Banana Pecan Streusel Coffee Cake
Recently while grocery shopping, my daughter asked me why we never buy coffee cake. It’s not that I don’t like coffee cake, I just always lean towards making it instead of purchasing it. Especially since it is an easy thing to put together.
This recipe is so good. It combines a lighter banana cake, a sweet crumble toping with pecans, and then an optional “Honey Bun” glaze…(as if that is an option). It’s from a cookbook entitled Big Bad Breakfasts, by John Currance, which I just had to check out. It has a tough guy book exterior, but actually the stories associated with each of the recipes is charming. I love that in a cookbook.
I’m the type of person who would rather go out for breakfast over any other meal. Find me a diner or a tiny cafe, I am in. There is something to having someone else make my breakfast it better.
This batter uses two ripe mashed bananas, which is either the amount hanging around or easy enough to find in the produce section. I like that the banana flavor is present without being overpowering. It comes together quickly, and the streusel topping is out of this world.
In the original recipe it calls for placing the pecans on top of the streusel- I just chopped mine up and added them in with all of the brown sugary goodness. If you wanted to do both, I am sure the larger pieces of pecan would add a special decorative quality as well as flavor boost. I figured since I was opting for the Honey Bun Glaze, I didn’t mind incorporating the pecans with the streusel mixture.
This recipe bakes up beautifully, combining the sweetness of cinnamon and brown sugar with the banana cake.
While your cake is cooling, prepare your glaze and drizzle away! You will not be disappointed!
While the winter season continues to keep us bundling up with warm sweaters and socks, there is something comforting in a recipe such as this. It isn’t just for breakfast either…I am pretty sure a slice of this cake is perfect any time of day.
I hope you enjoy this recipe, and as always, thank you for coming to the table.
Love,
Chrissy
PrintBanana Pecan Streusel Coffee Cake
Banana Pecan Coffee Cake with Honey Buns Glaze is originally from the cookbook Big Bad Breakfast by John Currance. This light banana coffee cake is topped with a generous streusel topping and another layer of sweet glaze!
Ingredients
Cake:
· 1/3 cup granulated sugar
· 1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
· 2 ripe bananas, mashed
· 1/4 cup sour cream
· 1 egg
· 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
· 1 tablespoon baking powder
· 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
· 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
· 1/4 teaspoon salt
· 1/4 cup milk
Streusel Topping:
· 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
· 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar (I use dark brown sugar in my recipe)
· 2 tablespoon granulated sugar
· 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
· 3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
· 1/3 cup toasted chopped pecans
Honey Glaze:
· 1/2 cup powdered sugar
· 2 tablespoons honey
· 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
· 1 tablespoon milk
· 1 1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
Cake:
Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Grease an 8-inch square baking dish. Set aside. (I baked my recipe at 350*, you can also line your baking pan with parchment paper for easy lifting/cutting for serving).
Combine the sugar and butter in a large bowl and cream together in an electric mixer with a paddle attachment until light and fluffy, (about 5 minutes).
Add in the mashed bananas, sour cream, and egg. Mix until thoroughly combined.
In another bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg and salt.
Add the dry ingredients into the banana mixture, then add the milk.
Beat until completely combined. Pour the batter into the prepared baking 8 x 8 pan.
For the Streusel Topping:
In another bowl, combine the flour, both sugars, and the cinnamon. (I added my pecans at this point or you can add on top after the streusel is distributed).
Add the butter – using a pastry cutter, fork, or your fingertips, cut the butter into the mixture until coarse crumbs form.
Sprinkle the topping over the batter, then sprinkle the pecans on top.
Bake until the cake is golden brown, about 35 minutes.
Glaze:
While the cake is cooking, make the glaze. In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, honey, vanilla, milk and melted butter.
Drizzle the cake with the glaze, then let it cool for 10 minutes before cutting into squares.
Coffee cake with last up to 2 days covered.
