Running with the idea of cooking things I’ve kept a little past their sell by date, I’m making coffee cake. Banana coffee cake. I had exactly one banana that had too many speckles for my taste and because the holidays are here and there are so many times of day to entertain, I decided to weave that old banana into a breakfast treat.
Banana Coffee Cake
Cake:
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/3 cup +2 TB white sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1 cup buttermilk
- ⅛ cup melted butter
- 1 over-ripe banana
Streusel topping
- ⅓ cup flour
- 4 TB butter
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 4 TB granulated sugar
- ½ cup chopped pecans
Pre-heat oven to 350F.
For the streusel, mix all the ingredients together. Work it all together using your hands. Squeeze and mix it until you have a nice crumbly mix. Set aside.
For the cake, combine the dry ingredients. Combine the milk and egg and then mix it with the dry ingredients until just combined (don’t over mix).
Mash the banana and add the butter to it.
Fold the banana-butter mix into the batter. Line a glass pie plate with parchment paper sprayed with Pam and poured in the batter (it’s my homage to Sara Lee’s round coffee cake of which I am a fan). Top it with the nuts followed by the streusel.
Bake for 25 minutes. Check for doneness by inserting a toothpick — if it comes out clean, remove the cake from the oven to cool.
I tried to do icing on top of the streusel a la Sara Lee, but it didn’t quite work. It was delicious as it was anyway. No need for more sugar.
I’m pleased that I didn’t have to throw away the banana and that I have a new nibble to serve my guests this season.
Happy holidays!