Banana Coconut Coffee Cake

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A soft, sweet banana cake with a thick layer of tropical, toasted coconut streusel makes the perfect pair for your morning cup of coffee.

I’m back from Sicily and we’re jumping right back into our regularly scheduled baking content. I don’t know about you, but when I come home from a long trip, no matter how wonderful the food was, I crave comfort. I want to take a shower in my own bathroom, wear pajamas, eat a big bowl of pasta, and bake something cozy. I’m looking for low-effort comfort, and it often arrives in the form of cake. Simple cake to be exact.

I always have between 5-7 bananas shoved in my freezer and I’m reminded of their existence every time I open the freezer door and one or two fly out, barely missing my toes. While it’s nice to always ripe bananas on hand for when the baking urge strikes, it’s very difficult to think of anything to do with them besides make banana bread. For the last few months, my freezer banana count has been steadily increasing as I worked on recipes that would meet the banana baked good quota: simple, sweet, cozy. In walks this cake. It’s everything that you’re looking for in a banana cake: super moist, dense, and just sweet enough that it can double as both dessert and breakfast.

banana coconut coffee cake

This recipe is a riff of one of my very favorite recipes, my sweet potato and rye coffee cake. We subbed the sweet potatoes with bananas, of course. Got rid of the rye flour, and replaced the buttermilk with full-fat canned coconut milk. The streusel topping got a little facelift with the addition of toasted coconut.

It’s a simple creaming method cake and can be mixed up in just a few minutes. A quick tip: room temperature is really best for the ingredients in this case. Because of the high liquid content and the temperature characteristics of melted butter and coconut milk, this batter has a tendency to curdle easily. If that happens, just add in a bit of the dry ingredients to help bind everything together and it should smooth right out. Happy baking!

Banana Coconut Coffee Cake
Yield one 9x13" cake
Author Anna Ramiz
Prep time
30 Min
Cook time
45 Min
Total time
1 H & 15 M

Banana Coconut Coffee Cake

( 0 reviews )
A soft, sweet banana cake perfect for your morning cup of coffee topped with a thick layer of tropical coconut streusel.

Ingredients

for the crumble
  • 1/2 cup (65 g) all purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup (75 g) rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup (100 g) brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup coconut flakes
  • 1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter, softened
for the cake
  • 2 1/4 cup (290 g) all purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 3/4 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
  • 3/4 cup (170 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup (100 g) brown sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 150 g mashed banana, from about 2 large bananas
  • 3/4 cup full fat coconut milk
  • 1/4 cup brewed espresso, cooled
for the glaze
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/4 cup (55 g) full fat coconut milk
  • 1/8 tsp vanilla powder, or sub a splash of vanilla extract
  • Pinch of salt

Instructions

to make the crumble
  1. Whisk together flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and coconut flakes in a medium sized bowl until combined.
  2. Add the butter and work together using your fingers until butter is completely mixed in and no dry spots remain. Place in the refrigerator to chill while you make the cake.
to make the cake
  1. Line a 9x13” baking dish with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350° F.
  2. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and cardamom. Set aside.
  3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine softened butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, making sure to scrape down the sides and ensure all of the butter chunks have been mixed in.
  4. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the mashed banana and vanilla extract. Mix on medium-low speed for 1-2 minutes more, until everything is well-combined.
  5. Combine coconut milk and espresso in a measuring cup.
  6. With the mixer on low speed, add 1/3 of the dry ingredients, followed by half of the coconut milk/espresso mixture. When the liquid has been mixed in, add another 1/3 of the dry ingredients, followed by the remaining 1/2 of liquid, and then the remaining 1/3 of dry ingredients. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then mix for one more minute. Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a rubber spatular to gently fold the batter a few more times, ensuring that it is smooth and homogenous and everything is well-combined.
  7. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and use an offset spatula to smooth it into an even layer. Remove crumbs from the refrigerator and sprinkle it in a thick even layer over the top of the cake.
  8. Bake for 40-45 minutes, rotating halfway through the baking time, until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the the center of the cake. Let cool completely in the pan while you make the glaze.
to make the glaze
  1. Combine ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until smooth, adding more powdered sugar or coconut milk to thicken or loosen the glaze until you reach your desired consistency.
  2. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake before serving.

Similar Recipes

Sweet Potato and Rye Coffee Cake

Coconut Matcha Sheet Cake

Banana Tahini Breakfast Cake

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Grapefruit Meringue Tarts

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A simple sweet crust, filled with a floral and tart grapefruit curd and topped with torched meringue.

I’m going to sound like a weirdo, but the idea for this recipe came to me from the sky. In early January, we began our drive back to Minnesota after spending the holidays with family. We had made our way from Florida to Tennessee to spend a day or two with my cousin and woke up before dawn to start our trek back to the north. This meant that I was driving through the Smoky Mountains as the sun began to peek over the tops of the trees. As we were winding down the steep mountain roads, light began to reflect off of the newly fallen snow and deep hues of pink and corals inked themselves across the sky. It was absolutely breathtaking and we drove for a bit in complete silence, soaking in the glow of the day beginning to unfurl itself across the sky.

And then, it made me think of dessert. The juxtaposition of the deep pink propped up against the sparkling white of the snow made me think of grapefruit and meringue, and because I was driving, I made Martin jot down a note in my recipe ideas folder of my notes.

Of course, as I began testing, I found that grapefruit juice isn’t quite vibrant enough to create a pink hued curd (a bit of a bummer), but I loved the flavor enough to stick with it so instead of pink and white, we ended up with a creamy yellow and white color palette. Not the color scheme I was initially going for, but a very delicious tart.

These grapefruit meringue tarts have three simple components: a crust, a curd, and a meringue.

the crust

For this recipe, I used my favorite sweet crust dough from Thalia Ho’s book, Wild Sweetness. It's similar to a pie crust, but we add sugar and use a softened butter instead of cold butter. The soft butter helps to create a crumblier dough that doesn’t need to be rolled out. Simply sprinkle it into the tart pans and press it into the sides.

After the tart pans are filled, we will chill the dough to allow it to set up and prevent melted butter from oozing everywhere when we bake. I like to pop the tray crust-lined tarts into the freezer for about 30 minutes, then dock them with a fork and bake until golden.

A note: If your crusts come out of the oven a little swollen and puffy, it’s okay! You can take a drinking glass or another flat-bottomed tool and press gently into the warm centers to push the dough down and make room for the filling.

the curd

The curd for this recipe is simple and can be made ahead of time. We start by simmering grapefruit juice with half of the sugar, just until hot and the sugar has melted. While that’s simmering, whisk together the rest of the sugar, cornstarch, zest, and salt in a large bowl. This will break any clumps of cornstarch. Add the eggs and yolks and whisk to form a paste. When the juice is hot, slowly temper it into the egg mixture, whisking continually, until all of the juice has been incorporated. Pour it all back into the pot and bring to a boil, whisking continually. Once the mixture boils, cook for 1-2 more minutes, to allow the cornstarch to cook out and the mixture to thicken, strain it through a sieve and whisk in the butter.

Since the curd is fully cooked, we’ll simply pour it into the cooled tart shells and let it chill until set.

the meringue

There are three main types of meringue: French, Swiss, and Italian. French meringue is made by whipping granulated sugar into egg whites and needs to be baked. Swiss is made by cooking egg whites and sugar over a double boiler and then whipping and Italian meringue whips egg whites with a hot sugar syrup.

For this recipe, we went with Swiss—my favorite. Swiss meringue follows a 2 parts egg whites to 3 parts sugar ratio so it’s very simple to scale up or down depending on your need.

After you make the meringue, you can swoop or pipe as much or as little as you want on top of your chilled tarts. You can use a torch to blister the edges for some added flair, or if you’re like me and your torch is packed in a box in storage, you can bake the tarts at 375° F for 10-15 minutes, until browned.

Grapefruit Meringue Tarts
Yield 4
Author Anna Ramiz
Prep time
30 Min
Cook time
40 Min
Inactive time
4 Hour
Total time
5 H & 10 M

Grapefruit Meringue Tarts

( 0 reviews )
A simple sweet crust, filled with a floral and tart grapefruit curd and topped with torched meringue.

Ingredients

for the crust, from Wild Sweetness by Thailia Ho
  • 1 1/4 cup (155 g) all purpose flour
  • 2/3 cup (80 g) powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp grapefruit zest
  • 1/4 tsp kosher salt
  • 2/3 cup (150 g) unsalted butter, softened
for the grapefruit curd
  • 3/4 cup (165 g) freshly squeezed grapefruit juice
  • 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
  • 3 tsp cornstarch
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 tbsp grapefruit zest
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 5 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
for the meringue
  • 110 g egg whites (from 3-4 eggs)
  • 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar

Instructions

to make the crust
  1. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, powdered sugar, grapefruit zest, and kosher salt. Add the softened butter and use your fingers to work the butter into the dry ingredients until crumbly and well combined.
  2. Divide the dough between the tart pans and press into an even layer along the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Freeze for 30 minutes, then dock with a fork.
  3. Preheat the oven to 375° F. Bake the chilled tarts for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool completely.
to make the curd
  1. Combine grapefruit juice and half of the sugar in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium high heat and cook until sugar is mostly dissolved.
  2. While the juice is cooking, whisk sugar, cornstarch, salt, and zest in a large bowl. Add the eggs and yolks and whisk again to form a smooth paste.
  3. While whisking continually, gradually stream the hot liquid into the bowl with the eggs and sugar. When all of the liquid has been added, transfer the mixture back to the pot and return to the heat.
  4. Continue cooking, stirring continually, until the mixture begins to boil. When it begins to boil, cook for 2 minutes more and then strain through a sieve into a clean bowl.
  5. Whisk in the butter and let cool.
  6. When the curd has cooled slightly, divide it between the tart shells and transfer to the refrigerator. Let chill for at least 4 hours, until curd is completely set.
to make the meringue
  1. When you are ready to serve, make the meringue by combining egg whites and sugar in a large bowl set over a double boiler.
  2. Cook, whisking continually, until the mixture is hot to the touch and all of the sugar has dissolved.
  3. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment and whip on medium-high speed until medium peaks form.
  4. Top each of the tarts with meringue and torch, or bake at 375° F for about 10 minutes, until the edges are golden brown. If you decide to bake the tarts, let them cool completely before serving. If you torch the tops of the meringue, serve immediately.

Notes

This recipe is endlessly adaptable:

  • If you don't have individual tart pans, you can make one 9" tart.
  • Substitute any citrus in place of the grapefruit.
  • Add an herb or floral component to the crust in place of grapefruit zest.
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Chai Snickerdoodles

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Warm and cozy homemade chai spice blend and soft and chewy snickerdoodles are a match made in heaven. This simple recipe makes the perfect cookies with crispy edges and pillowy centers.

I’ve been a little quiet on the blog for the past few weeks, but not to worry—I’ve still been cranking out recipes and sharing them with you like a mad woman. In case you missed it, at the beginning of the month, I launched Pastry School 101—a weekly newsletter teaching you creative baking recipes and foundational pastry skills. Each month we will deep dive into technique or ingredient and I’ll break down the science behind the process, give step by step instructions, and lots of tips and tricks for pastry mastery. There will also be two bonus recipes each month that incorporate the featured monthly skill/ingredient and there are places within the publication for where readers can comment/ask questions/chat about each recipe or post. This month, we took a little at whipping eggs (both whites and yolks) made olive oil chocolate mousse, and classic tiramisu, and had a blast. If you aren’t already in our little community, I’d love for you to join us!

But now I’m back and I’ve got cookies for you!

This holiday season, my sister was looking for a winning recipe to bring to her annual Christmas Cookie Party. We were chatting about what kind of cookie she could make and the idea of a spiced chai cookie came to mind. I didn’t have time to test a whole new recipe and get it to her before the party, so I told her to make the chai spice blend from my dirty chai banana bread recipe and make my hawaij snickerdoodles subbing the chai spice in place of the hawaij. My sister reported back that they were winners.

We decided to make another batch together over our Christmas holiday they really were perfect. 100%. No notes. So now I’m sharing them with you.

homemade chai spice blend

Making a batch of chai spice blend is as simple as stirring together a few spices and keeping it in a jar in your spice cabinet. We’re incorporating ground black tea (from tea bags), a hefty amount of cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger, and lots of supporting characters like cloves and black pepper. This recipe will make more than you need for the cookies so make a batch of banana bread of keep it in pantry for stirring into coffee.

soft and chewy snickerdoodles

I had a reader once tell me that molasses is never used in snickerdoodle recipes, but I love it and I don’t care what anyone thinks. I love love love using molasses in my spiced snickerdoodle recipes for two main reasons:

  1. Molasses is made by boiling, reducing, and concentrating the juice extracted from sugar cane. We know that cooking sugar creates caramelization so when molasses is incorporated into recipes it not only adds sweetness, but a deep caramelized flavor perfect for pairing with warm spices.

  2. Molasses is a type of invert syrup, a scientific balance of fructose and glucose, that in baking, adds sweetness and liquid at the same time. Adding an invert syrup like molasses to a recipe will greatly increase moisture, creating a softer, chewier cookie and extending shelf life.

Otherwise, this recipe is very straight forward. Melted browned butter is mixed with sugars, followed by eggs, vanilla, and molasses, and then dry ingredients are folded in. The batter does need a short chill time (about 30 minutes) in order to hold its shape during baking, and then, like any good snickerdoodle, we roll it in sugar.

One last recipe tip: I’ve made this recipe using a stand mixer, a hand mixer, and just a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula. I’ve found that though it may take a little more elbow greaser, the wooden spoon/spatula mixing method yielded the thickest, softest cookie.

Chai Snickerdoodles
Yield 30-32 cookies
Author Anna Ramiz
Prep time
15 Min
Cook time
8 Min
Inactive time
30 Min
Total time
53 Min

Chai Snickerdoodles

( 0 reviews )
Warm and cozy homemade chai spice blend and soft and chewy snickerdoodles are a match made in heaven. This simple recipe makes the perfect cookies with crispy edges and pillowy centers.

Ingredients

for the chai spice blend
  • 3 bags ground black tea
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ground cardamom
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/2 tsp ground all spice
  • 1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
for the cookie dough
  • 2 cups (240 g) all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
  • 3/4 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 1/2 tsp chai spice, above
  • 1/2 c up (113 g) unsalted butter
  • 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup (56 g) brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup (43 g) coconut oil, melted
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tbsp molasses
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
for the rolling sugar
  • 2 tbsp granulated sugar
  • 1 tbsp demerara sugar
  • 1 tsp chai spice, above

Instructions

  1. To make the chai spice blend: combine all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until smooth and well-combined. Transfer to an air tight container to store.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cream of tartar, salt, and chai spice.
  3. Place butter in a small saucepan and set it over medium heat. Cook for 6-7 minutes, swirling occasionally until butter is nutty and fragrant with little brown flecks on the bottom. Transfer it to another large bowl and let cool slightly.
  4. Add the sugar and brown sugar to the bowl with the butter and whisk until wet and sandy. Stream in the coconut oil, followed by the egg, molasses, and vanilla. Whisk vigorously until the mixture is smooth and homogenous.
  5. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the wet ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula until all of the flour is mixed in and no dry streaks remain. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
  6. When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375° F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  7. Stir together sugar, demerara sugar, and chai spice in a small bowl.
  8. Using a two tsp sized cookie scoop, scoop dough into balls. Roll each ball in the chai sugar and place 1-2” apart on the baking sheet. Bake for 8-9 minutes, just until the edges are lightly golden and the tops of the cookies are dry. Let cool for 5 minutes on the pan before transferring to cooling rack to cool completely.

Notes

The chai spice blend will yield more than is needed for this recipe. Keep the rest in a sealed jar in your pantry and use it to make Dirty Chai Banana Bread or stir into coffee.

Similar Recipes

Dirty Chai Banana Bread

Citrus, Earl Grey, and Caramelized White Chocolate Sugar Cookies

Hawaij Snickerdoodles

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