the fridge for 15-20 minutes until it firms up but is still pipe-able!
- 11
To frost, spread about 1/3 -1/2 cup of frosting between the two cooled cake layers (I piped this to make it easy!). Use a little bit of frosting to create a thin crumb coat on the sides of the cake, scraping it almost all off. Add more frosting to the top and smooth it out with an offset spatula. Chill for 10-15 minutes. When chilled, transfer the remaining frosting into a large piping bag with a large round tip. Pipe three large dots up the side then use an offset spatula or the back of a spoon to flatten half the dot and repeat (see process pictures above). Slice and serve!