Upside Down Banana Coffee Cake

This upside down banana coffee cake is the kind of thing you might bake to bring to potluck brunch or a book club gathering. It’s dense, flavorful, not overly sweet, and just plain delicious.

Sort of the perfect cake alongside a cup of coffee, so if you choose to eat this for breakfast I will not judge you (I may be just as guilty after all).

I used this bundt pan to bake in, making this pretty darn cute with basically no effort, but any bundt pan or a square baking pan will do.

Related: One Banana – Banana Bread and 15+ Best Cake Recipes

I am a BIG banana bread fan, and this upside down banana coffee cake recipe, as the name suggests, is like if a coffee cake and a banana bread had a baby.

Oh yes, it’s that good. If you use a bundt pan for baking you’ll get the upside down effect with the crumb topping baking on top, but then being served on the bottom (unless you want to serve your bundt upside down, which I suppose you could do).

However, if that’s just too much for you, you could bake this in a square baking pan with the crumb topping baking and being served on top like a more traditional (American) coffee cake. Up to you. Both ways are divine.

Just see my note in the printable recipe card below for slightly adjusting baking time if you do.

Also, do you already know how to quickly ripen bananas? If not, read this post. It’s easy and can take less than an hour in case of coffee cake emergencies.

And if you’re thinking, “Emma, I don’t have a potluck brunch to go to.” I think you should throw one. Or if you’re thinking, “Emma, I’d love to be in a book club but there isn’t one where I live and/or I haven’t been invited to one.”

I think you sound like the perfect person to start one. Sometimes we have to make the life we want, yes? You got this.

Happy baking, friends! xo. Emma

Get our FREE recipe guide with our most popular recipes of all time!

Get the Guide

Free Popular Recipe Guide

Our top 25 recipes of all time!

Name *

Email *

GDPR Agreement *

• I consent to receive emails from this site. *

Sign Up

4.80 from 5 votes

Print

Get the Recipe

Ingredients

1x2x3x

• ▢ ½ cup butter (softened)
• ▢ ½ cup sugar (brown)
• ▢ ½ cup white sugar (granulated)
• ▢ 2 eggs
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ▢ 3-4 bananas (ripe)
• ▢ ½ cup sour cream (or greek yogurt)
• ▢ 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ▢ ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon baking soda

crumb topping

• ▢ ¼ cup sugar (brown)
• ▢ ½ cup flour
• ▢ 1½ teaspoons cinnamon
• ▢ 3-4 tablespoons butter (cold)

Instructions

• In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars (not the sugar for the crumb topping though, we’ll do that last). Stir in the eggs, vanilla, mashed bananas, and sour cream or greek yogurt. In a second bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Combine the dry ingredients with the wet until a thick batter forms.
• In a medium bowl, make the crumb topping by combining the sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Cut the cold butter into small cubes and add to the bowl. Use a pastry blender or your clean hands to combine. The mixture should be crumbly, but if you press it together in the palm of your hand it should hold together before crumbling again. Similar to a pie crust consistency, but a little dryer.
• In a bundt pan that has been lightly oiled or buttered add the cake batter. Sprinkle the crumb topping over the top. Bake at 350°F for 35-38 minutes. Insert a toothpick into the cake to test if it’s done (it shouldn’t have gooey, unbaked batter stuck to it when you pull it out). Allow to cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes before removing.

Notes

If you want to bake this in a square baking pan, like brownies, you can. Simply aim for 30-35 minutes of bake time instead. Again, it’s best to test with a toothpick as all ovens can be slightly different (especially in high altitude).

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Keywords bananas, bundt cake, coffee cake