Back in the Fall, I began tackling recipes that had been loitering in my Favourites folder for way too long (cough Oatmeal Cream Cheese Butterscotch Bars cough). Then Christmas Cookie season took over, and there wasn’t really any extra time for this little project, and it got put on hold.

I’m back with a vengeance with a crazy delicious variation on banana bread that I added to my favourites on August 21, 2009. Yes, friends, almost two and a half years ago. I have no excuse for this, except that when I have freckle-y bananas on the counter I tend to make my Mom’s Banana Muffins and don’t really feel the need to try anything new (p.s. this recipe has been sitting in a post in my Drafts for almost a year – what is wrong with me?).

I made this Banana Coffee Cake a few weeks ago, and gave it to my co-worker Kim in exchange for borrowing Seasons 1-3 of Breaking Bad, but not before sneaking a couple of pieces for myself. It’s so soft and banana-y, but the streusel gives a little crunch on the top that I love. Make this, please. Don’t wait as long as I did!

 Banana Coffee Cake with Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Streusel

Source: Back to the Cutting Board

Yield: 1 9×9 square pan, I cut mine into 16 squares

Ingredients

Streusel

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

2/3 cup brown sugar

1 tbsp ground cinnamon

Cake

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature

1 egg

3 very, very, ripe bananas, mashed

3 tbsp buttermilk (or regular milk will do)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°, and line a 8×8 square baking dish with tin foil. Spray the foil with non-stick spray.
  2. In a small bowl, combine streusel ingredients until well blended.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
  4. In a large bowl, beat together sugar, butter, and egg until fluffy. Add the bananas and buttermilk, and mix again until combined. Stir in dry ingredients until just mixed in.
  5. Spread half of the banana batter in the pan, then sprinkle with half of the streusel mixture. Top with the rest of the banana batter, and the rest of the stresel.
  6. Bake for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean.