Banana Bread with Cinnamon & Sugar Crumb Topping

If banana bread and coffee cake had a baby this would definitely be their golden child! I first tried this delicious bread a few months ago when my sister made it for a family gathering, it was instantly a favorite! This makes a wonderful gift for a friend or neighbor and is a comforting treat to enjoy with afternoon coffee or tea. It is a great way to use up ripe bananas that you have hanging around. This recipe was adapted from A Latte Food with a few tweaks. I hope that you enjoy it!

Yield: 2 loaves or 1 bundt cake

Ingredients:

For banana bread:

3 medium or large ripe bananas

2 TBSP brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

2 TBSP sour cream or Greek yogurt

Crumb topping:

1 tsp cinnamon

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup brown sugar

6 TBSP butter, cold

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease two 8 x 4 inch loaf pans. You can also one 10 inch bundt pan, which is what I recently used and it came out beautifully. If you use the bundt pan, be sure to put the crumb topping in first and batter in second so that you can invert it later.

2. In a small bowl, mash bananas, brown sugar, vanilla extract, and ground cinnamon together. I find it is easiest to use a fork to mash the bananas.

3. In a large bowl, cream butter and granulated sugar together until light and fluffy using a hand held or stand mixer.

4. Add in eggs, one at a time, until mixed.

5. Into the bowl with the butter and sugar, sift in flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix until combined and add in sour cream or greek yogurt.

6. Pour in mashed banana mixture and mix until combined. If using loaf pans, pour mixture into 2 greased loaf pans. If using the bundt pan, make crumble topping and put into the bottom of the bundt pan first, then add batter on top.

   To make the crumb topping:

   1. In a small bowl, combine cinnamon, flour and brown sugar. Cut butter into small cubes and “cut in butter’ by hand or with a pastry cutter until butter is mixed into the flour mixture and resembles coarse crumbs.

   2. Sprinkle crumb topping evenly over the batter in both loaf pans.

   3. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a knife comes out clean with a few crumbs stuck to it. If using a bundt pan it will take a little longer, about 50 minutes to an hour.

   4. Allow to cool for 20 minutes then invert from pans. Slice and enjoy!