A square of gluten-free banana maple cake with a crumb top, plated on a fork with the pan behind, showing banana layered through the middle
July 14, 2026 · 2 min read

Banana Maple Snacking Cake

A gluten-free, vegan base sweetened entirely with maple, layered with banana and finished with a crumb top.

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This started as a plain vanilla base I use for everything. I pulled the cane sugar out and let maple carry the whole thing instead, adding sweetness, moisture, and a little acidity to wake up the baking soda. With banana layered through the middle and a crumb topping to tie it all together, it becomes a simple and sweet treat I can’t resist snacking on all day.

The mixing barely matters here. It’s a gluten-free, vegan batter, which means there’s no gluten network and no eggs building structure — the water does that job, through the psyllium and flax.

The finished banana maple cake with its crumb top in the pan, wooden spatulas and dried flowers alongside

Banana Maple Snacking Cake

Yield

9 squares

Prep time

20 min

Bake time

35 min

The banana maple crumb cake in its pan next to a plated square on a spoon

Equipment

  • 8-inch square pan
  • Kitchen scale
  • Two bowls
  • Whisk and spatula
  • Instant-read thermometer

Ingredients

Base batter

  • 68.4 g rice flour
  • 49.9 g potato starch
  • 17.5 g tapioca starch
  • 13.9 g oat flour
  • 136 g maple syrup
  • 45.5 g sunflower oil
  • 39.9 g hot water
  • 13.5 g oat milk
  • 7.7 g flax
  • 3.5 g baking soda
  • 2.5 g baking powder (double-acting)
  • 2.3 g salt
  • 0.8 g xanthan gum
  • 0.6 g psyllium husk
  • vanilla, to taste

Filling

  • 3 bananas, sliced
  • maple syrup, to taste

Crumb topping

  • 40 g rice flour
  • 15 g oat flour
  • 30 g organic cane sugar
  • 25 g sunflower oil
  • 0.5 g salt

Instructions

  1. Pre-gel the psyllium and flax in the hot water. Whisk them in and let it sit until it thickens to a gel, about 5 to 10 minutes.
  2. Make the crumb. Rub the sunflower oil into the rice flour, oat flour, cane sugar, and salt until it clumps into irregular pieces. You want it to resemble pebbles, not sand. Set it in the fridge to chill until it’s time to add it to the cake.
  3. Combine the dry base ingredients in one bowl. In another, combine the maple syrup, oil, and oat milk with the psyllium and flax gel.
  4. Bring wet and dry together and mix until just combined. Add vanilla to taste.
  5. Scoop half the batter into a greased or lined 8-inch square pan and level it. Line with sliced banana and drizzle maple. Scoop the rest over the top and level again.
  6. Finish with more banana, more maple, and the chilled crumb.
  7. Bake at 340°F for 35 minutes, or until the internal temp reaches 200°F. Cool fully before cutting. Gluten-free crumb sets on the way down, so if you cut it warm, you’ll end up with a gummy cake.

Common Failures and Fixes

  • Gummy band where the bananas sit? The moisture from the bananas and maple in the center of your cake is messing with the texture. Toss the sliced banana in a light dusting of tapioca — a gram or two — before it goes in. Enough to fix the band, not enough to taste. It binds the free water at the boundary.
  • Sunken, gummy center? Underbaked. This much maple and fruit holds heat and reads done on color long before it’s set inside. Trust the thermometer and only take it out when the center is 200°F or higher.
  • Dense, no lift? Either your psyllium and flax gel never set up, or your baking soda is old. Pre-gel fully before mixing, and make sure the soda is fresh — it’s doing most of the work.
  • Crumb went flat and greasy? You overworked it, or it warmed up before it hit the oven. Keep it in irregular clumps and chill it until the moment it goes on top.
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