Banana Bread Coffee Cake Recipe with Walnut Streusel- A Cozy Kitchen

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This Banana bread coffee cake it’s moist and fluffy, with a ribbon of cinnamon-espresso filling and a drizzle of nut butter. This is an easy way to turn ripe bananas into a convenient breakfast. I highly recommend enjoying a little hot slice ginger latte slow sunday morning.

Glazed and sliced banana bread on a coffee cake cutting board.

When fall rolls around, I suddenly have a never-ending rotation of cinnamon baked goodies in my oven, and this recipe has officially entered the lineup. It combines my foundation butter pecan banana bread with me pumpkin coffee cakebringing together two of my favorite breakfasts. I love how the caramel-like sweetness of a ripe banana combines with the bold espresso. This is where I want to live all fall.

Baking coffee cake with freshly baked banana bread in a pan.

Ingredients You’ll Need for Banana Bread Coffee Cake

Ripe banana – Here we get moisture, sweetness and unique taste of banana. For best results, use bananas with lots of brown spots. Yellow bananas would work well here too, the flavor might be a bit muted.
Instant espresso powder – This adds a concentrated coffee flavor to the brown sugar filling without adding too much liquid to the cake. I enjoy a little coffee flavor in my coffee cake.
Acidic – The sour cream keeps the crumb soft, fluffy and moist. Full-fat sour cream will give you the richest texture.
Walnut – Chopped walnuts add a crunch and nutty texture to the streusel top. Pecans will also work well here.
Ground cinnamon and nutmeg – These warm spices complement both the banana and the espresso while giving the cake a comforting flavor.

Please refer to the recipe index card below for the remaining ingredients.

How to make Banana Bread Coffee Cake

Make streusel. Combine granulated sugar, all-purpose flour, walnuts, cinnamon, nutmeg, kosher salt, and cold butter.

Brown sugar-espresso filling in a small bowl.

We mix the filling. Stir in the brown sugar, instant espresso powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and kosher salt.

Banana Bread Coffee Cake dry ingredients in a large bowl.

Mix the dry ingredients. flour, sugar, baking powder, soda, spices and salt.

Banana Bread Coffee Cake wet ingredients in a large bowl.

Mix the wet ingredients. banana puree, sour cream, oil, melted butter, egg and vanilla extract.

Place dry ingredients on top of wet ingredients in large bowl for Banana Bread Coffee Cake Batter.

Mix the dough together. Mix dry ingredients until combined.

Espresso grounds are baked in a pan on top of a banana bread coffee cake batter.

Assemble the cake. Spread a little more than half of the dough in the pan. Sprinkle the espresso grounds evenly over the top.

Banana Bread Coffee Cake Batter with Walnut Cookie in a Baking Pan.

Cover it with the rest of the dough and finish with the chilled shrishak.

Bake and glaze. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes. Cool cake, drizzle with maple glaze and allow glaze to set before slicing.

Quick Tips for the Best Banana Bread Coffee Cake

Use ripe bananas. Bananas covered with brown spots are sweeter, softer and have a deep banana flavor.

Avoid over mixing the batter. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until no traces of flour remain. Overmixing can make the cake tough.

Gently spread the top layer. Add the rest of the batter in small spoonfuls through the filling before smoothing it out with an offset spatula. This makes it easier to cover the filling without disturbing the layers.

Check the center for readiness. Because the cake is thick and moist, place the skewer in the center rather than near the edges. A few moist crumbs are fine, but it should not have a wet dough.

After cooling, polish. Let the cake cool before adding the maple glaze so it stays visible on top instead of melting into the maple.

Banana bread coffee cake batter and layer ingredients in a bowl.

Make-Ahead & Storage

Make forward. The streusel and espresso filling can be made up to two days in advance. Store each mixture in a separate airtight container in the refrigerator, then assemble the cake when you’re ready to bake.

The whole cake can also be baked a day ahead. For the freshest look, wait to add the maple glaze until just before serving.

Storage. Store leftover coffee cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days.

If you have tried this Banana bread coffee cake recipe or any other recipe on my site, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thank you for visiting.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8-by-8-inch square baking pan and line with a sheet of parchment paper, leaving extra flaps on all sides of the parchment paper. This way you will be able to remove the cake from the pan. Just make sure it’s about 3 inches from the sides because this guy gets a little high.

To make walnut streusel:

In a bowl, combine the sugar, flour, walnuts, cinnamon, nutmeg, kosher salt, and butter and mix. Use your fingers to press the butter into the mixture until it forms a pea shape. Place the bowl in the refrigerator to chill.

To prepare the espresso pulp:

In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, instant espresso, cinnamon, and kosher salt and mix until well combined. Put it aside.

To make coffee cake:

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and kosher salt.
In a large bowl, whisk together the mashed bananas, sour cream, oil, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla extract until well combined. Add the flour mixture and mix with a spatula or wooden spoon until combined; do not over mix as it will give a tougher crisp.
Add a little more than half of the batter to the bottom of the lined baking pan and smooth with an offset spatula. Sprinkle the filling evenly over the flattened dough and cover with the remaining dough. Gently flatten the dough with an offset spatula.
Remove the cookie sheet from the refrigerator and sprinkle evenly over the cake. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the cake in a pan on a cooling rack.

To make the maple glaze:

In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and maple syrup until smooth. Then drizzle the icing over the banana bread coffee cake. Let the glaze sit for a few minutes, then cut into 9 pieces and enjoy. Store any extra coffee cake in an airtight container to keep at room temperature (up to three days).

Quick tips

Use ripe bananas. Bananas covered with brown spots are sweeter, softer and have a deep banana flavor.
Avoid over mixing the batter. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until no traces of flour remain. Overmixing can make the cake tough.
Gently spread the top layer. Add the rest of the batter in small spoonfuls through the filling before smoothing it out with an offset spatula. This makes it easier to cover the filling without disturbing the layers.
Check the center for readiness. Because the cake is thick and moist, place the skewer in the center rather than near the edges. A few moist crumbs are fine, but it should not have a wet dough.
After cooling, polish. Let the cake cool before adding the maple glaze so it stays visible on top instead of melting into the maple.

Make ahead and stock up