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This Banana Bread Coffee Cake is moist and fluffy, with a ribbon of cinnamon-espresso filling and a buttery walnut streusel. It’s an easy way to transform ripe bananas into a cozy breakfast treat. I highly recommend enjoying a slightly warm slice with a gingerbread latte on a slow Sunday morning.
When fall rolls around, my oven suddenly has a never-ending rotation of cinnamon-spiked baked goods, and this recipe has officially entered the lineup. It combines the base of my butter pecan banana bread with my pumpkin coffee cake, bringing together two of my favorite breakfast treats. I love the way the caramel-like sweetness of ripe bananas pairs with bold espresso. This is where I want to live all fall long.
Ingredients You’ll Need for Banana Bread Coffee Cake
- Ripe banana – This is where we get the moisture, sweetness, and signature banana flavor. Use bananas with plenty of brown spots for the best results. Yellow bananas will work fine here as well, the flavor may just be a tad muted.
- Instant espresso powder – This adds a concentrated coffee flavor to the brown sugar filling without adding extra liquid into the cake. I enjoy a bit of coffee flavor in my coffee cake.
- Sour cream – Sour cream keeps the crumb soft, fluffy, and moist. Full-fat sour cream will give you the richest texture.
- Walnuts – Finely chopped walnuts bring crunch and nuttiness to the streusel topping. Pecans would also work well here.
- Ground cinnamon and nutmeg – These warm spices complement both the banana and espresso while giving the cake a cozy flavor.
For the rest of the ingredients, please refer to the recipe index card below!
How to Make Banana Bread Coffee Cake
- Make the streusel. Combine the granulated sugar, all-purpose flour, walnuts, cinnamon, nutmeg, kosher salt, and cold butter.
- Mix the filling. Stir together the brown sugar, instant espresso powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and kosher salt.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt.
- Whisk the wet ingredients: mashed banana, sour cream, oil, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla extract.
- Mix the batter together. Fold in the dry ingredients until just combined.
- Assemble the cake. Spread a little more than half of the batter into the pan. Sprinkle the espresso filling evenly over the top.
- Cover it with the remaining batter, and finish with the chilled streusel.
- Bake and glaze. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes. Cool the cake, drizzle it with the maple glaze, and allow the glaze to set before slicing.
Quick Tips for the Best Banana Bread Coffee Cake
Use ripe bananas. Bananas covered with brown spots are sweeter, softer, and have a deeper banana flavor.
Avoid overmixing the batter. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients only until no streaks of flour remain. Overmixing can make the cake tough.
Spread the top layer gently. Add the remaining batter in small spoonfuls across the filling before smoothing it out with an offset spatula. This makes it easier to cover the filling without disturbing the layers.
Check the center for doneness. Because the cake is thick and moist, insert the skewer into the center rather than near the edges. A few moist crumbs are fine, but it shouldn’t have wet batter.
Glaze after cooling. Let the cake cool before adding the maple glaze so it stays visible on top instead of melting into the streusel.
Make-Ahead & Storage
Make Ahead: The streusel and espresso filling can be prepared up to two days in advance. Store each mixture separately in an airtight container in the refrigerator, then assemble the cake when you’re ready to bake.
The entire cake can also be baked one day ahead. For the freshest appearance, wait to add the maple glaze until shortly before serving.
Storage: Store leftover coffee cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days.
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Banana Bread Coffee Cake
Equipment
- offset spatula
Ingredients
Walnut Streusel Topping:
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup finely chopped walnuts
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cubed
Espresso Filling:
- 1/3 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
- 1 1/2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Coffee Cake:
- 1¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup (250g) mashed banana , from 2-3 medium bananas
- ½ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup neutral oil
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Maple Glaze (optional):
- ½ cup Powdered sugar
- 1½ tablespoons maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8-by-8-inch square baking pan and line with a sheet of parchment paper so that the parchment paper has extra flaps coming off all of the sides. This way you’ll be able to lift the cake out of the pan. Just makes sure it’s about 3-inches up the sides because this guy rises a bit.
To Make the Walnut Streusel:
- In a bowl, combine the sugar, flour, walnuts, cinnamon, nutmeg, kosher salt, and butter and mix together. Use your fingers to press the butter into the mixture until it’s about pea shaped. Pop the bowl into the fridge to chill.
To Make the Espresso Filling:
- In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, instant espresso, cinnamon, and kosher salt and mix until well combined. Set aside.
To Make the Coffee Cake:
- In a bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and kosher salt together.
- In a large bowl, whisk the mashed banana, sour cream, oil, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla extract until well combined. Add the flour mixture and mix together with a spatula or wooden spoon until just combined; don’t overmix as it will yield a tougher crumb.
- Add a little more than half of the batter to the bottom of the lined baking pan and smooth with an offset spatula. Evenly sprinkle the filling over the smoothed batter and cover with the remaining batter. Gently smooth the batter with the offset spatula.
- Remove the streusel from the refrigerator and evenly sprinkle it over the cake. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the center. Cool the cake in the pan set on a cooling rack.
To Make the Maple Glaze:
- In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar and maple syrup until smooth. Then, drizzle the glaze over the banana bread coffee cake. Allow the glaze to set for a few minutes then cut into 9 pieces and enjoy! Store any extra coffee cake in an airtight container to keep at room temperature (for up to three days).
Notes
Quick Tips
Use ripe bananas. Bananas covered with brown spots are sweeter, softer, and have a deeper banana flavor. Avoid overmixing the batter. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients only until no streaks of flour remain. Overmixing can make the cake tough. Spread the top layer gently. Add the remaining batter in small spoonfuls across the filling before smoothing it out with an offset spatula. This makes it easier to cover the filling without disturbing the layers. Check the center for doneness. Because the cake is thick and moist, insert the skewer into the center rather than near the edges. A few moist crumbs are fine, but it shouldn’t have wet batter. Glaze after cooling. Let the cake cool before adding the maple glaze so it stays visible on top instead of melting into the streusel.Make Ahead & Storage
Make Ahead: The streusel and espresso filling can be prepared up to two days in advance. Store each mixture separately in an airtight container in the refrigerator, then assemble the cake when you’re ready to bake. The entire cake can also be baked one day ahead. For the freshest appearance, wait to add the maple glaze until shortly before serving. Storage: Store leftover coffee cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days.Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
