This easy banana crumb cake is a moist, tender banana coffee cake swirled with an irresistibly buttery streusel crumb. Enjoy a slice as a sweet pick-me-up for breakfast, brunch, or any time of the day.
You might also love this gooey cinnamon roll cake and this sour cream coffee cake with crunchy pecans. Both are delicious for breakfast or dessert!
This banana bread crumb cake could very well be my favorite coffee cake recipe, possibly ever. It has everything a perfect crumb cake should have. We’re talking a moist and tender cake layer swirled with cinnamon sugar, topped with a crumbly, buttery streusel. Only, I make this dessert with one major, game-changing twist: bananas!
What Makes This Banana Coffee Cake So Great
- Put those overripe bananas to good use. I’m always looking for recipes using bananas, especially the ones in my fruit bowl that are barely past their prime. Overripe bananas are perfect for baking banana bread, banana muffins, and, yes, crumb cake!
- Two favorite treats in one. This recipe is a delicious mash-up of banana bread with crumb cake, made in a pan and layered with crunchy streusel. It’s a match made in baking heaven!
- It’s super easy to make. This cake requires simple pantry ingredients and only a handful of steps. It comes together with just 15 minutes of prep.
- It pairs perfectly with coffee or a glass of milk. So you can literally have your cake for breakfast, and eat it, too. Not to mention, this soft, tender crumb cake also makes a fabulous dessert topped with a scoop of ice cream.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here’s what you’ll need to make this amazing banana coffee cake. I’ve included notes and substitutions here, and you’ll find the full printable recipe with the amounts in the recipe card after the post.
- Bananas – This cake is the perfect occasion to use any ripe or just over-ripe bananas you have, the senior citizens of the bunch.
- Butter – For best results, bring the butter to room temperature.
- Granulated Sugar – When it comes to a moist and fluffy cake, white granulated sugar is always the most reliable. You could also use light brown sugar.
- Dry Ingredients – All-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. Check the expiration date on your baking powder to make sure it’s fresh.
- Vanilla – Pure vanilla extract will give the best and most natural flavor.
- Milk and Eggs – You can use any kind of milk you’d like. For even more flavor, try substituting regular milk with buttermilk.
For the Streusel
- Butter – Make sure it’s cold from the fridge and cut into cubes.
- Brown Sugar – Light or dark brown sugar both work well here.
- Flour
How to Make Banana Crumb Cake
The secret to this banana cake is in the delicious crumb that’s not just sprinkled over the top, but also swirled throughout the cake. It’s easy to do following the steps below. Scroll down to the recipe card for the printable instructions.
- Mix the batter. Start by whisking flour with baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, mash your bananas, then mix in the butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Then, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, alternating with the milk, until the batter is just combined.
- Prepare the streusel. In a new bowl, combine the crumb ingredients and cut in the butter with a fork (or a pastry cutter, if you have one).
- Assemble the cake. Now, pour about half of the batter into a greased 9×13″ baking pan. Sprinkle a layer of streusel over the top, and add the remaining batter over the crumb layer. Lastly, top with one last layer of crumb mixture.
- Bake. Bake this banana crumb cake at 350ºF for 50-55 minutes. When a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, your cake is done!
Recipe Tips
- Measure correctly. When it comes to baking, the number one misstep is too much flour packed into the measuring cup. If you’re using a measuring cup and not a kitchen scale, rather spoon the flour into the cup and then level it off with a knife, to avoid adding too much flour to the batter.
- Don’t overmix. Another cardinal rule is not to overmix the batter! When mixing in the flour, add it in gradually, alternating with the milk, and mix until the batter is just combined. This will yield the best possible texture when the cake is baked.
- Add a glaze. After the cake has cooled for a few minutes, whisk 1 cup of powdered sugar with 1-2 tablespoons of milk, and drizzle it over the cake.
How to Store
- On the counter. Store this coffee cake airtight at room temperature for up to 2 days.
- Freeze. Wrap the cake tightly in a double layer of plastic wrap or aluminum foil, then store frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw the crumb cake in the fridge overnight and then allow it to come to room temperature before serving.
More Banana Recipes
Banana Crumb Cake
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 12 servings 1x
- Category: Cake
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Breakfast
Description
This easy banana crumb cake recipe is a soft, moist banana coffee cake swirled with a buttery streusel. Enjoy a slice with coffee or tea as a pick-me-up any time of the day!
Ingredients
Scale
Cake:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 ripe bananas, mashed
- 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup milk
Crumb Filling/Topping:
- 1 cup cold butter, cubed
- 2 cups light brown sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
Glaze (Optional):
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1–2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Cake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 9×13 baking dish with baking spray, set aside
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, stir together the mashed bananas, butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until mixed well.
- Add in the flour mixture and milk in alternating portions and stir until combined. Set batter aside while you make your crumb mixture.
- Crumb Filling/Topping: In a large bowl, combine the cold, cubed butter, light brown sugar, and flour using a fork or pastry cutter until a coarse crumb forms.
- Assemble: Pour 1/2 of the batter into the prepared pan. Top with 1/3 of the crumb mixture. Cover the filling with the remaining batter and then top with the remaining crumb mixture.
- Bake for 50-55 minutes until the center is set and a toothpick comes out clean.
- If desired, mix powdered sugar and milk together and drizzle on top of slightly cooled cake.
- Can be served warm or at room temperature.
Notes
- Can be served at room temperature or warm.
- Store airtight for up to 2 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 658
- Sugar: 69.8 g
- Sodium: 229.1 mg
- Fat: 24.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 106.3 g
- Protein: 6.7 g
- Cholesterol: 92.5 mg
I had this recipe on my mind for 3 days until I was FINALLY able to make it. ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! I will never make “ordinary” Banana Bread again. This pan of pure & irresistable deliciousness is replacing any and all Banana Bread recipes from now on in my kitchen…I am never looking back. PERFECTION!
Definitely making this cake , you made me laugh so much with your describing words of the cake , love your writing style keep them cumming x
Just tried this recipe out last night and it was great! Didn’t have any light brown sugar on me for the topping, so had to make my own from white sugar and molasses. I was afraid I had too much crumb and too little of the actual banana bread, but the cake turned out super yummy with a really nice, crunchy top. Didn’t even need to add the drizzle! Everyone loved it.
I was really interested in making this cake until I read that it takes 5 cups of sugar in total. That’s too much sweetness for me. We are trying to cut back on our sugar content. Looks good though.
i made this last night and my kids loving it. my only questions is why was my crumbs sanks? i really want my cake to be crumbly like yours. share me your tips as i want to make another batch again for my kids tonight.
That’s strange..maybe you could add more on top and less in the center, that was they are piled high!
Do you happen to know the nutritional value of this dessert?
I wanted to make it gluten free, so I subbed in Better Batter and halved the recipe. As the batter sat while I made the crumb topping, it got too thick and I had to make another “half” – so basically I made a whole batter and half the crumb topping, which was perfect. I did bake it in a 9×9″ square, thinking I’d do half a recipe, but it still came out superb after an 1:05 hours baking. thank you!
Oops… One cup of sugar, all up 2 cups of sugar we’re used
Tried this last night for dessert…we have huge bananas so we used one cup for the banana mix and one cup for the crumb and didn’t make the glaze, but had it with vanilla ice cream! It was amazing! My family loved it!! Thanks for this 🙂
“Magic leprechaun crumb” may be the greatest food description I’ve ever read. I’ve been keeping some elderly bananas in the freezer for my famous banana bread, but in celebration of the magic leprechaun they will be sacrificed for this and sent with the wife to her work tomorrow. Thanks for this recipe!
Made this tonight exactly as the recipe said and it is WONDERFUL! The rest goes with the wife to work!