Just a couple more days until 2021, and if you’re in that weird limbo between Christmas and New Years right now, I think this will help you finish out the year happy. Let’s wander around the house with coffee cake in our hand, ok?
There’s a million banana bread recipes out there, including a good many on this very site. Today we’re just turning it into a warm, spicy, coffee cake with a layer of cinnamon and sugar running throughout, and a pile of crumb topping too. It’s the way we were always meant to eat banana bread. And before we go getting all super healthy for 2021, let’s just take a moment for this please.
Let’s talk about how to prep your pan for this one- it’s easy to just grease a loaf pan and then tip the cake out. But this time around, we’re making more of a coffee cake situation, and we don’t want to have to tip it upside-down and lose a bunch of that crumb topping. So, I highly recommend that you line the bottom of your baking dish with parchment paper that has over-hangs. I’m using sheets that are made for round pans, but you can definitely bake this in a square pan as well, which makes it easier to line with a standard sheet of parchment paper.
After mixing up the batter, we’re spreading about half of it into the pan, and then covering it with a really generous layer of cinnamon and sugar. It’s going to seem like too much cinnamon and sugar, but it’s not- use it all!
And then gently spread the remaining batter over the top. I like to kind of spoon the batter all over the surface to make this a little easier- the batter is fairly thick, so it takes a little time to spread this second layer on top. And finally, allllll the crumb topping gets piled high on top.
Then it’s just off to the oven for some sweet, sweet baking time. This takes a while to bake, and you want make sure you are using a toothpick to make sure it’s fully baked. It’s a lot of cake, and it’s worth the wait. You’ll want to let it cool for at least 30 minutes before removing from the pan, slicing, and enjoying!
I’ve got a few tips to help you make this recipe just right!
I hope you guys enjoy this one, and Happy New Year! It’s been an odd, stressful, and unexpected year for everyone, but I’m so grateful that so many of you have found my site this year. I am honored that you took my recipes into your homes, and baked like crazy. Cheers to another year of life with a warm oven in all our homes!
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease an 8-inch round or square cake pan, and line it with parchment paper that has overhangs for easy removal. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until fluffy and well-combined. Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract, and then add in the mashed bananas until just combined. Finally, add in the flour, baking soda, and salt, and beat until there are no dry pockets of flour, and you have a thick batter. It will have a few small lumps in it depending on how over-ripe your bananas are- that's ok!
Spread about half of the batter evenly into your prepared pan, and then make the cinnamon/sugar filling.
In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar and cinnamon until well combined. Sprinkle the entire mixture evenly over the half of the batter in your prepared pan already. You want the mixture to be pretty even, and to cover the entire layer of batter.
Dollop the remaining cake batter on top of the cinnamon sugar mixture to make it easier to spread, and then use the back of a spoon or a small offset spatula to spread the batter all the way to the edges, covering the cinnamon mixture completely.
In a medium bowl, using a fork, stir together the butter, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt until a crumb starts to form. This may take a few minutes and a little working with the fork. You want the mixture to form large crumbs when pressed together.
Sprinkle the crumb mixture evenly all over the top of the cake batter. Bake the cake in your preheated oven for 55-65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 30 minutes, and then remove by pulling it out with your parchment paper over-hangs. Slice and enjoy!
Hello and welcome! My name is Nicole, and Dough-eyed is a food blog for people who want to bake for their family and friends in high-altitude areas. Think of me as a friendly voice there with you in the kitchen, here to give you confidence when you’re baking, and to help you with the struggles of baking at high-altitude. Come back every week for new recipes, tips, and advice on high-altitude baking!
Hello and welcome! My name is Nicole, and Dough-eyed is a food blog for people who want to bake for their family and friends in high-altitude areas. Think of me as a friendly voice there with you in the kitchen, here to give you confidence when you’re baking, and to help you with the struggles of baking at high-altitude. Come back every week for new recipes, tips, and advice on high-altitude baking!
2020, Dough-Eyed
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Elizabeth Rivers
December 30, 2020 at 10:47 amHi Nicole,
I am new to your website. Thank you for having it.
I live at 7,500 feet in Colorado. Should I make any adjustments to your recipes? I have made adjustments that are found in the newspapers, but wondered if you could insert adjustments for those over 7,000 feet for your recipes.
Thank you again.
Dough-Eyed
January 4, 2021 at 6:38 pmHi there! I'm glad you're enjoying the site so far! You are kind of right on the edge from what I've heard other bakers comment about my recipes. I suspect that many will work well for you as is, but you may run into some issues with cakes and similar items. Unfortunately, while I'd absolutely love to be able to always post the adjustments for all altitudes, I can't test the recipes at all altitudes, so I'm not comfortable posting those without testing. I'm always happy to help though if you have any questions- feel free to email me at info@dougheyed.com. For this recipe for example, I would just add another 2 tbs of flour, and I think that should be enough in this case. I hope that helps!