Browned Butter and Bananas have become one of my favorite flavor combinations. And this cake is a perfect example of why: It is so moist and flavorful, it doesn’t need frosting to amaze your taste buds. But I’ve added frosting because I also love the taste of Browned Butter Frosting!
The Inside Scoop
American butter is 18-19% water. When butter is browned, the water cooks out of the butter and the fat becomes more concentrated. This creates quite a challenge in finding the right balance between the fats, flours, liquids and bananas. I have included weights for most ingredients since this is the most accurate way of achieving the desired results. Volumetric measures should be considered approximations. Even slight variations in the amount of sugar, fat or bananas can cause this recipe to fail. (Trust me on this. I tossed a LOT of cake in the waste basket as I tried over and over to achieve the perfect results.)
To brown butter: Do NOT use a non-stick or dark colored skillet to brown the butter. It is essential to be able to determine the color of the butter as it browns. Once the butter melts and the water evaporates, the butter will brown quickly and can burn easily if not removed from heat in time.
Before browning the butter, place a plastic container in a bowl filled with a couple inches of ice water. Be sure the inside of the plastic container remains dry. Once the butter browns to a golden color, it needs to be cooled immediately, otherwise it will continue to cook and burn.
As the butter browns, it will become somewhat foamy and browned milk particles will sink to the bottom. If you wish, you can remove the foam and some of the browned particles by pouring the browned butter through a small sieve and into the container. This method is also helpful if the butter has become slightly burned as it will remove most of the burnt milk particles.
When you are done, you will have a beautiful, deep golden brown butter with darker milk particles on the bottom. The darker milk particles are completely useable and very flavorable.
Let the browned butter cool completely and become firm, but not hard. Once the water is cooked out, browned butter will become much firmer than the original butter. To store, cover and refrigerate. Note: Butter can be browned several days in advance.
This recipe was made using My Gluten Free Flour Mix. Due to the varying characteristics of gluten free flours, other gluten free flour mixes are not guaranteed to work.
A stand mixer is one of a gluten free baker’s best friends.
Crack eggs into a small bowl before adding to the batter. That way, it is easy to remove any bits of eggshell or bloody eggs.
Since gluten free flours do not contain gluten, extended mixing times are important to help the flours absorb moisture. Refrigeration time is essential to allow flours to absorb moisture and eliminate the gritty “gluten free” texture and taste. Although the “grittiness” can be mostly eliminated after 15 minutes of refrigeration, I find longer refrigeration times continue to improve the texture, taste and rise of the gluten-free baked goods.
Bananas vary in size; 3 medium bananas may be the right amount, or they might not be enough and then your cake lacks flavor or they may be too much and then your cake is heavy and dense. Weigh your bananas to ensure you have the right amount.
Do not completely mash your bananas. Rather, either fork mash or add sliced bananas to the batter; your mixer will mash most of the banana but leave you with some small bits of banana for extra banana flavor.
Distribute batter evenly in the pan to reduce excessive doming in the middle. This helps to ensure a more even bake.
The “toothpick” test to check for doneness typically does not work with gluten free baked goods. An instant read thermometer is an essential part of gluten free baking. Gluten free baked goods should typically be baked to 210-215 degrees.
An amazing gluten free cake with the flavors of browned butter and bananas. It is so moist and flavorful, it doesn't need frosting to amaze your taste buds. But who can resist the taste of Browned Butter Frosting? To Make the Browned Butter: Fill a medium bowl with approximately 1 -2 inches of ice water. Place a plastic container in the middle of the ice water, making sure to keep the inside of the plastic container dry. Have a small sieve nearby, ready to use. Place the butter in a skillet (do not use a non-stick pan or a pan with a dark lining) and place over low heat; cook until butter sticks are melted. Continue cooking, occasionally stirring gently, until butter develops a golden color and browned milk solids begin to settle on the bottom of the pan. This may take 15-20 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and pour the browned butter through the sieve and into the plastic container sitting in the bowl of ice water. This will prevent the hot butter from continuing to cook and thus, burning. Let the butter cool until it has softly solidified and cooled to room temperature. To Make the Cake: Whisk together My Gluten Free Flour Mix, xanthan gum, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. Make a well in the middle of the flour mix; and set aside. In a small bowl, fork mash the bananas, leaving small visible chunks of banana; set aside. Break the eggs into a small bowl and beat with a whisk; set aside. Measure out 164 g. browned butter and place in a large mixing bowl. Set the remaining browned butter aside for the frosting. Beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, scraping sides and bottom of the bowl and beaters often with a spatula. Add the granulated sugar and beat on medium speed until creamy, scraping the bowl and beaters often. Add the eggs; mix together until eggs are completely incorporated. Add the buttermilk, vanilla extract, and banana extract, if using; beat until well mixed. Pour the wet ingredients into the well in the flour mix. By hand, fold together until there are no dry ingredients. Add the bananas and fold in until bananas are distributed evenly throughout the batter. Do not overmix; there should be visible chunks of banana. Cover the batter and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. When you are ready to bake the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. If you are using a glass cake pan, spray the square 8” x 8” (or 9” x 9”) pan with non-stick cooking spray. If you are using a square metal cake pan, spray the cake pan with non-stick cooking spray and line the bottom and 2 opposite sides with parchment paper. Set aside. Remove the cake batter from the refrigerator and stir gently. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan, smoothing the top so it is level. If you are using a glass cake pan, place the pan on a metal baking sheet to prevent excess browning on the bottom. Bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes, or until an instant read thermometer reads 210 degrees. If an instant read thermometer is not available, use a metal cake tester. Cake is done when the metal cake tester, when inserted into the middle of the cake, comes out clean. If you are making cupcakes or using different sized pans, check for doneness accordingly. Remove the cake from the oven; place on a cooling rack and let cool completely. To Make the Icing: Combine the cream cheese and browned butter in a medium bowl. (Refrigerate any remaining browned butter.) Beat with an electric mixer until light. Add the powdered sugar; by hand or on the lowest speed of the mixer, mix until there is no dry powdered sugar. Then turn the mixer to a medium-high speed and mix until frosting is smooth. If frosting is too stiff, add milk, ½ teaspoon at a time, until frosting is of a spreadable consistency. Enjoy!Gluten Free Browned Butter Banana Cake with Browned Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
Loading...Ingredients
Instructions
70 g./ 7 T. White Rice Flour
35 g./ 3 1/2 T. Brown Rice Flour
24 g./ 2 T. Potato Starch
15 g./ 2 T. Millet
11 g./ 1 1/2 T. Tapioca Flour
This equals 155 g. per1 cup.
To make a large batch at once, I multiplied the above amounts by 8:
560 g./ 56 T. White Rice Flour
280 g./ 28 T. Brown Rice Flour
192 g./ 16 T. Potato Starch
120 g./ 16 T. Millet Flour
88 g./ 12 T. Tapioca
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