Real talk time.
Since we returned from our trip to Disney last month, my cooking game has been in the trash can.
A few surprise dinner magic moments, and the rest has been how about grilled cheese and salad, or grilled cheese and tortilla chips, or dude, can you just eat like a couple of grilled cheese’s please?!
I did do a nice bacon, egg, and cheese burger (coming soon!) one night, and I made a super easy meal plan meal that I packaged up for Dude 1 to eat each night after practice (also coming soon), but mostly I have been on a cereal-is-totally-okay-for-dinner-because-calcium-and-don’t-you-judge-my-life kick.
Which sort of explains why the bananas I bought a week ago made it nearly all the way to slimy this weekend.
I had all of these plans for banana smoothies for The Dudes to come home to after school and every single one of them failed causing me to wake up this past Sunday with a bundle of black bananas on my countertop and some fruit flies rubbing their evil hands together from across the room.
I’m kidding about the flies, but I know they were coming.
Anyway, every good baker knows that ripe bananas means yummy banana bread!
Only, energized by my recent lack of kitchen awesome, I decided something more elegant and enticing was in order. Something more desserty, and less banana-y (technically, I loathe bananas). Something my kids would be excited to consider breakfast (although, I feel like my good mom side is making me warn you that this is not really a breakfast thing if you are trying to be all we-eat-healthy with your fam, this is dessert.).
So I give you Banana Bread Coffee Cake more commonly known amongst my male children as sweet banana bread pan cake…
The alt name, created by Dude 3 who helped me in the creation of this concoction (he mashed bananas and then licked spoons while regaling me with stories of playground football), is quite fitting for non coffee drinkers –sweeter than banana bread, baked in a pan, tasty like cake.
But, truth be told it goes magnificently with coffee as it has more of the dense makeup those of us who are given life by that coffee cake Costco sells know works.
The icing element is optional but strongly encouraged.
As is asking your husband to hide it from you if you’re trying to drop pounds.
The Dudes asked me to make it again already and we barely polished it off yesterday (they took it for lunch every day this week).
Guess I need to go buy some bananas to ignore for a week!
You should too.
Banana Bread Coffee Cake
- For The Cake Bread
- 2 cups flour
- 3 t baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 ripe bananas
- ½ cup butter
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ½ cup milk
- 2 T sour cream
- For the Crumb Topping
- 1 cup butter, sliced
- 2 cups light brown sugar
- 2 cups flour
- 1 t cinnamon
- For the Optional Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 T milk (or flavored liquid coffee creamer)
- Heat oven to 350
- Spray 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray
- Mash bananas in a large bowl
- Beat in butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla
- Add milk and sour cream
- Add flour, baking powder and salt
- For the Topping:
- Combine sugar, flour, and cinnamon in bowl
- Cut in butter with a pastry cutter or a fork
- Pour half of the cake bread batter into pan
- Cover with topping
- Pour on remaining half of batter
- Cover with topping again
- Bake for 30 minutes
- Remove and cover with aluminum foil so top doesn't over brown
- Bake another 20 minutes until center is done
- Remove from oven and let cool
- Mix icing ingredients in a small bowl and pour over top of cooled bread
- Make a cup of coffee, grab your book, and go hide in your bedroom while you devour it!