This coffee banana cake is like the best banana cake you’ve ever had with a rich coffee espresso flavoring mixed in. A soft, moist banana coffee cake base topped with a sweet espresso frosting.
This banana coffee cake, like this pear and raspberry cake, can be eaten as a decadent breakfast cake, or be served as a dessert. It is topped with the espresso buttercream but also tastes delicious with this hazelnut buttercream.
For breakfast, pair this with a peanut butter coffee latte or a pistachio latte.
For dessert, pair it with a dessert cocktail like this gin espresso martini or this baileys latte.
Is This Banana Coffee Cake Like Regular Coffee Cake?
No, it’s a bit different.
Classic coffee cake is made with a cinnamon flavoured base and streusel crumb topping. It doesn’t actually have any coffee in it.
This banana coffee cake is more like a regular cake with banana + coffee flavoring. It definitely tastes like coffee!
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Why This Is The Best Coffee Banana Cake
- Soft, moist cake. Sour cream and ripe bananas make this cake extra soft and moist.
- Banana + Coffee. Banana and coffee flavors make a great combo, especially for breakfast!
- The espresso frosting is amazing! It has a powerful espresso flavor without being overly sweet. You could eat the frosting all on its own.
Ingredients
- Bananas: When baking with bananas, always choose bananas that are brown or almost black. These add the most sweetness and moisture to the cake.
- Sour cream: If needed, you can substitute this with plain greek yogurt.
- Espresso Powder: Use a quality espresso powder for the best taste. An instant cappuccino powder also works well.
Instructions
Step 1: Set the oven to 350F and prepare a 9” round springform pan. Beat the sugar and butter together.
Step 2: Beat in the sour cream, egg and vanilla.
Step 3: Mix in the mashed bananas.
Step 4: Mix together the flour, baking soda, salt and espresso powder.
Step 5: Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until just combined. Pour into the pan and bake for 55 - 70 minutes until a toothpick comes out mostly clean.
Step 6: For the espresso buttercream, beat the butter with a hand mixer for 4-5 minutes until light and fluffy. Gradually whisk in the powdered sugar, followed by the vanilla and espresso. Cover and refrigerate.
When the cake is done, let it cool to room temperature. Then put it in the fridge to chill for an hour before frosting it.
Apply the frosting, dust with a sprinkle of powdered sugar and enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Use a kitchen scale. It is hard to accurately measure flour without a scale. It is easy to accidentally add too much, making your cake drier. A kitchen scale is a super useful tool to invest in if you bake a lot.
- Store leftovers in the fridge. Stir leftover cake in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
Related Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Coffee Banana Cake
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 16 pieces 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Delicious, soft coffee banana cake with a rich coffee espresso flavoring mixed in. Topped with a rich espresso buttercream frosting.
Ingredients
- Coffee Banana Cake:
- 1 ½ cup granulated sugar (150g)
- ⅔ cup butter (150g)
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 eggs
- 4 tsp vanilla
- 1 ⅓ cup very ripe bananas (about 4 bananas), mashed
- 2 ⅓ cups flour (280g)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp espresso powder
- Espresso Frosting:
- ½ cup butter (112g)
- 1 ½ tbsp espresso, or very strong coffee
- ½ tsp vanilla
- 1 ½ cup icing sugar (180g)
Instructions
- Set the oven to 350F. Line a round 9” round springform pan with parchment paper.
- Using an electric mixer, beat the sugar and butter together until smooth in a large mixing bowl.
- Beat in the sour cream, egg, and vanilla. Beat until just combined.
- Mix in the mashed bananas.
- In a medium mixing bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, salt and espresso powder.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing only until just combined.
- Pour into the baking pan. Bake in the oven for 55 to 70 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
- While the cake is baking, make the frosting. First, add boiling water to prepare the espresso according to the instructions of the instant espresso powder you are using. Note that espresso powder was used for baking the cake, but for the frosting, it is liquid espresso made from the instant powder.
- Using a hand mixer, whisk the butter for 4 to 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Gradually whisk in the icing sugar until combined, followed by the espresso and vanilla extract. Don’t over mix.
- Put the frosting in the fridge for a couple hours to chill.
- Wait until the banana espresso cake has completely cooled to room temperature. Then put it in the fridge for about another hour until cool before applying the frosting.
- Apply frosting and dust with icing sugar (optional). Serve.
Notes
- Use a kitchen scale. It is hard to accurately measure flour without a scale. It is easy to accidentally add too much, making your cake drier. A kitchen scale is a super useful tool to invest in if you bake a lot.
- Store leftovers in the fridge. Stir leftover cake in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 piece
- Calories: 368
- Sugar: 29.5g
- Sodium: 290mg
- Fat: 19.1g
- Saturated Fat: 10.8g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6.5g
- Trans Fat: 0.7g
- Carbohydrates: 47.2g
- Fiber: 1.3g
- Protein: 3.6g
- Cholesterol: 67mg
Keywords: espresso cake, breakfast cake
Donna Reidland
This looks amazing! So much better than plain banana bread or cake.