Toasty Brown Butter Banana Coffee Cake
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This soft and fluffy brown butter banana coffee cake is one of my favorites for brunch or a snack. It has brown butter, sour cream banana cake, a swirl of cinnamon sugar, and a buttery cinnamon streusel top. This cake is decadent, not-too-sweet, and the absolute best with a cup of coffee!
I have some personal news. In my mission to brown butter just about everything, I have now moved on to phase ‘banana’. That means banana muffins, cookie butter banana bread, and pancakes have all been turned into caramel-y, toasty goodness.
And so, of course, it only made sense that in the midst of January, I would turn cake into breakfast and add a good dose of brown butter, bananas, and cinnamon. Because we all need something to snack on while it’s blizzard-ing outside, yeah?
I’ve been making a version of this cake ever since I was in pastry school and it’s a forever favorite around here. This cake is best eaten with your fingers, enjoying bite by bite while sipping a cup of hot coffee, chatting with friends, and wearing cozy pajamas.
It’s also the sort of cake I like having on hand when I have family in town or friends over for brunch. It’s a good snacking cake for when you’re sitting around sipping coffee and playing cards, throwing a brunch party, or need a little rainy day project.
Over-ripe bananas
Choose bananas that are over-ripe with brown and black streaks. This will add moisture and lots of banana flavor! Other than that, you just need baking basics. Brown sugar, cinnamon, unsalted butter, all purpose flour, cornstarch, vanilla extract, sour cream, whole milk, Kosher salt, baking powder, granulated sugar, and eggs.
Cinnamon swirl
Cinnamon streusel
Banana cake
Assemble & bake
Carefully spread the second layer of batter over the cinnamon-sugar. It doesn’t have to be perfect but you also don’t want it to all mix together!
Storage & freezing tips
Store leftover coffee cake in an airtight container and keep it at room temperature for 2-3 days. You can also leave it in the pan and just cover it with plastic wrap or tin foil.
To freeze the coffee cake, wrap individual slices in parchment and place in an airtight container or freezer bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. To defrost, unwrap the slices and let them come to room temperature for at least an hour.
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Brown Butter Banana Coffee Cake
Ingredients
Cinnamon-Sugar Swirl
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
Cinnamon Streusel
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- Pinch of Kosher salt
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
Brown Butter Banana Cake
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder*
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 2 large bananas, very ripe
- 10 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 2/3 cup whole milk
Equipment
- 8×8'' metal baking pan
Instructions
Cinnamon-Sugar Swirl
- Add the brown sugar and cinnamon to a small bowl. Whisk until the mixture is smooth and clump-free. Set aside.
Cinnamon Streusel
- In a small bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, all-purpose flour, cinnamon, and a pinch of Kosher salt.
- Drizzle the melted butter over the flour-sugar mixture. Using the tines of a fork, stir everything together until you have a thick crumble. Set aside.
Brown Butter Banana Cake
- Line an 8×8'' metal baking pan with parchment paper. Then, grease with neutral oil or baking spray. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Add the all-purpose flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and Kosher salt to a small bowl. Whisk until smooth. Then, place the bananas on plate or in a shallow bowl. Use the tines of a fork to mash the bananas until they're very smooth. Set aside.
- To make the brown butter, melt the butter in a light-colored pan over medium heat. After a few minutes, it will start to simmer and foam up. Stir constantly until the butter smells toasty and there are brown bits on the bottom of the pan, about 5 minutes. Immediately remove the pan from the heat and pour the butter into a large heat-proof mixing bowl. You should have a 1/2 cup of brown butter. Let it cool for about 5 minutes. (Watch how to brown butter here).
- Pour the sugar and brown sugar into the brown butter. Whisk together until you have a sandy mixture. Then, add the vanilla extract and eggs, whisking rapidly until the mixture is pale and thick, about 2-3 minutes. Next, stir in the sour cream and mashed bananas until it's thoroughly mixed.
- Whisk half of the flour mixture into the butter-sugar mixture, followed by half of the milk. Repeat with the remaining ingredients, stirring just until the batter is combined. Don't over-whisk or the cake will be dense!
- Carefully spread about half of the batter in bottom of the prepared pan. Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture evenly over the batter. Then, carefully spread the remaining batter over the cinnamon-sugar. (This can get a little messy, but do your best! It doesn't have to be perfect). Use a skewer to gently swirl the batter and cinnamon-sugar (don't over-swirl). Crumble the streusel evenly over the top of the cake.
- Bake the banana coffee cake, checking for doneness at 1 hour and up to 1 hour and 10 minutes. The cake is finished when it no longer jiggles and an inserted toothpick has just a few moist crumbs on it. Let the cake cool for 20-30 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!
I made this cake and it is too dense for me.
Sorry to hear that, Mike! Coffee cake is fairly dense by nature, so if you’re looking for a lighter cake, I would try a banana layer cake instead.