This Banana Coffee Cake recipe transforms over-ripe bananas into a moist cake with a tender crumb that features a cinnamon-laced brown sugar pecan swirl throughout.
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 for 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). I decided it was time to play with banana bread!
Banana Coffee Cake Recipe
This lovely loaf is an amped up combo of banana bread and sour cream coffee cake, baked in a loaf pan.
This Banana Coffee Cake recipe is moist and fragrant, with a gorgeous cinnamon-scented 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.
What I Love About This Banana Sour Cream Coffee Cake
There are three things I really love about this recipe:
- It’s so easy to make, just like regular banana bread!
- The sour cream adds moistness to the texture and richness to the flavor.
- The cinnamon brown sugar pecan swirl is not only beautiful and delicious, but also easy!
This easy coffee cake recipe is elegant and impressive. It reminds me of Russian Coffee Cake with its cinnamon sugar swirl, but it’s a lot easier to whip up.
How to Make Banana Coffee Cake
- Make the swirl filling. The gorgeous cinnamon brown sugar pecan swirl filling is just 3 ingredients that get mixed together and sprinkled on the batter before the loaf cake bakes.
- Make the batter. The batter for this Banana Coffee Cake is made just like regular banana bread. It couldn’t be easier!
- Layer the batter and the swirl filling. Pour 1/3 of the cake batter into the bottom of a greased loaf pan, and sprinkle on 1/3 of the swirl filling. Repeat 2 times!
- Bake. Let it cool and then it’s ready to glaze.
- Whip up a quick glaze. This is totally optional and really just gilds the lily.
- Eat. And then you know the drill; slice and enjoy!
How Long Will This Coffee Cake Last?
Wrap it well and store it at room temperature for up to 3 days. After that, move it to the fridge for up to 4 days more. That is, if it lasts that long!
More Banana Recipes To Make
- Banana Muffins Recipe with Crumb Topping
- Coconut Rum Paleo Banana Bread
- Homemade Baked Banana Chips Recipe
- Paleo AIP Banana Flour Chocolate Chip Edible Cookie Dough
- Banana Golden Milk Turmeric Latte Nice Cream
- Yellow Banana Cake with Whipped Dark Chocolate Ganache
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xoxo, Faith
Banana Coffee Cake Recipe with Brown Sugar Pecan Swirl
Ingredients
Swirl Filling:
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar lightly packed
- 1/2 cup pecans chopped
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Cake:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder optional
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup mashed banana about 1 medium ripe banana
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Glaze:
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter melted
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 teaspoons milk or more as needed
Other:
- Butter to grease the loaf pan
Instructions
For the Swirl Filling:
- Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside.
For the Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350F; generously grease a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan with butter.
- 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 1/3 of the batter on the bottom of the prepared loaf pan, and then sprinkle 1/3 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 before glazing.
For the Glaze:
- Once the loaf is 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.
Faith’s Tips
- Storage: Store this coffee cake wrapped at room temperature for up to 3 days. After that, move it to the fridge for up to 4 days more.
Nutrition
This post was first published on An Edible Mosaic on February 3, 2014. I updated it with more information on April 21, 2021.
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 
I 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.
That brown sugar pecan swirl is perfection!
The 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.
I 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. :)
I’d love a slice of this warmed up Faith! The swirl is so pretty!
How delicious does this look? I’m not a coffee drinker but I love it as dessert!
I’m with you! I don’t like shopping much either. This bread looks AMAZING. That swirl!
Recipes like this make my mornings shine! So much deliciousness.
That 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.
Shopping is not my thing either…
This cake looks fabulous and divine!
Cheers,
Rosa