Easy Moist Banana Crumb Cake

Moist, rich, buttery, easy. These are some of the words I use to describe this banana crumb cake! Just mix up the batter with a spoon, top with the streusel, and pop it in the oven. You’ll be eating banana cake an hour after you’ve pulled out the ingredients and I won’t tell anyone if you lick the plate. It’ll be our secret.

While I’m never shy about pulling out the mixer and creaming up some butter and sugar for a cake or for cookies, I do love a recipe where I can just stir it all together with a spoon. This cake isn’t quite a one-bowl recipe (like my Chocolate Cherry Oatmeal Cookies), but it’s close! And it’s just as amazing as my mom’s Fresh Apple Cake!

What can I say?

There is just something about transforming black and nasty bananas into awesome cake that makes me happy. 🙂

And by black, I mean black!

If your bananas aren’t mostly black with just a little yellow remaining, wait another day or two, because those bananas are going to be even better for cake once they are completely mushy and just about turning into puddles on your counter. That is when they will give up every bit of goodness to the cake and not keep it to themselves. We’re not looking for dry banana cake! We want easy moist banana cake.

What we don’t want is selfish bananas. Just say no. 😉

Once your bananas are in a giving mood, the cake comes together in a snap. I first made this six or seven years ago, and I knew I had a winner when I had mixed the batter before the oven had even finished heating. That’s how simple this banana cake is to make! But the real test was how everyone liked it.

Was it both easy and yummy or did it need some more testing?

Then I pulled it out of the oven and the family just about inhaled it. Apparently it was yummy. Double win! Since then this cake has been in rotation to use up the black bananas, along with Banana Bread and a couple of other banana desserts I have in my ‘tried and true’ file.

Now that I’ve shared with y’all, I hope you give it a try and love it as much as we do!

– Happy Baking, Annemarie

Print Recipe

4.67 from 3 votes

Easy Moist Banana Crumb Cake

This easy moist banana cake with a buttery crumb topping is a great way to use up those overripe black bananas on your counter!

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: 16 pieces

Calories: 325kcal

Author: Just a Little Bit of Bacon

Ingredients

Crumb Topping

• 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1 cup (5 oz) all-purpose flour
• 8 tbsp (4 oz) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes

Banana Cake

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp table salt
• 4 large very ripe bananas
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 8 tbsp (4 oz) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9x13 baking pan.
  

Crumb Topping

• In a large bowl, mix the flour and brown sugar together. Add butter and work it into the flour mixture until well blended and the topping clumps together.

Banana Cake

• In a medium bowl mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Then, in a large bowl whisk together the peeled bananas and sugar until smooth. Whisk in the melted butter, eggs, and vanilla. Add the flour mixture to the bowl. Fold in the flour with a large spoon or spatula until just combined.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan and top evenly with the crumb mixture. Bake for 45-50 minutes, testing with a toothpick for doneness. (Toothpick should come out mostly clean, with a few moist crumbs.) Allow the cake to cool for 5-10 minutes, then cut and serve.

Notes

• Bananas: If your bananas are ready, but you're not ready to make the cake, just peel them and put them in a freezer bag and freeze until it's time to make the cake. You can freeze them for up to one month. When it's time to use them, let the bananas thaw completely first.
• Measuring Flour: Either use a scale or use the scoop and sweep method where you scoop up the flour with your cup and sweep off the excess.

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