Banana Crumb Cake
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This banana crumb cake includes a moist and tender banana cake made from scratch and topped with a buttery brown sugar crumb topping that will have you coming back for more.
There’s nothing quite like the aroma of freshly baked Banana Crumb Cake wafting through your kitchen. This cake is the perfect blend of soft, moist banana flavor with a buttery, crumbly topping that adds just the right amount of sweetness and texture. Whether you’re looking for a cozy treat with your morning coffee or a dessert to impress friends and family, this recipe is sure to deliver.
Made with ripe bananas, this cake boasts a naturally sweet flavor, perfectly complemented by layers of rich brown sugar crumb topping. The use of self-rising flour gives the cake a lighter texture, and if you don’t have any on hand, don’t worry—I’ve got an easy guide in the notes for making your own with pantry staples. Paired with the creaminess of unsalted butter and the warmth of vanilla extract, each bite melts in your mouth.
Best of all, this Banana Crumb Cake is incredibly simple to whip up. With just a few basic ingredients—bananas, butter, sugar, and eggs—you’ll have a bakery-quality treat in no time. Whether you opt for light or dark brown sugar in your crumb topping, both will create a rich caramelized flavor that complements the banana base perfectly. Enjoy it warm from the oven, and it’s bound to become a household favorite!
What You’ll Need to make Banana Crumb Cake
Ingredients
- sugar
- ripe bananas
- milk
- self-rising flour
- light or dark brown sugar
- unsalted butter
- eggs
- vanilla extract
How to Make Banana Crumb Cake
To start this unbelievable Banana Crumb Cake, peel the bananas and add them to a mixing bowl.
Mash bananas slightly and add granulated sugar to the mixing bowl and blend with an electric mixer until the bananas are liquified.
Add softened butter to the banana mixture and beat well.
Add flour, eggs, milk, and vanilla extract and blend well.
Spray two 8 x 8 pans with cooking spray.
Make the crumb topping by adding a cup of flour, a stick of butter, and a cup of brown sugar to a separate medium bowl.
Cut in the butter using a long-tined fork or a
Add chopped walnuts and stir together with a fork.
Pour 1/4 of the batter into each prepared pan to create each bottom cake layer.
Top each batter layer with 1/4 of the crumb mixture.
Divide the remaining batter and crumb topping in half and top each cake with a batter layer and a crumb layer.
Bake at 350 for about 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
Store leftover Banana Crumb Cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. You can also freeze leftovers for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before serving.
Notes for making Banana Crumb Cake
- Whenever you have bananas going brown, place in a plastic baggie and mash. Write on the baggie how many bananas are in each bag. If you want to simplify baking Banana Crumb Cake – add three to a bag! When you are ready to bake, thaw before using.
- For an even more indulgent cake, top your banana crumb cake with a simple vanilla glaze. Make by combining 1 cup of powdered sugar with 1–2 tablespoons of milk and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and drizzling it over the cooled cake.
- Adding spices create a further dimension and depth of flavor: add 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon and/or 1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg to the streusel topping.
- For an extra moist cake, use buttermilk instead of whole milk.
- To make your own self-rising flour, simply add 1 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt for EACH cup of all-purpose flour.
- To soften cold butter, microwave one cube of butter in wrapper for approx 1 minute 30 seconds at 20% power. You may need more or less time depending on your microwave. It can take up to 4 minutes to soften. Be careful not to melt the butter! Microwaving at such low power gives you the best control.
More Recipes You’ll Love Using Bananas:
- Healthy Banana Pancakes
- How To Make Banana Bread
- Gluten-Free Banana Nut Muffins
- Bananas in Red Stuff (a.k.a Strawberry Glaze)
- Caramel Banana Pie (a.k.a Easy Banoffee Pie)
- How To Make Homemade Banana Pudding From Scratch
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup chopped nuts, optional
- 2 cups self-rising flour
- 1 stick butter
- 2 eggs
- 3 bananas
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Crumb Topping
- 1 stick butter
- 1 cup dark or light brown sugar
- 1 cup flour
Instructions
- Spray two loaf pans or 8×8 pans with cooking spray.
- Place peeled bananas in a mixing bowl and add sugar. Mix until bananas are liquefied.3 bananas, 2 cups granulated sugar
- Add butter and mix until creamed together with the banana mixture.1 stick butter
- Add all other ingredients and blend well.1 cup milk, 1 cup chopped nuts, optional, 2 cups self-rising flour, 2 eggs, 1 tsp vanilla extract
- In a medium bowl, place all of the topping ingredients. Cut together with a long-tined fork until well blended.1 stick butter, 1 cup dark or light brown sugar, 1 cup flour
- Pour 1/4 of the cake batter into each pan and top with 1/4 of the crumb mixture.
- Pour in the remaining batter and top with the remaining crumb mixture.
- Bake for 45 minutes to an hour at 350. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
I’m making this right now—-without the crumb topping!
Wish me luck.
I made this last night and it didn’t come out quite right. I was almost out of baking powder and didn’t use enough so that was probably part of the problem. It turned out like banana bread pudding rather than cake. It is good, though. I like bread pudding and it was just for me so, fortunately, it’s not a big disappointment… just a puzzle! 🙂
You know what’s a really yummy variation on this? I made this without the crumbs (so just the banana batter), and baked it in a 9×13 casserole for 45 minutes at 350. Then after it cooled, I put a brown sugar buttercream frosting on it, and oh my gosh is it good. The cake is dense and moist, and the sweetness from the bananas really goes well with the salt in the frosting. Here’s the frosting recipe, if anyone wants to try it:
Mix 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1 Tbsp vanilla extract, 1/4 cup of butter (room temperature), and 1 tsp of sea salt (you can use kosher or table salt, but you might have to adjust the amount to taste). Gradually mix in 2 cups of powdered sugar alternately with 4 Tbsp of milk until the frosting is well mixed and creamy.
That does sound really good!!!
Christy, can I use frozen bananas? I just put some in the freezer earlier this week. Love your blog, love your cookbook.
Thanks.
Jacque
I don’t see a response here from Christy but I can say that I use frozen bananas all the time in my banana bread. Have not made this yet but plan on soon and I will use them then. Try it because I really think it should work.
Christy,
This recipe sounds really yummy and I look forward to making it!! It reminds me of a time when my children were babies and I did not have enough bananas to make some banana nut bread so I substituted some baby food jarred bananas. That bread was sooo moist that I changed my recipe! So next time you are in a pinch and your bananas aren’t ripe enough, give it a try.
Thanks for all you do.
Kathy
Oh my! This tutorial just really touched me. First, our daughter loves bananas so I’m going to have to make this for her very soon. Second, the story of how you named your home is very special. I like the idea of naming your home. It really gives a sense of the word “home”. Home is a special place that we spend most of our time with our family. Home is a resting place and a place to feel secure in this hectic world we live in. Where we live is just a building, but what we make of our surroundings is what makes a home. Third, my Grandma had a hydrangea bush…..a blue one. During the summer she would cut the large blooms, place them in a large brandy sniffer, and sit it on her kitchen table. Oh, this brings back such fond memories of my Grandma. She passed away 20 years ago, but her memory will always be with me. I have two hydrangea bushes, small ones, but someday they will be as big as the one my Grandma had…….and yes, I do have a blue one. : ) Thanks for sharing! May God bless you & your family!
Christy,
I LOVE this recipe! I made it for my household ( total of 8 right now) and had to make it 2 more times that same week!
I just got my copy of your cookbook (FINALLY) and just have to gush about it….now mind you, I’m married to an executive chef (who thinks he knows it all), he’s a yankee (but i don’t hold that against him) and I have to say out of the literally hundreds of cookbooks he and I have collected over our 16 year marriage YOURS is my FAVORITE. I love the way it’s written as if you were actually sittin’ here talking with me. The recipes are like the ones I grew up on. I no longer have my mother with me and the woman at church ( we all called her Mama Ruby) who practically raised me (helped that her daughter and I have been best friends since we was born) cooks just like your recipes. Thank you for bringing my childhood back to me. I’ve read the cookbook twice since it arrived yesterday. The first time I cried at the memories you talked about cuz I can remember some almost like that in my childhood. The second time I read it (today), I smiled with those memories..Thank you!!! The most important question is….when’s the next book coming???
Thank you so much for your website and friendship. Keep it comin’ girl!