{recipe} Banana Cake with Coconut Almond Crumble

Once again I found myself with a bunch of rotten bananas and a serious hankering for something sweet. But I just couldn’t face another banana bread yet, and plus I felt I needed an excuse to have something in the house that would make it reasonable to put a whole bunch of ice cream on.

And lo, this wonderful cake was born.

This is definitely a close relative of banana bread, but the coconutty crumb topping puts it over the edge so I think you can reasonably serve it as either a brunch or dessert item. Or, you could just like eat the whole thing over the course of a couple of days by yourself, as I did.

It would be great with whipped cream too. Mmmm. Whipped cream.

(Can you tell I’m pregnant?)

You can also make this as muffins, just cut down the baking time a bit.

RECIPE: Banana Cake with Coconut Almond Crumble
makes one 10 inch cake or 12 muffins

INGREDIENTS:

for the cake:

• 3 large overripe bananas, mashed
• 3/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon

for the coconut almond crumble topping:

• 1/2 cup lightly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup rolled oats (not quick cooking)
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• 1/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut
• 2 Tblsp flour
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 4 Tblsp butter, cut in chunks

METHOD:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a 10 inch springform pan with cooking spray and set aside.
• Mix bananas, brown sugar, egg, oil, and vanilla with a spoon to combine.
• Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Stir just to combine without overmixing.
• Pour batter into prepared pan.
• In a small bowl, combine all ingredients of the crumble topping except the butter. Add the butter and use your fingers to make a crumbly texture, with butter pieces about the size of lentils. Distribute over the top of the batter and gently press down with your hands.
• Bake about 45 minutes, until a knife inserted comes out clean.
• Cool for 10 minutes, then slide a knife around the edge of the springform pan. Remove ring and use a spatula to transfer the cake to a plate.