You are staring at an ooey, gooey, fudgy chocolate cake that you can have ready in 20 minutes, start to finish. But wait. It gets better. Said cake is made without any flour or refined sugar. Said cake is going to knock your socks off. 
I baked the cake in my 10 1/4-inch cast iron skillet. If you don’t have a cast iron skillet, I highly recommend this Lodge Cast Iron Skillet
. It’s an inexpensive purchase that you won’t regret. I use mine every day. Cast iron is a natural, healthy alternative to nonstick pans. Cast iron isn’t totally nonstick, but you definitely need a lot less fat when cooking in it. Also, cooking with cast iron fortifies your food with iron. That’s a good thing! Okay, back to the cake.
Straight out of the oven, this cake is heavenly. Is there anything better than warm chocolate cake? It’s one of my favorite things in the world. There is a strong banana flavor that goes great with the chocolate fudge flavor.
The bananas lend a lot of sweetness, so I almost didn’t add any additional sweetener. I tasted the batter (love that perk of vegan baking) and thought it was great for my taste buds. I realized most people would need a bit more sweetness, so I added just a touch of maple syrup. If you’re used to super sweet desserts, you can add even more than the recipe calls for. You should be able to use up to 1/2 cup without a significant change to the texture of the cake. Let your taste buds be your guide.
While warm out of the oven this cake is outstanding, it’s also delicious cold, eaten with a spoon, straight from the pan. Not that I’d know anything about that. It takes on a more fudge-like texture when it’s cold that I really love. It’s almost like two desserts in one!
This skillet cake is so easy (helllllo all you have to do is whisk the ingredients into the skillet and bake!), healthy (just check out that ingredient list!), and decadent, you are going to be making it over and over. I promise you won’t soon forget about this Chocolate Fudge Banana Skillet Cake. Make it soon. You won’t be sorry.
PrintChocolate Fudge Banana Skillet Cake (Vegan and Paleo)
This is a flourless, vegan, and Paleo skillet cake that is full of banana and chocolate fudge flavor! Sub sunflower seed butter or soy nut butter to make this a nut-free treat. From start to finish, this cake is ready in 20 minutes.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 - 20 minutes
- Total Time: 20 - 25 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
4 tablespoons coconut oil (I use refined for more neutral flavor)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup mashed banana (from about 2 medium bananas)
1/4 cup pure maple syrup, or to taste
1 cup almond butter
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.
2. In a 10.25 inch cast iron skillet, melt the coconut oil over low heat.
3. Whisk in the rest of the ingredients. Whisk well until you have a smooth mixture.
4. Bake in the preheated oven 15-20 minutes. The cake will appear gooey, and that’s okay. As pictured, I baked my cake for 15 minutes. Because cast iron remains hot a long time, the cake will continue to cook even when you take it out of the oven, so you do want to take it out while it’s still a bit gooey. If it’s not set at all after 15 minutes, just give it a few more minutes. Enjoy!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving of 8
- Calories: 334
- Sugar: 7.1g
- Sodium: 6.6mg
- Fat: 25.9g
- Carbohydrates: 22.6g
- Protein: 8g
This cake is AMAZING! Followed your directions as written, without extra maple syrup and was worried it wouldn’t hit that sweet tooth but oh man, does it! Subbed peanut butter for almond butter as it was what I had on hand and scrumptious. What a recipe to use up older bananas with – kudos!
★★★★★
Sophie,
Thanks so much! I really appreciate you taking the time to comment. If you get the chance, I would love it if you’d take a moment to rate the recipe with the stars. It helps other readers to quickly see that others have tried the recipe. Thanks again for your feedback! 🙂 -Maryea
Could you cook this on parchment paper in the skillet? I’d like to be able to take it out of the pan for serving
I think that would work! Please let me know if you try it.
Thank you for the delicious recipe! I just made this in an 8×8 since I don’t have a skillet and it turned out delicious! Just baked it for 30 minutes instead of 15.
Thanks for letting me know! I’m glad you liked this. 🙂
If you follow recipe as is each slice (based on slicing into 8) will be 330 kcal!! That’s A LOT for a dessert. I think cutting down to 1 tbsp oil and 1/2 cup almond butter would still work and then each slice is 180 kcal.
Can I use Sunbutter instead of Almond butter?
We have severe nut/peanut allergies.
Yes! That should work just fine.
Will peanut butter work instead of almond butter??
Definitely. 🙂
If you don’t have a cast iron skillet is their an alternative option?
I would try to bake it in an 8X8 or 9X9 baking dish. I’m not sure about the time, but you’ll most likely have to increase it. Please let me know if you try it!
This looks amazing! First I thought I must be totally out of it, I’ve never heard of a skillet cake before. Although this does make sense. I can’t believe how delicious this looks, will have to try it some time 🙂
Heidi! So happy to see your comment pop up here! 🙂 Thanks so much, dear.
It’s gluten free. Bonus! Maryea this looks amazingly good. Pinning 🙂
Thank you, Jill!