Banana-Sour Cream Coffee Cake with Brown Sugar-Pecan Swirl takes ordinary banana bread to the next level!
I’m not really a shopper, at least not in the sense that most ladies are.
I steer clear of the mall unless absolutely necessary (darn Apple Store with its only location in the mall…and double darn Cheesecake Factory with its fabulous cheesecake!). Anyway.
An afternoon at the mall would be tantamount to torture to me, but an afternoon wandering through an old open-air market or even a farmers’ market leaves me longing for another afternoon to shop. So I guess I really am a shopper at heart.
Banana bread is another conundrum for me.
I am so weird about my banana bread…this Best Banana Bread recipe is pretty much the only kind of banana bread I’ll eat. (So if you’ve offered me banana bread in the past and I’ve made some bogus excuse like I had a big dinner last night, know that it’s me, not you.)
But that ended one day when I found a bunch of over-ripe bananas on the counter (which inevitably happens at least once a month), and decided it was time to play with banana bread. This lovely loaf is an amped up combo of banana bread and sour cream coffee cake. It’s moist and fragrant, with a gorgeous brown sugar-pecan swirl. The swirl looks impressive, but couldn’t be easier to make; just layer cake batter with crumbly filling and it bakes up into the prettiest swirl bread ever.
So now that I’ve broadened my banana bread horizons a bit, I’ll probably try whatever you want to pass my way. ;)
(For more banana bread inspiration and coffee cake ideas, check out Cooking Light’s Best Banana Breads and Healthy Coffee Cake Recipes.)
- ½ cup (110 g) light brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup (80 g) chopped pecans
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 cups (255 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder (optional)
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup (200 g) sugar
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ cup (180 g) sour cream
- ½ cup mashed banana (about 1 medium ripe banana)
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
- ½ cup (60 g) powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3-4 teaspoons milk
- Butter, to grease the loaf pan
- Preheat oven to 350F; generously grease a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan with butter.
- For the filling, combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside.
- For the cake, whisk together the flour, espresso powder (if using), baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
- Cream together the butter and sugar, and then beat in the eggs until light and fluffy. Beat in the sour cream, banana, and vanilla.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet all at once and use a wooden spoon to stir just until incorporated, being careful not to over-mix.
- Spread ⅓ of the batter on the bottom of the prepared loaf pan, and then sprinkle ⅓ of the filling on top of the batter. Repeat this 2 times, ending with a layer of the filling on top.
- Bake until the loaf is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a couple crumbs, about 55 to 60 minutes.
- Cool the bread in the loaf pan on a wire rack. Once cool, whisk together all ingredients for the glaze (adding the milk gradually as needed). Remove the loaf from the pan and drizzle the glaze on top.
- Allow the glaze to set before slicing.
I’m Faith Gorsky, the writer, cook, and photographer behind An Edible Mosaic. My goal is to inspire you to get in the kitchen and try something new! Feel free to 
Rosa says
February 3, 2014 at 4:35 amShopping is not my thing either…
This cake looks fabulous and divine!
Cheers,
Rosa
Joanne says
February 3, 2014 at 6:51 amThat swirl!! Yum. I just love it. I am general not SO into banana bread either, but I can’t resist swirls or glazes. They make the world better.
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar says
February 3, 2014 at 8:17 amRecipes like this make my mornings shine! So much deliciousness.
Erica says
February 3, 2014 at 8:38 amI’m with you! I don’t like shopping much either. This bread looks AMAZING. That swirl!
thelittleloaf says
February 3, 2014 at 12:25 pmHow delicious does this look? I’m not a coffee drinker but I love it as dessert!
Jeanette | Jeanette's Healthy Living says
February 3, 2014 at 3:58 pmI’d love a slice of this warmed up Faith! The swirl is so pretty!
Betty says
February 3, 2014 at 8:43 pmI would never go near the mall if Costco wasn’t attached to it. (I live so far in the sticks that there’s only one mall within an hour’s drive.)Too crazy! I love the swirl in your banana bread! What a great way to dress it up. :)
Nicole ~ Cooking for Keeps says
February 4, 2014 at 1:27 amThe best of all worlds! Banana bread, coffee cake and Brown Sugar Pecan Swirl? Ahhh if that’s not heaven I don’t know what else is.
Laura (Tutti Dolci) says
February 5, 2014 at 9:39 pmThat brown sugar pecan swirl is perfection!
Liz Osgood says
January 8, 2019 at 11:18 amI made this coffee cake and it was a hit! I left out the nuts (which would have made it more delicious, I’m sure) but we have family who don’t like nuts. I also left out the butter in the powdered sugar topping and it was just as good. Thanks for another way to use over-ripe bananas.