Banana Bread Coffee Cake
You can never go wrong with bananas in baking.
You can stick to the classics, like my Cinnamon Sugar Swirl banana bread, or even get a little bit creative like with my super soft Banana Nut bread cookies. Bananas are a versatile fruit that can add a sweetness, moisture, and even act as an egg substitute to mostly any baked good.
So I thought why not do it again, with this banana bread coffee cake.
This coffee cake is the perfect balance between somewhat dense (like a traditional coffee cake) and tender crumb (another added bonus of a banana in baking), and has its signature cinnamon ribbon right in the middle.
It’s finished off with a crispy cinnamon streusel topping and a light vanilla glaze.
Ripe banana baked in the oven at 300°F for 15-20 minutes
Baker’s note: Don’t have ripen bananas on hand?
If you’re in a hurry and don’t have ripened bananas on had you can cook them in the oven on a foil lined baking sheet at 300°F for 15-20 minutes or until the skin has turned black and when carefully poked the banana skin leave an indentation. Let the bananas completely cool before peeling the scooping out the banana flesh to mash.
The banana might be a bit more slimy but the end result won’t taste any different than a banana that you let go ripe on your counter!
Banana Bread Coffee Cake
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups (210) all purpose flour
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ cup (113g or 1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cups (150g) white granulated sugar
- 2 medium ripe bananas, mashed
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup (120g) sour cream
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup (100g) brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp cinnamon, ground
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- ½ cup (60g) all purpose flour
- ½ cup (100g) white granulated sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 cup (200g) powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2-3 Tbsp milk
Instructions
- First prepare the streusel topping by mixing the melted butter, sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Use a fork or your hands to help create the crumble pieces. Place in the refrigerator to keep cool.
- In a small mixing bowl prepare the cinnamon ribbon by whisking together the brown sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
- Place the oven rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat to 350°F.
- Prepare a 8x8 square baking pan with cooking spray, and line with parchment paper.
- In a medium mixing bowl whisk together flour, baking powder. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl cream together butter and sugar until fluffy.
- Mix in eggs, vanilla, sour cream, and mashed bananas until fully incorporated.
- Using a rubber spatula fold in dry ingredients until batter is just combined.
- Scoop out and spread half the batter evenly into the baking pan, and then sprinkle an even layer or the cinnamon and sugar ribbon mixture.
- Carefully spread the rest of the cake batter on top of the cinnamon sugar layer.
- Sprinkle prepared streusel topping and bake for 35-40 minutes until edges are golden brown and the middle of the cake is no longer jiggly. Let cool for about 15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to completely cool.
- While the coffee cake is cooling, prepare the glaze. Whisk together powdered sugar, milk, vanilla extract until smooth. Drizzle on top of cooled coffee cake.
- Slice coffee cake into desired pieces.
Coffee cake can be stored at room temp for 2 day, or refrigerated up to one week. You can freeze pieces for up to 2 months. Let it come to room temp before consuming.
