Learn how to make the perfect banana coffee cake with this simple and mouth-watering recipe. Perfect for any occasion, this cake will leave you and your family wanting more!
A few weeks ago I was developing my apple crumb cake recipe, we fell in love, I love baked apples. Then I moved on to my brown butter banana bread recipe, which is fantastic too. I was left craving a coffee crumb cake as well as banana bread so I set to develop this recipe. It is based on my sour cream coffee cake recipe that my family adores.
It truly is as if banana bread and coffee cake had a baby. We could not stop slicing into this one, you know when you slice a straight line off, and keep doing that thinking no one will notice then half the pan is gone? Yup, that is what happened with this recipe!
Let's get to the recipe
Ingredients
For this banana bread coffee cake you will need:
- Light Brown Sugar. You'll use brown sugar in the cinnamon swirl, crumble topping, and cake recipe.
- Ground Cinnamon. The cinnamon is used in the cinnamon swirl and the crumble topping.
- All-Purpose Flour. Make sure you measure the flour properly, I highly suggest weighing the flour using a scale.
- Salted Butter. For the crumble, you will need some melted butter and for the cake, you'll need room-temperature butter.
- Chemical Leaving Agents. The recipe calls for some baking soda that is activated by the sour cream and also the baking powder which is already activated.
- Salt. The salt enhances the flavor profiles of all of the other ingredients, don't skip it!
- Granulated Sugar. The cake is made from a mixture of granulated white sugar and light brown sugar.
- Pure Vanilla Extract. The vanilla pairs beautifully with the ground cinnamon and banana flavor.
- Vegetable Oil. While I love the flavor you get from a butter-based cake adding a little oil helps ensure the cake is very moist and soft.
- Large Eggs. The eggs need to be at room temperature so properly incorporated into the rest of the cake batter.
- Mashed Ripe Bananas. The star of the show, make sure you use spotty, brown, ripe bananas. Ripe bananas have more sugar in them creating a sweet cake.
- Sour Cream. This dairy moisture bomb creates a soft, tender cake. Make sure that the sour cream is at room temperature. You could swap in full-fat Greek yogurt.
If you're looking for a good crunch try adding some roasted walnuts or pecans to the cake batter. Or for a chocolate flare add some chocolate chips.
I prefer coffee cakes without an icing drizzle but you can always add one by mixing a cup of confectioner's sugar with a slash or two of milk or cream.
For ingredient quantities please reference the recipe card below. On the recipe card there is a button for US or M (Metric) measurements.
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 325F/163C and line a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment so that the parchment paper overhangs on the sides, this will help you pull the baked cake out of the pan later. Grease the parchment with non-stick baking spray and set aside.
In a small bowl stir together the brown sugar and cinnamon until fully combined, set aside.
In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Pour in melted butter and use a spatula to mix it all together to moisten everything, this will take a couple of minutes, you want a wet sand texture, thick clumps are good. Set aside in the refrigerator while you prepare the cake.
In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a large bowl with a handheld electric whisk beat the sugars and butter together for 2-3 minutes, scrape down the bowl after the first minute then continue mixing.
You want a light fluffy mixture. Mix in the oil and vanilla until fully combined.
Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition and making sure the egg is fully combined, there should be no trace of egg yolk. Mix in the mashed bananas, the mixture may look curdled, but that is okay.
Gently fold in ⅓ of the dry ingredients until just almost combined, then gently fold in ½ of the sour cream until just combined, then repeat with ⅓ of the dry, the rest of the sour cream, and finish with the remaining flour. Do not over-mix.
Pour ½ of the batter into the prepared baking dish then sprinkle all of the cinnamon swirl mixture on top in an even layer. Scoop spoonfuls of the batter on top of the cinnamon swirl layer and use an angled spatula to spread the cake batter into an even layer, if some of the cinnamon swirls on top it is okay. Sprinkle all of the crumble on top into an even layer.
Bake for 40-50 minutes, since the cake is covered in a crumble it is best to check by using a toothpick test, insert a toothpick into the center of the cake, moist crumbs are okay but if there is any wet batter the cake will need to cook longer.
Let the banana coffee cake cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before using the parchment overhang to gently and quickly remove it from the pan. Leftovers will last in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Tips for Success
- Weigh your ingredients. This will help ensure accuracy. You'll need about 2 medium bananas but weigh the banana to ensure you have enough but not too much.
- Make sure to use room-temperature ingredients. This will help all of the ingredients blend more evenly, to create a better cake crumb.
- Use ripe bananas. Unripe bananas do not have as much natural sweetness.
- Don't over-mix. When mixing the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients do not over mix, over mixing can develop the gluten causing a tougher cake.
- Don't overbake the cake. Use a knife inserted into the center of the cake to look for any wet batter, moist crumbs are okay.
- Store any leftovers in an airtight container to keep the cake fresh and moist.
You can freeze leftovers by wrapping each slice in plastic wrap, tightly, twice then storing the wrapped pieces in a freezer-safe container. The triple layer of protection helps prevent freezer burn.
More Banana Recipes
- Banana Bread Cookies
- Brown Butter Banana Bread
- Banana Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Banana Nut Granola
★★★★★ Please let me know if you make this recipe by leaving a star rating and comment below!
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PrintRecipe Card
Banana Coffee Cake
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 9-12 Servings 1x
Ingredients
Cinnamon Swirl
- 75 grams (Heaping ⅓ Cup) Light Brown Sugar
- 1 ½ Teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
Streusel Topping
- 125 grams (1 Cup) All-Purpose Flour
- 150 grams (¾ Cup) Light Brown Sugar
- 2 Teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
- 6 Tablespoons Salted Butter, melted
Cake
- 250 grams (2 Cups) All-Purpose/ Plain Flour
- ½ Teaspoon Baking Soda
- 2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
- ½ Teaspoons Salt
- 4oz (½ Cup) Salted Butter, at room temperature
- 100 grams (½ Cup) Granulated/ Caster Sugar
- 100 grams (½ Cup) Light Brown Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Pure Vanilla Extract
- 1oz (2 Tablespoons) Vegetable Oil
- 2 Large Eggs, at room temperature
- 80z (1 Cup) Mashed Ripe Bananas
- 4oz (½ Cup) Sour Cream, at room temperature
Instructions
Cinnamon Swirl
- Preheat the oven to 325F/163C and line a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment so that the parchment paper overhangs on the sides, this will help you pull the baked cake out of the pan later. Grease the parchment with non-stick baking spray and set aside.
- In a small bowl whisk together the brown sugar and cinnamon until fully combined, set aside.
Streusel Topping
- In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Pour in melted butter and use a spatula to mix it all together to moisten everything, this will take a couple of minutes, you want a wet sand texture, thick clumps are good. Set aside in the refrigerator while you prepare the cake.
Cake
- In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a large bowl with a handheld electric whisk beat the sugars and butter together for 2-3 minutes, scrape down the bowl after the first minute then continue mixing. You want a light fluffy mixture. Mix in the oil and vanilla until fully combined.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition and making sure the egg is fully combined, there should be no trace of egg yolk. Mix in the mashed bananas, the mixture may look curdled, but that is okay.
- Gently fold in ⅓ of the dry ingredients until just almost combined, then gently fold in ½ of the sour cream until just combined, then repeat with ⅓ of the dry, the rest of the sour cream, and finish with the remaining flour. Do not over-mix.
- Pour ½ of the batter into the prepared pan then sprinkle all of the cinnamon swirl mixture on top in an even layer. Scoop spoonfuls of the batter on top of the cinnamon swirl layer and use an angled spatula to spread the cake batter into an even layer, if some of the cinnamon swirls on top it is okay. Sprinkle all of the crumble on top into an even layer. Bake for 40-50 minutes, since the cake is covered in a crumble it is best to check by using a toothpick test, insert a toothpick into the center of the cake, moist crumbs are okay but if there is any wet batter the cake will need to cook longer.
- Let the cake cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before using the parchment overhang to gently and quickly remove it from the pan. Best served the day it is made but leftovers will last in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- Prep Time: 20 Minutes
- Cook Time: 50 Minutes
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
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