With no added sugar, this yummy banana cake is healthy enough for breakfast, and the crunchy streusel topping makes it a treat at any time!
We’re usually pretty good at eating bananas before they get too brown, but somehow there was a bunch that was getting past its best lurking in the fruit bowl, and something had to be done.
Baking with brown bananas – banana cake
Of course the obvious solution to a brown banana problem is cake of some sort. And especially now that my daughter Kipper is on holiday from school, baking banana cake seemed like an excellent idea all round.
If you’re an avid reader of Family-Friends-Food, you’ll know that I try to keep my baked goods lower in refined sugar when Kipper is likely to be involved. Since bananas are naturally quite sweet, they’re a good starting point for lower sugar baking. In this instance, we adapted the recipe for banana and blueberry muffins, and added a deliciously crunchy streusel topping, sweetened only with date syrup, to the top of our banana bread.
Ingredients in banana cake with streusel topping
To make a loaf of this delicious banana bread yourself, you’ll need the following ingredients:
For the cake batter
- Butter or non-dairy spread – depending on whether you want the cake to be dairy or dairy-free
- Ripe bananas – the browner and spottier the better!
- 1 egg + 1 egg yolk – you can use the white in the crunchy topping – see below
- Milk or non-dairy alternative – I used oat milk
- Plain flour – also called all-purpose flour
- Baking powder – for a nice light texture
- Cinnamon – yum!
For the streusel topping
- Butter or non-dairy spread
- Date syrup – this adds a little natural sweetness and helps to stick the topping ingredients together
- Plain flour
- Porridge oats
- Cinnamon
- Egg white – this helps to hold the streusel together so the yummy crunchy crumbles don’t all fall off when you slice the cake.
You can add egg white to any streusel/crumble, and it works like a charm! Of course, if you like it extra crumbly, just leave the egg white out.
Jobs for little kitchen assistants!
Kipper was able to mash the bananas with a fork herself, and she carefully mixed up the liquid ingredients. Once we added the flour though, the batter became quite stiff, so I had to hold her hand and help with the stirring. She also helped to crumble the streusel topping onto the top of the banana cake. And of course the most important job – licking the mixing bowl clean!
The finished banana cake made a wonderful afternoon snack. It tastes plenty sweet enough even without any added sugar, and we both thoroughly enjoyed it.
Banana cake – Turn it into a pud!
After Kipper had gone to bed, I had another slice of banana cake. I was in the mood for a comforting pudding, so I warmed it up slightly, and ate it with ice-cream and some extra date syrup drizzled over. Delicious!
FAQ and top tips for banana cake
- Is this cake vegan?
No, although this cake is vegetarian, and can be made dairy free, it does contain eggs, and is not vegan. - Is the banana cake gluten free?
As written, this recipe is not gluten-free. However you can substitute a gluten-free flour blend for the plain flour, and make a gluten-free version of the cake. Just make sure that the oats you use in the topping are certified gluten-free. - The cake has no added sugar – is it sweet?!
Yes! Although it’s not as sweet as other cakes, the bananas are naturally sweet, and the cinnamon also gives a lovely sweet flavour. The date syrup in the topping also adds some natural sugars to this lovely cake. - Can you freeze this cake?
Yes! Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and foil, and freeze for up to three months. You can also slice first, and put a piece of baking paper between each slice. This makes it much easier to defrost just a few slices at a time as required, rather than the whole cake. - How many people does this banana cake serve?
The recipe makes one standard size loaf cake, which I find cuts nicely into about 10 slices. So that’s one slice each for 10 people, or more than one slice for fewer people!
More brown bananas?
I suspect Kipper is going to avoid eating bananas for a while, just so that we end up with more brown ones to make another loaf of banana cake! I might even join her…
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📖 Recipe
Streusel topped banana bread
Ingredients
For the cake batter
- 100 g butter or non-dairy spread
- 2 ripe bananas
- 1 egg + 1 egg yolk (use the white in the topping – see below)
- 50 ml milk or non-dairy alternative (I used oat)
- 225 g plain flour
- 1½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
For the streusel topping
- 40 g butter or non-dairy spread
- 3 tablespoon date syrup
- 125 g plain flour
- 50 g porridge oats
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 egg white
Instructions
- Line a loaf tin with greaseproof paper or baking parchment. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
- Melt the butter/spread and set aside to cool.
- Thoroughly mash the bananas with a fork. Stir in the whole egg, egg yolk, milk and melted butter/spread and mix well.
- Sift in the flour, baking powder and cinnamon and gently fold the wet and dry ingredients together. Once well mixed, with no traces of flour, spoon into the prepared loaf tin and set aside while you make the topping.
- For the topping, melt the butter or non-dairy spread and the date syrup together until liquid (they will not amalgamate). Mix the flour, oats and cinnamon in a bowl and pour the warm liquid mixture over. Stir well.
- Gently stir in the egg white. The mixture will clump together into into a stiff dough.
- Crumble the streusel ‘dough’ over the top of the cake batter in the baking tin. Press down lightly.
- Bake the banana bread at 180°C (350°F) for around 45 minutes, until the top is golden and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. If the top of the cake seems to be browning too quickly, cover loosely with foil while the inside of the cake continues to cook.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack. Slice and serve!
Notes
Nutrition
More recipes using ripe bananas
If you’re inundated with ripe bananas, how about trying:
- Strawberry banana bread – a delicious loaf made with ripe bananas and fresh summer strawberries
- Easy banana scones – quick and delicious, a perfect teatime treat!
- Banana flapjacks with dark chocolate – an indulgent, but still healthy, snack.
Izzy
I live in the USA. What is plain flour and what is porridge oats? This recipe looks yummy and I have bananas I need to use up.
Helen
Hi Izzy. Plain flour is all-purpose flour. Porridge oats are quick-cook oats. I hope you enjoy the cake!
Natalie Gardner
Love the idea of the topping and serving it with ice cream. So obvious, but for some reason never crossed my mind :-).
Helen
Thanks Natalie! Everything is better with ice-cream 😉
Diana
Love how bananas are naturally sweet and you can bake with them without adding any sugar! And I love date syrup!
Christine
This sounds delicious, but I live in the USA & I’m not familiar with date syrup in fact I’ve not heard of it, can. I substitute honey?
Helen
Hi Christine. It should be available in the USA. It’s sometimes called silan. You could try your local natural foods store, or if not, you can find it on Amazon. All the best, Helen.
Kavey F
Really like this idea of streusel topping on a cake, I’ve never tried it. And I do adore banana bread cakes!
Helen
Thanks Kavey. You should give it a go – I love a crumbly topping! Much easier than mucking about with icing, too.
Jemma @ Celery and Cupcakes
I love baking banana bread when I’ve got a load of over ripe bananas that need using up. The streusel topping looks lovely!
Helen
Thanks Jemma. I think it’s the best thing to do with over ripe bananas!