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
Found this recipe this morning on pinterest and decided to make it. I already had “old” bananas in my freezer so I let them thaw out. This is the best crumb cake ever. So moist, so banana-y, I love it.
Oh…my…gosh…I can’t even describe how amazing this recipe is. I made it for my church group last night, and EVERYONE was raving how good it was and how fabulous the little crumbs are. Even a guy that doesn’t like bananas had like 3 big pieces! Thank you so much for coming up w/ this recipe, it’s seriously heavenly!!!
I actually made this and it was WONDERFUL! My husband helped by making the crumb mixture. He decided to add dark chocolate chips to “his side” by sprinkling them into the middle and also on top. Both sides came out great. Downside: 3 sticks o’ butter. But I’m going to freeze 1/2 of it so that we don’t get too chunky all at one time. Thanks for sharing this great recipe!
Made this today, and it turned out awesome. A few comments…I added chopped pecans into the crumb topping after I put the first layer in (so, only the top layer of crumb topping had pecans). Great addition! Although I made the recipe as directed, I had a ton of crumb topping and not a lot of actual batter. I think next time I will bake in an 8×8 and make half of the crumb topping. I also used whole wheat flour, Splenda brown sugar, and a 50/50 blend of Splenda and sugar. It all worked out great! Thanks for the recipe!
I had a bunch of crumb topping leftover too, half would prob be plenty!
I used a TON of crumb in this cake! So if you have leftover it’s no problem…just preference!
this looks so yummy…can’t wait to try it this weekend!
Thank you!!
Salted or unsalted butter?
I always use salted, but unsalted will work, you will just need to adjust the amount of salt that you add to your taste 🙂
When I saw a few over ripe bananas sitting on my counter this picture just popped into my head 🙂 a pin on pinterest thats been haunting me!! so glad I made it, my house smells spectacular. I added walnuts and presses peanut butter chips onto the second layer of filling before the streusel because pb chips are magic to me. Thanks for the recipe, im sure itll be to die for!!!
Made this today because it looked so good. Baked it a couple minutes more even though the toothpick came out clean and the edges had a nice crust to them. I also added a small amount of drizzled frosting and it really looked good. Took it to my 10AM candle party and it turned out that the middle was not done. The edge pieces were really good and cake like but not the middle. If I make it again it will be in a jellyroll pan and see if that works out better. I cook all the time and love it.
Shelly ( easy to remember as its my sisters name)
WoW all 3 alone are ultimate favorite cake, bread, and muffins and here you have combined all 33 into 1 and a crumb topping as well dont know if I’ll share yet lol Your recipe sounds scrumptious called hubby and asked him to bring some senior citizen bananas on his way home from work, he liked your term for over ripe bananas.
ohhhhh, myyyyy…. so wonderfully moist and mild and crispy and the combination is just perfect. Even my “I don’t like sweets” hubby like this bread/cake! My new fav banana recipe. Thank you! 😀