Super Moist Banana Coffee Cake
This Super Moist Banana Coffee Cake is the perfect breakfast or brunch dish! The banana flavor is sweet and delicious, and the texture is melt in your mouth perfection. Think warm moist cake, a crunchy sweet streusel topping and a sweet glaze poured on top. Serve with a warm mug of coffee or tea or enjoy as a special treat!
Got ripe bananas to use up? This banana crumb cake is the perfect way to use them!
Coffee cake is a cake that is designed to be served with coffee, it doesnt necessarily have coffee in it! We do love having it with a cup of coffee at breakfast though!
The texture of this cake is more dense than a typical cake and the flavor is often enhanced with spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, or cardamom.
Coffee cake is amazing because it is so versatile flavor wise. You can make an apple coffee cake, cherry coffee cake, rhubarb coffee cake, and even mini triple berry coffee cakes!
This banana coffee cake recipe has all of those delicious flavors and more! As a trained pastry chef I can tell you that these flavors really hit home for me.
The banana flavor is subtle but adds a sweetness that takes this coffee cake to the next level. The crumb topping is packed with brown sugar and crunchy bits that add the perfect finishing touch.
If you love banana then this banana chocolate chip muffins are not to be missed. You’ll also love my banana bundt cake and chocolate banana muffins!
Best things about this cake
- The texture is super moist making it hard to resist!
- It’s a great way to use up ripe bananas.
- The banana flavor is subtle but adds a delicious sweetness to the coffee cake.
- You can serve it for breakfast, brunch, or dessert!
Ingredients
For the crumb topping:
- All-Purpose Flour – Makes up the base of the crumb topping by adding its dry crumbly texture.
- Brown & White Sugar – Gives the topping sweetness, and color, and helps with texture.
- Cinnamon – Adds a light warming flavor to the topping.
- Salt – Balances out the sweetness.
- Cold Butter – Used to bind the ingredients together making them crumbly and buttery.
For Cake
- Unsalted Butter – Adds flavor and moistness to the cake along with a buttery flavor.
- Granulated Sugar – Sweetens up the base of the cake to compliment the crumb topping and glaze.
- Egg – Binds all of the ingredients together and also adds richness to the batter.
- Ripe Bananas – Gives this cake a moist and dense texture along with banana flavor and natural sweetness.
- Vanilla Extract – Adds a complimentary light vanilla flavor throughout the cake.
- Buttermilk – Instead of regular milk, buttermilk adds a subtle tang and tender crumb that works so well with banana cake.
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda – Helps the cake to rise and become fluffy.
- All-Purpose Flour – Gives the cake its structure.
- Cinnamon – A small amount of cinnamon warms up the banana flavor and compliments the sweetness.
- Salt – Balances out all of the flavors in the cake.
- Optional Glaze – Make this cake extra sweet by making a simple glaze with confectioners sugar and cream to go on top.
Secret to a moist coffee cake
The key to a moist banana coffee cake is using ripe bananas and not over mixing the batter. Over mixing banana coffee cake will result in a tough and dry texture. The buttermilk also really helps to enhance the moisture. If you dont have it, use whole milk instead, or a mixture of 50% milk to 50% yogurt.
Springform pan
I like to make coffee cakes in a spring form pan bc it makes it so much easier to cut and serve. If you dont have one, you can make it in a 9″ round cake pan, just be sure to spray it well with baking spray.
How to make banana coffee cake
- Prepare the crumb topping: In a small bowl combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Cut in the butter using a pastry cutter or your hands until small pebble-sized shapes are formed. Store in the fridge.
- Prepare for baking: Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray a 10” springform pan with baking spray and set aside.
- Combine the wet ingredients: In the bowl of a hand or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter for one minute. Scrape down the sides and add the sugar. Cream for 2 minutes on medium speed until light and fluffy. Scrape the bowl again and add the egg, mashed bananas, and vanilla extract. Mix on medium speed until combined.
- Combine the wet ingredients: In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, kosher salt cinnamon, and baking soda. Whisk to combine.
- Assemble the cake batter: In the bowl of the stand mixer, alternate adding the dry ingredients with the buttermilk starting and ending with the dry ingredients- ⅓ at a time- mixing in between each addition.
- Bake the coffee cake: Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan. Top with the crumb topping and bake for 50-55 minutes until the cake is set through the center. Let cool completely.
- Glaze and serve: Mix the cream with the sugar until a thick glaze is formed. Drizzle over the cooled coffee cake. Let harden, slice, and enjoy!
Recipe tips
- Make sure your bananas are ripe- the riper the banana the more banana flavor you will get in your cake!
- A coffee cake is done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with moist crumbs attached.
- Be sure not to over mix the batter. Mix until just combined for a tender and fluffy cake.
- Make sure all of the refrigerated ingredients are at room temperature (except for the butter for crumb topping) before beginning the recipe to ensure a smooth cake batter.
- If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, you can easily make your own by adding one tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to regular milk called for in the recipe and letting it sit for five minutes.
Storing and freezing
Storing: This banana coffee cake can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to four days or in the fridge for up to one week.
Freezing: Leftover banana coffee cake can also be frozen! Wrap tightly and freeze for up to three months. Let thaw overnight on the counter before serving.
Super Moist Banana Coffee Cake
Ingredients
For crumb topping:
- 1 cup all purpose flour, 120g
- ½ cup brown sugar, 107g
- ¼ cup sugar, 50g
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- ½ cup butter, unsalted, cold, diced small.
For Cake
- ½ cup butter softened, 113 g unsalted
- 1 cup granulated sugar, 200g
- 1 egg, large
- 1 cup bananas, ripe mashed
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour, 240g
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp cinnamon, or more to taste
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ¾ cup buttermilk
For Optional Glaze:
- ½ cup confectioners sugar, 56g
- 1 tbsp cream
Equipment
Instructions
- Make the crumb topping. In a small bowl combine the 1 cup flour, 1/2 brown sugar, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 1/4 -1/2 tsp cinnamon, and 1/4 tsp salt.
- Use a pastry cutter to cut in the ½ cup butter or pinch the butter into the mixture with your fingers gently until small clumps are formed no larger than the size of a pea. Place in the fridge while you make the cake.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. In the bowl of a hand or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter for one minute. Scrape down the sides and add the 1 cup sugar. Cream for 2 minutes on medium speed until light and fluffy.
- Scrape the bowl again and add the egg, mashed bananas and 1 tsp vanilla extract. Mix on medium speed until combined, about 1 minute.
- In a separate bowl combine the 2 cups flour, 1 tsp baking powder, ½ tsp kosher salt ½ tsp cinnamon and ¼ tsp baking soda. Mix lightly with a fork or whisk to combine.
- Alternate adding the dry ingredients with the buttermilk starting and ending with the dry ingredients- ⅓ at a time- mixing in between each addition.
- Spray a 10” springform pan with baking spray and pour in the batter.
- Top with the crumb topping and bake for 50-55 minutes on until the cake is no longer jiggly.
- When the cake is cooled, mix together the ½ cup confectioners sugar with 1 tbsp cream and drizzle all over the cake.
AMAZING!
AHHH thank you so much for this review Peggy! Made my day!!
absolutely love it. I added a little pineapple to mine and it was super moist. Reminded me of summer deserts.
Ohh that sounds yummy! Thank you so much for the 5 star review!
I made this as part of brunch for 5 yesterday, changing only by adding finely chopped pecans to cake batter and coarsley chopped pecans to streusel. It turned out perfectly and my guests loved it. It was moist with a crunchy topping and a lightly spiced flavor. Everyone agreed it was delicious. Nothing left…not a crumb.
The addition of pecans sounds SO GOOD Barb! Thank you so much for sharing that. Now I want to add some in the next time I make a loaf for my family too!