Photo by Julia Gartland
This recipe came to me when I was thinking about what to make for Easter brunch, and after asking around the office, it became clear that coffee cake was a go-to for a lot of people. At the same time, my personal go-to is often banana bread—something that everyone always loves, no matter the occasion.
While I’m definitely not the first to do this, I wanted to make something that felt like a hybrid: a banana bread with the structure and topping of a coffee cake. From there, the Bananas Foster idea came in. I’ve always liked how straightforward those flavors are—caramelized banana, dark rum, butter, and sometimes a little crunch from toasted nuts. It felt like a fun direction to take this recipe in and turn it into something a little more layered and (very) brunch-appropriate.
The cake itself is heavy on the banana and really moist, but I left out the typical sour cream or yogurt since the bananas already do that job. A splash of dark rum in the batter brings in the Bananas Foster element, and instead of walnuts (which you sometimes see in the original dessert), I went with chopped hazelnuts in the streusel for something a little more interesting.
After testing the recipe a few times, I quickly realized it needed more streusel, so I doubled the amount, otherwise it gets lost in the banana cake. If you make the recipe, you might think it looks like a lot but trust me, it’s worth it. Because there are already several components to this, I opt for a simple dusting of powdered sugar rather than a glaze.
What classic recipe would you love to see me put my spin on next?
Test Kitchen Content Creator & Recipe Developer at Food52
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