Banana Coconut Coffee Cake
/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
Ingredients
- 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
- 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
- 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
- Whisk together flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and coconut flakes in a medium sized bowl until combined.
- 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.
- Line a 9x13” baking dish with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350° F.
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and cardamom. Set aside.
- 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.
- 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.
- Combine coconut milk and espresso in a measuring cup.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake before serving.
