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This utterly soft banana bread crumb cake is the perfect coffee cake recipe. A delightful blend of banana cake and crumb cake, this treat features moist and tender banana bread layers filled and topped with a buttery, irresistible streusel crumb. Whether you’re craving a sweet breakfast, a midday snack, or a comforting dessert, this cake is a perfect choice. Made in a few easy steps with pantry staples, it’s the perfect moist banana cake with a buttery mix for some added texture. The brown sugar keeps this wonderful recipe soft and crave-worthy.
You’ve got to try this banana bread crumb cake recipe and level up your baking with its rich banana flavor and perfectly moist texture.
If you love this, try poinsettia focaccia, lemon sheet cake, Starbucks copycat banana bread, brown butter banana bread, or chocolate bundt cake.
Why You’ll Love It
Deliciously moist: Being packed with mashed bananas and brown sugar, this cake stays perfectly moist.
Easy to make: Simple steps and familiar ingredients make this recipe great for beginner bakers.
Great for any occasion: Try it as a cozy breakfast treat, afternoon snack, or dessert.
Make-ahead friendly: Bake this banana crumb coffee cake in advance and store it for a few days until you’re ready to serve it.
Banana Bread Crumb Cake Ingredients
A complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Brown sugar: This adds a rich, caramel-like flavor and moisture to the banana coffee cake. Use dark brown rather than light brown sugar.
All purpose flour (AP flour): For best results, measure accurately using the spoon and level method.
Baking powder: Make sure your batch is super fresh for the best rise. Don’t exchange it for baking soda in this recipe.
Mashed ripe bananas: Use very ripe bananas for natural sweetness and moisture. You know, the ones with dark spots on them? Those are the ones!
Butter: At room temperature, so it’s easy to cream with the sugar.
Vanilla extract: Use pure vanilla extract for the best flavor.
Whole milk: Use regular dairy or plant-based – whatever you prefer.
How to Make Banana Crumb Cake
For more detailed instructions with weights and measurements, jump to the printable recipe card.
Prepare crumb mixture: In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and flour using a fork or pastry cutter. Add cold butter cubes and work the mixture until it resembles a sandy texture.
Mix dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
Prepare banana mixture: In a large bowl, combine mashed banana room temperature butter, granulated sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract until smooth.
Combine wet and dry ingredients: Gradually add half of the flour mixture and half of the milk to the banana mixture, alternating. Mix until just combined after each addition.
Pour batter into pan and bake: Pour the cake batter into a 9 x 13-inch prepared pan, spreading it evenly. Sprinkle over the crumb topping. Bake at 350 degrees F for 50 to 55 minutes or until done.
Cool and serve: Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack for 15 to 20 minutes.
Substitutions and Variations
Gluten-free version: Use gluten-free flour to make gluten-free crumb cakes.
Chocolate chips: Fold 1 cup of chocolate chips into the batter.
Nutty: Add chopped nuts (like chopped pecans or walnuts) to the crumb topping or sprinkle them over the batter before baking.
Milk: Split the milk quantity in the recipe to make it half milk and half sour cream for added tanginess.
Extra fruity: Add a cup of fresh or frozen berries (try blueberries or raspberries) to the batter.
Spiced banana bread crumb cake: Add a teaspoon of ground cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice to the batter for a warm, comforting flavor.
Citrusy: Stir in the zest of a lemon or orange, and perhaps a little orange or lemon juice.
Vegan version: Use plant-based substitutes for the butter, eggs and milk. For example, use vegan butter, flaxseed meal, or chia seeds mixed with water instead of eggs, and almond milk.
Cream cheese frosting: Drizzle a runny cream cheese frosting over the banana crumb cake topping. Add cinnamon to make it a cinnamon swirl icing.
Serving Suggestions
Appetizer: Lay out this insanely pretty and healthy burrata, tomatoes and pesto to start. For something a little more “fun food,” try these cowboy sliders.
Main: Enjoy a healthy and tasty seafood pasta salad or a plate of ginger beef as mains. For a rich-tasting main option, try out this creamy marry-me gnocchi.
Dessert: To end the meal, serve a slice of banana crumb cake, warm or at room temperature, with a simple icing made from powdered sugar and cream/milk/Half & Half, or serve with fresh whipped cream.
How to Store Banana Bread Cake
Store: Any leftovers will last about a week in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
Freezer: Leftovers from baking can also be frozen for up to a month.
Thaw: Let the frozen banana cake recipe come to room temperature from the fridge.
Top Tips
Use ripe bananas: The riper the bananas, the sweeter and more flavorful your banana coffee cake recipe will be.
Room temperature ingredients: Bring butter, eggs, and milk to room temperature before mixing. This ensures even blending and a smoother batter.
Don’t overmix the cake batter: Small pieces of butter in the mixture are normal and will melt during baking, so avoid trying to get them overly blended and stirred through, otherwise you risk ending up with a dense cake.
Prepare the pan properly: Grease your baking pan well with vegetable shortening or baking spray, and consider lining it with parchment paper for easy removal and cleanup.
Even crumb topping: Distribute the crumb topping evenly over the batter to ensure a balanced texture throughout the cake.
Check doneness: Use a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center of the cake to check for doneness. It should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs, but not wet batter.
Banana Bread Crumb Cake FAQs
There won’t be much liquid to drain, but any additional moisture from any amount of liquid due to thawing (which isn’t much) will bake into the cake. It might require just a few extra minutes of cooking time.
You can ripen them in about 6 minutes in a preheated oven at 375 degrees F and cook until the skins outside are black. This will ripen the bananas for use in this banana bread recipe.
Yes, you can use unsalted butter for the crumb mixture without any problem.
Yes, just mix the flour and brown sugar using the pulse function, then pulse again when the cold cubed butter is added. A sandy and slightly wet consistency is the goal.
Banana Bread Crumb Cake Recipe
Banana Bread Crumb Cake
Ingredients
For the Crumb Topping:
- ½ Cup salted butter, cold, (1 stick) cut into cubes
- 1 Cup brown sugar
- 1 Cup all purpose flour
For the Cake:
- 2 Cups all purpose flour
- 3 Teaspoons baking powder
- 1 Teaspoon salt
- 4 bananas, ripe, mashed, about 15 ounces if ripe, 11 ounces if frozen
- ½ Cup butter, at room temperature
- 2 Cups granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 Cup whole milk
Optional Powdered Sugar Glaze
- ½ Cup powdered sugar
- 2-4 Tablespoons heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar and flour with a fork or pastry cutter, then add the cold cubed butter. Work this mixture until a sandy texture is achieved.
- Coat a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with vegetable shortening or baking spray and set aside.
- Pro tip: After greasing your pan, line it with a piece of parchment paper. This will allow you to easily lift the cake out to a cutting board for serving, once cooled.
- In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt.
- In a new large mixing bowl, stir together the mashed bananas, butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla, and mix until combined.
- Note: There might be pieces of butter throughout this mixture which is okay – it will still bake well and completely in the oven.
- Add half the flour and milk to the banana mixture, alternating, and mix to combine between each addition.
- Pour the cake mix into the baking pan.
- Top the cake mix with the crumb topping, evenly spreading the topping over the cake.
- Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- When cooked, remove from the oven and allow to sit for 15 to 20 minutes on a cooling rack.
- Serve warm or at room temperature, garnished with a powdered sugar glaze or whipped cream, if liked.
Notes
Room temperature ingredients: Bring butter, eggs, and milk to room temperature before mixing. This ensures even blending and a smoother batter.
Don’t overmix the cake batter: Small pieces of butter in the mixture are normal and will melt during baking, so avoid trying to get them overly blended and stirred through, otherwise you risk ending up with a dense cake.
Prepare the pan properly: Grease your baking pan well with vegetable shortening or baking spray, and consider lining it with parchment paper for easy removal and cleanup.
Even crumb topping: Distribute the crumb topping evenly over the batter to ensure a balanced texture throughout the cake.
Check doneness: Use a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center of the cake to check for doneness. It should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs, but not wet batter.
Nutrition
Dive into this tender, delightfully moist banana bread crumb butter cake—an ideal coffee cake recipe. This banana crumb cake is a great way to use those overripe bananas sitting in your kitchen. Crafted with simple pantry staples, it comes together effortlessly in just a few steps. The brown sugar ensures the cake remains soft and irresistible, while the buttery crumb topping adds a yummy texture.
Other Banana Recipes to Try
- These little banana cream pie shots are a fun way to serve a grown-up sweet treat.
- Slow cooker banana cake is always a treat!
- Whip up a batch of double chocolate banana muffins for a happy start to the day.
- Banana pumpkin muffins and banana nutella muffins are both amazing too!
- Spiked bananas foster nog has all the holiday flavors you love.
- This breakfast banana split is easy and so perfectly tasty.
- These campfire banana boats have a serious nostalgic feel.
Bella Bucchiotti
Bella Bucchiotti is a Canadian-based syndicated food, travel, and lifestyle writer, photographer, and creator at xoxoBella. She founded xoxoBella in 2015, where she shares her love for food, dogs, sustainability, fitness, crafts, outdoor adventures, travel, and philanthropy to encourage others to run the extra mile, try new recipes, visit unfamiliar places, and stand for a cause. Bella creates stress-free and family-friendly recipes for weeknight dinners and festive feasts.
I can’t get enough of this banana bread crumb cake! It’s perfect with coffee!