Super moist banana bread with a delicious, indulgent layer of streusel in the bread and repeated again with the topping. With two layers of streusel topping, this banana bread is not your Grandma’s.
For my entire life my Mom would bake loaves of banana bread and pass them out at our family gatherings or include them with gifts for our birthday.
I can’t blame her, she saw we looked forward to it and really loved seeing the big smiles that ensued as we unwrapped our baked gifts first and immediately took a sliced. Though she is no longer with us, I know she would have loved this version even better.
Departing from a traditional banana bread recipe wasn’t hard once I decided to marry my favorite streusel topping from my New York Style Coffeecake with my mom’s banana bread. I also decided, unlike my coffeecake, which has the streusel only on the top, to also place a layer of this goodness in-between.
I think I knocked it out of the park when I saw my own kids’ eyes shoot up when taking their first bites.
There is nothing more maddening then buying bananas and having to wait a week for them to be usable, all the while fending everyone in the house off from eating them. So, if you suddenly get an inclination to bake some banana bread and have to buy bananas, look for the bin that has bananas that are very ripe and sold at a discount. They are usually on smaller racks on the side, but sometimes these are on racks by the checkout, so look there as well.
Ingredients for Banana Bread
Bananas: The thing I love the most, besides the banana bread itself, is the fact that you make it using up bananas that have gotten too ripe to eat and would otherwise go in the garbage. Use bananas that have not reached the over-ripe stage or you will end up with a banana bread that doesn’t taste like bananas at all. The real taste comes out when the more the bananas ripen as the sugar content is higher the riper they are.
Egg: I like to bring my eggs to room temperature which should never be done by leaving out as it can take an hour to achieve this. A much faster and safer way is to place your egg/s in a bowl of warm water for 5-10 minutes. Be sure the water is not too hot, or it will cook your egg. When it’s no longer cold to the touch, you know it’s ready. Room temperature yolks blend better with the egg whites which in turn blends more evenly with the batter and helps the dough rise more easily. It’s also easier to half an egg.
Sugar: Because I use dark brown sugar in the streusel, I like to keep white granulated sugar in the bread.
Butter: Leave your butter out and let it get to room temperature before using it in the banana bread mixture, as with the eggs, room temperature butter will just blend better.
Vanilla: Like salt is to adding a savory taste to cooking, vanilla enhances all the other flavors in your baked goods. You don’t really taste a “vanilla” taste, but if you leave it out, your recipe will taste flatter.
Salt: Like vanilla, salt also helps to enhance the flavors in your recipe.
Cinnamon: Ground cinnamon adds that extra depth of warm comfort.
Ingredients for Streusel
Basic pantry staples are all you need for my streusel recipe:
Flour: I have only tried this recipe with all-purpose flour, I think it lets the banana shine through. If you try any of the other specialty flours, let me know.
Brown sugar: Using a higher ratio of brown sugar to granulated sugar helps the streusel clump better. In this recipe I also prefer the slightly richer, more robust taste of the dark brown sugar as opposed to the light which seems to get lost with all the other flavors.
Granulated sugar. Regular granulated sugar balances the streusel.
Salt. The small amount of salt in this recipe balances out the sweetness and keeps the topping from being overly sweet.
Butter. This is what brings the streusel together and makes the crumbly, clumpy crumble topping. Say that fast three times!
Banana Bead with Streusel Topping Instructions
In a small bowl, combine the streusel ingredients, set aside. I like to mix the ingredients together than use my hand and gently create some clumps. I place all the clumps together and gently break them up with a fork into smaller pieces.
Banana Bread Batter Instructions
Mash bananas with a fork or use a blender.
Stir in butter and sugar and mix well.
Whisk in eggs and vanilla extract.
Combine dry ingredients and stir into wet mixture.
Pour half into loaf pan.
Place a layer of streusel.
Pour rest of batter in loaf pan.
Top with remaining streusel.
Bake in oven for 60-70minutes.
Banana Bread with Streusel Topping Questions and Tips
Can I use regular brown sugar for the streusel, I don’t have dark? Yes, you can use the regular, lighter brown sugar.
Why use melted butter instead of chilled? Unlike many other streusel toppings, I use melted butter rather than cold butter. Not only do you save time by not cutting the hard butter in, but you mix it minimally, so you don’t end up with a paste. I use unsalted butter in my recipe to best control the flavor. If you only have salted butter on hand simply omit the salt that is called for in the recipe.
How long can I store this? Wrap and store in the refrigerator or counter for up to 5 days. You can also freeze it for up to 2 months.
What does a cold egg in my recipe do? Eggs are the glue to any recipe and when you add cold eggs you may end up with lumpy batter as the ingredients won’t blend as easily. The recipe may also take longer to bake.
Why shouldn’t I overmix my banana bread? Overmixing your banana bread will produce more gluten which will make your bread denser and more rubber-like.
How do I ripen a banana faster? Place your bananas in a brown paper bag for a couple of days. Be sure to check them daily.
Is there such a thing as a “too ripe” of a banana? Yes, bananas should have uneven brown spotting all over, but not a solid brown or black appearance . We have seen what a super dark bruise on a peel looks like underneath, the banana is darker in color and has a waterier texture. You don’t want there to be too much sugar conversion that your bananas make your recipe runny.
Banana Bread with Streusel Topping
Ingredients
Crumb Topping
- ½ cup dark brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 8 tablespoons butter (1-stick melted)
- 1¼ cup all-purpose flour
Banana Bread
- 1½ very ripe bananas (the riper, the better)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 4 teaspoons butter (½ stick- melted)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
Crumb Topping
- In a small bowl, mix dark brown sugar, flour, ground cinnamon and salt.
- Stir in the melted butter with a fork, then fold in flour making sure to keep the topping in large pieces. If you over blend it will look more like a paste. Set aside.
Banana Bread
- Preheat oven to 350 °F. Spray a loaf pan or butter and lightly flour it.
- In a separate bowl from the crumb topping mixture, combine flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon. Set aside.
- Beat the butter, banana and granulated sugar on high speed until smooth and creamy, add egg and vanilla and continue to beat until mixed. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add the dry ingredients to the batter and mix just until blended. Over blending will result in a heavier cake.
- Pour half of mixture in loaf pan and distribute evenly to the edges. Place half of the crumb topping on.
- Pour remaining batter gently on the top of the streusel, moving the batter to edges with a knife, being careful not to pull the layer of streusel in with it.
- Pour remaining streusel on the top and distribute evenly.
- Bake in oven for 60-70 minutes.
- Tip: I usually loosely cover the loaf pan after 45 minutes so the topping doesn't brown too much.
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