A light and fluffy gluten free banana cupcake, topped with a deliciously decadent toffee buttercream frosting. This cake is the perfect banoffee combination.
This cupcake was initially inspired by my dairy free banana cupcakes. With a few little tweaks. I’ve decided to make these cakes gluten free so that they can be enjoyed by everyone, regardless of any dietary requirements. As these cupcakes are made with oil rather than butter, they are also technically dairy free, however, once the toffee buttercream is added, these are no longer dairy free.
The base of this gluten free cake is a vanilla banana cupcake, made with light brown sugar, oil and a mashed banana. The brown sugar has more moisture and adds a slight treacle flavour to the bake, which is perfect for any banana based cake. The oil also helps to make it a nice soft, moist bake.
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anoffee
The process of making these cakes is also a little different to a traditional bake. To start with, add the eggs and sugar together and beat until nice and fluffy, this usually takes around 1-2 minutes. Add oil and vanilla and mix together until just combined, before adding in the mashed banana. Lastly add the self raising flour and vanilla extract. Make sure that everything is blended together, but try to avoid overmixing, and then distribute into the prepared cupcake cases. The cake will be a darker bake, this is perfectly normal for a banana based cake, especially when brown sugar has been used.
The icing is the real show stopper here. A take on a classic buttercream, with a salted caramel twist. I made these using a tin of Carnation caramel. This is quick and easy to use, has a great flavour and helps to create the perfect icing for these cakes. I used 2 tablespoons of this to really make the caramel flavour nice and strong, without being too overpowering. As always, you can adjust this amount by adding more or less, to your preference. Adding in a pinch of salt helps to make this a real show stopper. I’ve also added less icing sugar here. This is because the carnation is quite sweet already, so I reduced the amount of powdered sugar in order to cut through some of the sweetness.
Banoffee
To make the icing, start by creaming the butter until nice and smooth, then add in the icing sugar in 2 separate batches, adding the milk with the second batch. I would always recommend stirring the icing sugar through before mixing with an electric mixer. This helps to prevent an icing sugar cloud. Next stir through the Carnation caramel and a pinch of salt, and you’ve just made the perfect buttercream frosting.
As this frosting has more liquid and less icing sugar it isn’t as thick as a traditional buttercream, but I still found that it is thick enough to be piped. If you prefer then you can add a tablespoon of icing to each cake and using a palette knife or butter knife, ‘smear’ it to the top of the cake. topped my cupcakes with mini fudge pieces, for the perfect finishing touch, but you can always leave them plain or top with another topping of your choice.
These cakes are delicious, and I purposely made a small batch so that these can be enjoyed straight away. Any leftovers should be stored in the fridge for both the icing and the banana based cakes.
Ingredients
- CAKE:
- 1 Egg
- 60 g / 2 oz Light Brown Soft Sugar
- 40 ml Vegetable Oil
- 1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Paste
- 1 Banana, mashed
- 90 g / 3 oz Self Raising Flour
- 1/2 Teaspoon Cinnamon
- BANOFFEE ICING:
- 85 g / 3 oz Unsalted Butter
- 145 g / 5 oz Icing Sugar - sieved
- 1 teaspoon Milk
- 2 tablespoons Carnation Caramel
- Pinch Salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180*c/350*f/Gas Mark 4/160*c Fan Oven.
- Line a cupcake tin with cases and set aside
- Place the eggs and light brown soft sugar into a bowl and using an electric mixer beat together until light and fluffy, this normally takes around 1-2 minutes.
- Add the oil and vanilla paste, mixing until just combined.
- Stir through the mashed banana.
- Add the self raising flour and cinnamon and blend until fully combined, being careful not to over mix, and spoon the mixture into your prepared tin.
- Cook for 20 to 25 minutes, until light and fluffy. You can tell it's ready when it springs back when lightly pressed. You could also insert a skewer into the middle of the cake and if it comes out clean, then the cake is ready.
- Once ready, remove from the oven.
- Allow the cakes to sit in the tin for roughly 5 minutes, then place on a wired rack to cool.
- Whilst waiting for the cakes to cool, start to make the icing.
- Add the butter to a mixing bowl and using an electric mixer, blend until creamy.
- Add half of the sieved icing sugar to the bowl and using a spoon, gently stir together until just combined (this helps to prevent an icing sugar explosion!), before mixing with the electric mixer.
- Add the remaining icing sugar and milk and follow the steps above, do not be afraid to overmix, you want this to be nice and smooth
- Add the Carnation Caramel and salt and thoroughly mix through
- When everything is blended and smooth, apply to your cooled cake. This buttercream is thick enough to be piped, so you can either pipe on top of the cooled cake. Or if you would prefer not to pipe the frosting, add a tablespoon of icing on to each cake and then use a butter knife or palette knife to 'smear' the icing on to the cake. Make sure that you use the icing straight away as it may start to melt if left out.
- I topped my cupcakes with mini fudge pieces, for the perfect finishing touch, but you can always leave them plain or top with another topping of your choice.
Notes
These are best eaten straight away. Any leftovers are best stored in an airtight container in a cool dry place and eaten within 2 days.
Find more Free From Bakes here:
Free From Archives – Cupful of Sprinkles
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