Banana Coffee Cake

This banana coffee cake has a lemony vanilla bean cream cheese glaze with crunchy almonds. Mixes in one bowl in 10 minutes.

I have a confession to make… I kind of hate coffee cakes. I know, I know—who hates coffee cake? But hear me out. Most banana coffee cakes I’ve had are way too dry, and I’m also just not a big fan of streusel.

Sacrilege in the coffee cake world – I KNOW. But it’s just too sweet and too crunchy with weird pops of sugar…no.

So for all my fellow streusel haters….this banana coffee cake is about to rock your world.

It’s moist, tender, and packed with banana flavor. It’s like a banana bread and coffee cake had a beautiful love child. It’s soft, rich, and not overly sweet, making it the perfect treat for breakfast, brunch, or an afternoon pick-me-up with coffee.

We partnered up with Nancy’s Yogurt as part of our ongoing collaboration and their Organic Whole Milk Yogurt lends the most delicious tender crumb to this cake. It’s paired with mashed banana and the two of them come together to be a fantastic texture.

Ingredients for Banana Bread Coffee Cake

• Nancy’s Organic Whole Milk Yogurt – Adds tanginess and ensures a soft, moist texture. (You can also substitute sour cream for a slightly richer flavor!)
• Mashed bananas – Overripe bananas add natural sweetness and moisture.
• Granulated sugar – Adds sweetness and helps keep the cake moist.
• All-purpose flour – Provides structure for the coffee cake.
• Baking soda – Gives the cake a nice rise and fluffy texture.
• Olive oil – Keeps the cake ultra-moist without making it heavy.
• Eggs – Helps bind the ingredients and adds richness.
• Finely grated lemon rind – Brings a bright, citrusy flavor that pairs beautifully with bananas.
• Lemon juice – Enhances the flavor and works with the baking soda for a tender crumb.

I love that all the ingredients are easy to keep on hand to whip this up anytime you have extra banana’s you need to put to use before they go bad. It all mixes together in one bowl and into the bundt pan it goes.

But hands down what takes this banana coffee cake to the next level is the glaze. It’s a dreamy, silky mix of cream cheese, lemon zest, and vanilla bean paste or vanilla bean scrapings.

This gives each bite the perfect balance of tangy, creamy sweetness.

Instead of a heavy streusel, this glaze adds a fresh, bright contrast to cut the warm banana flavors.

Yes you CAN use vanilla extract if you must, and that imitation vanilla trash if that is all you have. But you should absolutely put it on your list of things every self respecting baker has in their pantry at all times and get yourself some Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Bean Paste.

It’s all the gloriousness of fresh vanilla beans with none of the scraping or dried out bean nonsense.

Top with crunchy sliced almonds and congratulate yourself on adulting like a boss.

This coffee cake is my go to dish for bringing to a brunch or potluck, and is gorgeous served at a baby or wedding shower!

Can I Cook It In Something Else?

Of course you can. You can do it in a 9×9 or a casserole pan or as cupcakes or in an urn that your grandmother gave you that is 8 inches by 12 inches by 72 inches.

Just double or triple the recipe as needed, get it to about 3/4 of any container and then test regularly for doneness so you don’t overcook the damn thing. The last thing anyone needs is dry banana coffee cake. And no I haven’t tested every container you have in your kitchen.

Can I Substitute The Yogurt?

Yes, you can substitute the yogurt for sour cream.

How To Store It

I normally keep mine under a cake dome until it’s been inhaled in 2 minutes. For those of you with less of the teenage male species roaming around your house you can do as follows.

• Room Temperature: Keep in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
• Refrigerator: Store in the fridge for up to 5 days. Warm slices before serving for the best texture.
• Freezer: Wrap individual slices in freezer paper, place in a freezer Ziplock bag and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature 1-2 hours or microwave in 15 second increments until desired temperature.

Happy coffee hour!

This post was brought to you in collaboration with Nancy’s Yogurt. We are grateful to partner with amazing companies that we believe in to help bring you gorgeous unique content every week!