Healthier Banana Bread Coffee Cake

On July 4th, my family decided to drive out and find a nice hiking trail at Mount Rainier for a family adventure—but so did the rest of Washington state residents, it seemed. After a few hours, we ended up back at home with nothing but a few pictures along a riverbank and four overripe, extremely smushed bananas (thanks to Pumpkin’s incessant fidgeting in the back seat).

No need to worry, though! The bananas were put to good use with these banana bread coffee cake squares: luxuriously moist and naturally sweet from the ripe bananas, Greek yogurt, and maple syrup (the extra sprinkle of sugar is not optional in my opinion, but leave it out if you must).

Healthier Banana Bread Coffee Cake
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 45 mins
Yield: 16 slices

Ingredients
For the cake:

• 400 g very ripe bananas (3-4 large)
• 30 g maple syrup
• 45 g unsalted butter, melted
• 1 large egg
• ½ tsp almond extract
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 120 g fat free Greek yogurt
• 180 g all-purpose flour
• 1½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• ½ tsp cinnamon

For the streusel:

• 80 g rolled oats
• 40 g maple syrup
• 40 g unsalted butter, melted
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• 40 g pecans, chopped
• 1-2 tbsp granulated sugar (optional, for sprinkling)
  
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line an 8x8 or 9x9 square pan with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, use a fork or balloon whisk to mash bananas well.
3. Add maple syrup, melted butter, egg, almond extract, vanilla extract, and Greek yogurt. Whisk until well combined.
4. Sift in the remaining dry ingredients and whisk again until just combined and no lumps remain. Pour batter into the lined pan and use the back of a spatula to smooth out the top.
5. Create the streusel topping by mixing together the rolled oats, maple syrup, butter, salt, cinnamon, and pecans in a bowl. Feel free to double the ingredients if you like a thicker layer of crumble!
6. Evenly sprinkle streusel topping over the entire banana bread. For extra crunch and sweetness, sprinkle 1-2 tbsp of granulated sugar over the streusel as well.
7. Bake in oven for 40-45 minutes. Let cool for 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving warm or at room temperature with a cup of coffee!

Per slice: 133 calories: 19.8 g carbs; 4.7 g fat; 3 g protein