Banana Coffee Cake Recipe - The Recipe Critic (2024)

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Banana coffee cake is a great way to use up any overripe bananas you might have lying around! With a moist, fluffy, vanilla banana-flavored interior and a buttery streusel topping, this is a unique twist on coffee cake that will have you hooked after the first bite!

Coffee cake is a breakfast staple and a great way to add a little sweetness to your day! More great recipes to try next: blueberry buckle, apple coffee cake, and coffee cake muffins!

Banana Coffee Cake Recipe - The Recipe Critic (1)

Banana Coffee Cake Recipe

Recently I’ve been doing a lot of baking with bananas after finding myself faced with a mile-high pile of well-browned bananas. They were just past their prime and desperately needed to be baked into something or would shortly need to be thrown out (and my freezer was and always is way too full to even consider storing them there).

I made batch after batch of my favorite banana bread, but eventually I wanted to try something different. So, this recipe for banana coffee cake was born! Trust me when I say that this is one of the best coffee cake recipes ever. It’s so moist and sweet, with a crumbly texture and delicious glaze on top that will leave you wanting more. This banana coffee cake is a great make-ahead breakfast or Mother’s Day brunch option, it’s simple, packed with flavor, and sure to be a hit with everyone. Let’s get into all the ingredients you need!

Coffee Cake Ingredients

I know it looks like a lot, but trust me, this banana coffee cake is so worth it! It’s the most delicious way to use up overripe bananas. See the recipe card below for all measurements.

Streusel

  • Melted Butter: Adds a rich flavor to the streusel and also helps everything stick together.
  • All-Purpose Flour: Gives the streusel topping structure.
  • Light Brown and Granulated Sugar: I use both for the perfect sweetness and flavor!
  • Ground Cinnamon: You can’t go wrong with a little warm spice in homemade desserts.

Banana Coffee Cake

  • Unsalted Butter: Softened so it mixes together smoothly with the other ingredients.
  • Sugar: Adds sweetness to the cake itself.
  • Ripe Bananas: Have your overripe bananas mashed and ready to go.
  • Large Eggs: Give the banana coffee cake structure.
  • Vanilla Extract: Adds warm, sweet flavor to the cake. Use pure vanilla extract if you can!
  • Sour Cream: The secret ingredient for an ultra-moist and tender cake!
  • All-Purpose Flour: Gives the cake structure. All-purpose flour is great because it has a low protein content and will make your coffee cake light and crumbly.
  • Baking Powder and Soda: Makes your cake light and airy.
  • Ground Cinnamon: Another place to add a touch of this tasty spice.
  • Salt: A little goes a long way to boost all the flavors in this cake.

Glaze (optional)

  • Powdered Sugar: Makes the glaze sweet and also gives it substance.
  • Milk: For adjusting the consistency.

How to Make Banana Coffee Cake

I’ve broken it up into 3 parts: the streusel, the cake, and the glaze! Despite all of the instructions this delicious cake is actually super easy to make.

  1. Preheat Oven, Prep Baking Dish: Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and lightly grease and flour a 9×9 baking pan. Then set aside.
  2. Sugar Mixture: Combine butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer, or use a hand mixer. Beat until well-combined, then stir in mashed bananas.
  3. Mix In Wet Ingredients: Add eggs, stirring well after each addition, and then add sour cream and vanilla extract and stir well.
  4. Mix Dry Ingredients: In a separate, medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
  5. Combine: Gradually add the dry ingredients to wet, stirring until completely combined (be sure to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl). I prefer to do this with a spatula to avoid over-mixing the batter.
  6. Add to Pan: Pour cake batter evenly into the prepared pan. Prepare streusel.

Streusel

  • Melt Butter: Melt butter in a medium-sized bowl on 10 second increments (stirring between) until just melted (you don’t want it to be too hot).
  • Combine With Other Ingredients: Use a fork to whisk together the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Pour melted butter over mixture and use a fork to stir until combined (mixture should be crumbly).
  • Sprinkle Crumb Mixture on Top: Sprinkle crumb topping evenly over batter.
  • Bake: Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 35 minutes, or until centers spring back to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with few moist crumbs or clean.
  • Cool: Allow to cool before drizzling with glaze (if using) and slicing and serving.

Glaze

  1. Combine Ingredients: If desired, make the glaze by whisking together powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla. Drizzle over cooled banana coffee cake.
Banana Coffee Cake Recipe - The Recipe Critic (2)

Tips and Tricks

Banana coffee cake is really straightforward to make, but here are a few tips to make it turn out as perfectly as possible! I’ve also included a couple ways to customize it.

  • Use Overripe Bananas: The #1 tip is to find the ripest bananas you can! The browner and spottier they are the better; this is going to give your banana coffee cake the best flavor and soft texture. Mash them up well (you can use a potato masher or even just a fork) and add them to your butter, sugar, eggs, and other wet ingredients.
  • Don’t Overmix Streusel: Take care not to overwork the streusel mixture, or you’ll end up with a paste! You want the mixture to resemble coarse crumbs that you can use your hands to drop evenly over your banana coffee cake.
  • Mix-Ins: If you want your coffee cake to have more texture, add in chopped walnuts or pecans!
  • Add a Drizzle: Instead of the powdered sugar glaze, try adding caramel sauce or white chocolate sauce!
Banana Coffee Cake Recipe - The Recipe Critic (3)

Storing Leftovers

Here are a few different ways to keep your banana coffee cake fresh and delicious:

  • At Room Temperature: Store wrapped with plastic wrap or in an airtight container for 2-3 days.
  • In the Refrigerator: Store for up to 5 days in an airtight container.
  • In the Freezer: Wrap in plastic wrap and then transfer to a freezer bag. Your cake will stay good for 2-3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge, then let come to room temperature before serving.
Banana Coffee Cake Recipe - The Recipe Critic (4)

More Ways to Use Overripe Bananas

If you have some overripe bananas on hand, don’t throw them away! They’re actually super useful and make these desserts taste even better. If you love banana sweet treats, you’ve got to check out my full list of recipes here.

Bread

Banana Bread Bars

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Bread

Banana Beer Bread

1 hr 15 mins

Cookies

Banana Oatmeal Cookies

22 mins

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Banana Coffee Cake

4.50 from 6 votes

By: Alyssa Rivers

Banana coffee cake is a great way to use up any overripe bananas you might have lying around! With a moist, fluffy, vanilla banana-flavored interior and a buttery streusel topping, this is a unique twist on coffee cake that will have you hooked after the first bite!

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes minutes

Servings: 16

Ingredients

Streusel

Banana Coffee Cake

Glaze (optional)

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit and lightly grease and flour a 9×9 baking pan. Set aside.

  • Combine the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer or using a hand mixer. Beat until well-combined, then stir in mashed bananas.

  • Add the eggs, mixing well after each addition, and then add sour cream and vanilla extract and stir well.

  • In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.

  • Gradually add the dry ingredients to wet, stirring until completely combined (be sure to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl). I prefer to do this with a spatula to avoid over-mixing the batter.

  • Pour batter evenly into the prepared pan.

Streusel

  • Melt butter in a medium-sized bowl on 10 second increments (stirring between) until just melted (you don't want it to be too hot).

  • Use a fork to whisk together the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Pour melted butter over mixture and use a fork to stir until crumbly and combined.

  • Sprinkle streusel evenly over batter.

  • Bake on 350F for 35 minutes, or until centers spring back to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with few moist crumbs or clean.

  • Allow to cool before drizzling with glaze (if using) and slicing and serving.

Glaze

  • If desired, make glaze by whisking together powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla. Drizzle over cooled banana coffee cake.

Notes

Originally posted April 27, 2018

Updated on June 5, 2023

Nutrition

Calories: 296kcalCarbohydrates: 47gProtein: 5gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 44mgSodium: 119mgPotassium: 70mgFiber: 1gSugar: 17gVitamin A: 305IUCalcium: 23mgIron: 1.9mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Tried this recipe?Mention @alyssa_therecipecritic or tag #therecipecritic!

About Alyssa Rivers

Welcome to my kitchen! I am Alyssa Rivers and the food blogger behind The Recipe Critic. The blog launched in 2012 as a place to share my passion for cooking. I love trying new things and testing them out with my family. Each recipe is tried and true, family-tested and approved.

Read More About Me

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Banana Coffee Cake Recipe - The Recipe Critic (2024)

FAQs

Why is my banana cake not moist? ›

If you use a yellow (or even worse a green) banana in your cake not only will it not have as much flavour it will be significantly drier. It's important to make sure your bananas are well mashed. If they aren't broken down well enough less moisture is released from the fruit, effecting the texture of your cake.

What makes coffee cake taste like coffee cake? ›

No, coffee cake does not taste like coffee. There is no coffee or caffeine in this cake despite its name. This streusel cake tastes like a lightly sweetened cake and oftentimes has spices like cinnamon and nutmeg.

How do you make banana cake Jamie Oliver? ›

Peel and mash the bananas in a separate bowl with the back of a fork, then whisk in the melted butter, sugar, eggs, yoghurt and vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture to the banana mixture and whisk until just combined. Spoon into the cake tin and bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until an inserted skewer comes out clean.

What does banana replace in a cake mix? ›

Use one ripe mashed banana for each egg in your recipe, says Betty Crocker. That's it!

What happens if you add an extra egg to banana bread? ›

Adding more eggs makes for a spongy, less flavorful banana bread. Doubling the number of eggs I was using resulted in a spongy cake with a moist texture. While the banana flavor was present, it wasn't as prominent as it was in other loaves. This had more of a hint of flavor.

What happens if you put too much banana in banana cake? ›

You Use Too Much Banana

Using too much banana could make your bread heavy and damp in the center, causing it to appear undercooked and unappealing. If you have bananas leftover, you can always freeze them for later use.

What is the fancy name for coffee cake? ›

American Coffee cake—also referred to as gugelhupf or Austrian German: kaffekuchen—evolved from other sweet dishes from Vienna. In the 17th century, Northern/Central Europeans are thought to have come up with the idea of eating sweet cakes while drinking coffee.

Why is my coffee cake so dry? ›

A dry cake is usually the result of one of the following pitfalls: using the wrong ingredients, making mistakes while measuring or mixing the batter, or baking the cake too long or at too high a temperature. Once you understand which common cake-baking blunders to avoid, you'll know how to bake a moist cake every time.

What does adding coffee to cake mix do? ›

Its rich, bittersweet flavour adds depth to cakes, cheesecakes, pies, cookies, muffins, loaves, and soufflés. It boosts the chocolatey appeal of Fudge Layer Cake with Chocolate Avocado Icing, Coffee Brownies and soft, fudgy Coffee Chocolate Crinkle Cookies.

What is the purpose of vinegar in a banana cake? ›

Long ago, bakers learned that the addition of vinegar to baked goods helped them rise and kept the baked goods fluffy and moist. Apparently, the vinegar reacts with the baking soda in a recipe to produce carbon dioxide, a gas that enhances the rise.

Can bananas be too ripe for banana cake? ›

While it's okay if the banana peel is dark brown or even black, if the inside is too, then the fruit is beyond ripe and now on its way to rotten. Another sign that bananas have gone bad is if they start leaking any fluids. When in doubt, just toss the bananas out.

Why is my banana cake rubbery? ›

An overmixed banana bread batter will result in a dense, rubbery loaf. As you're prepping your batter, heed the advice of "stir until just moistened" and "no more than 10 seconds."

Which is better in banana cake baking soda or baking powder? ›

Baking soda is a leavening (rising) agent used in most of baked goods. It is more effective when compared to baking powder which is why it is added in a smaller quantity. It is used to make the cake or in your case banana bread rise and create an aerated crumb texture.

How many bananas equal 2 eggs? ›

Banana. Use ripe bananas to add moisture. One mashed banana can replace one egg in cakes and pancakes. Since it will add a bit of flavor, make sure that it's compatible with the other ingredients of the recipe.

What does adding banana to baking do? ›

One ripe banana replaces one egg in a cake recipe—the banana will flavor the cake, so only use them when they complement the other ingredients. Extra leavening may be needed. Bananas can also be a substitute for butter and oil in recipes. If using bananas for butter, replace in equal amounts.

Why banana cake is dry? ›

One common reason is using too much flour or overmixing the batter. To make it more moist, you can try adding more mashed bananas or using a combination of oil and butter instead of just butter. You can also try adding a bit of sour cream or yogurt to the batter, which can help keep the bread moist.

Why is my banana bread dry not moist? ›

Don't overbake.

Overbaked banana bread will be dry. I tend to underbake it a bit because I like it super moist. Easy clean up : Line your loaf pan with parchment paper before adding the batter. I find the best way is to crush parchment into a ball, then smooth it into the pan.

Why is my banana cake too soft? ›

What to do if you've used too many bananas. If you must add an extra banana into your batter, there are ways to prevent the bread from turning mushy. Using a lot of bananas adds excess moisture, and there are two ways to get rid of it. You could either add more flour or increase the baking time.

Why is my cake dry and not moist? ›

If you have too much flour in a recipe and not enough fat, like butter or oil, your cake is going to be dry and hard. For best results, I would encourage you to use a scale when baking, but if you don't have a scale, then just make sure you're using measuring cups correctly.

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