Easy and healthy Protein Banana Cake made with whole wheat flour and protein powder, and topped with a vanilla protein frosting and protein caramel! A moist and delicious cake filled with banana flavor, perfect for an afternoon snack or dessert.

An extremely unplanned recipe here. Okay so I did buy bananas 2 weeks ago just to ripen them for baking, but my plan was brownies.

That changed last night though because I really wanted something more banana-ey; i.e. where I could actually taste the banana flavor and not chocolate instead.

Banana Bread vs Banana Cake?

I didn’t really know the difference between a banana bread and banana cake until just recently – or even that there was a difference!

Here’s a gist:

Banana cake is more light and moist vs the slightly more dense banana bread.
The cake is more sweet since it’s meant to be more of a dessert – which is also where the sweet frosting comes in.
The bread has just a hint of sweet because it’s supposed to be a breakfast treat.

Healthy Protein Banana Cake Ingredients:

This recipe for healthy banana cake is made with no sugar and just clean ingredients like wholemeal flour, protein powder and sugar free maple syrup!

Overripe Bananas for their natural sweetness.
Vanilla Protein Powder: For a banana cake with no sugar; I used Quest Vanilla
Unflavored Protein Powder to replace some of the flour in the original recipe, drop the carbs, and make this a high protein banana cake. I use Quest Nutrition’s Multi-purpose Mix Whey-Casein protein powder.
Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
Peanut Butter Powder, also known as Powdered Peanut Butter. I recommend Lakanto for a sugar free version (the code HAYLSKITCHEN gives you a discount). Or you could use the one from PbFit too.
Hot Water
Some Lemon Juice
A bit of Melted Butter
Baking Soda

For the Protein Frosting:

Vanilla Protein Powder: I recommend HTLT Supps or Quest Nutrition Vanilla here since it’s whey-casein and blends well with the yogurt.
Non-fat Greek Yogurt

The Protein Caramel to top:

Peanut Butter Powder, also known as Powdered Peanut Butter. I recommend Lakanto for a sugar free version (the code HAYLSKITCHEN gives you a discount). Or you could use the one from PbFit too.
Peanut Butter: I use the one from American Dream Nut Butter – lower in fat and higher in protein! This link gives you a discount too.
Vanilla Protein Powder: I used HTLT Supps or Quest Nutrition Vanilla whey-caesin here.
Sugar free Maple Syrup for low calorie caramel with no sugar!
I use the sugar free monk fruit maple syrup from Lakanto (code HAYLSKITCHEN gets you a discount)
Some Water

Tips for this Banana Cake with Protein Powder

This healthy banana cake with protein powder really is easy to make, but here’s some things to follow to get it right.

Use extremely over-ripe bananas; You want them to be mostly black on the outside, so that the fruit is sweet enough that no added sugar is needed here.

Use melted Butter so that it mixes well into the healthy cake batter.

Don’t overmix the batter!
Pour the dry mix into the wet along with the milk and just gently fold them together. Don’t over-mix it or too much gluten will develop, which is what will make the cake gummy and dense.
There will be some lumps, but that’s completely okay!

Taste the batter and see if you need some extra sweetener. I’d recommend using stevia powder to maintain the consistency of the batter and have sugar free and healthy banana cake.

Don’t let the batter sit out too long; Pour immediately into baking pan and bake.
This is to avoid any reactions between the ingredients.

Don’t over-bake the cake or it will get tough; Remove when the tester/knife comes out just dry, but moist.

Let cake cool completely before frosting or the frosting will melt.

For the Frosting in this Macro Friendly Banana Cake:

Use whey-casein protein powder since it mixes well with the yogurt.

Only add milk if necessary; Mix the frosting well first, and then add milk if still too dry.

Can you store this Protein Banana Snack Cake?

This moist and fluffy protein banana snack cake keeps really well and is great for a meal prep snack – freezer friendly too!

You can keep the protein powder banana cake out at room temperature for a few hours and for 4 or 5 days in the fridge. Be sure to use an airtight container.

To freeze the banana snack cake bars, slice the cake, wrap in plastic wrap, and place the pieces in a freezer-safe zipper bag. Thaw when you crave a midday treat! You can even store the whole whey protein banana cake itself!

Alternatives for Healthy Banana Cake Recipe with No Sugar

For the perfect healthy banana cake recipe with no sugar, I used protein powder to replace the sugar and I would highly suggest using the ingredients recommended.

I do have some alternatives you can try. I haven’t testing them all, so I can’t say how the recipe might turn out.

Whole Wheat Pastry Flour: Use All purpose flour or 1:1 Gluten Free Baking Flour in the same amount by weight not cups.
Melted Butter: Melted Coconut Oil or Dairy Free Butter
Sugar-free Maple Syrup – Regular maple syrup
Lemon Juice: Apple Cider Vinegar or White Vinegar
Greek Yogurt: Coconut Yogurt

More High Protein Banana Recipes: