Tastē Tuesday~ Happy New Year! I hope your holidays were healthy and happy. As we embark upon 2017, I wish you a year filled with new beginnings, old friends, and good food.
I have made the following recipe three times in the past six months tin an effort to perfect it. When I first came across it, it looked delicious, but my result just didn't come out like a) the picture showed and b) how I wanted it to and expected it would taste the best. So, I played a couple of more times, changing a few ingredients to lighten up the caloric count just a tad and adjusting some of the instructions. If you have some brown bananas but don't want to make the same regular loaf of banana bread give this a try. It does require a few steps, but it holds up really well in the refrigerator, and a quick trip to the microwave provides a warm goey and hearty breakfast or mid morning treat! The original recipe called for a vanilla glaze on top. Although it looks pretty, I think you will find this cream cheese stuffed cake sweet enough as is.
Triple Layer Banana Coffee Cake
Adapted from Carlsbad Cravings
12-18 servings
INGREDIENTS
Cinnamon Walnut Streusel
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
4 tablespoons cold light butter, cubed
Banana Cake
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup mashed bananas (about 2 large ripe bananas)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup light sour cream
3/4 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)
Cream Cheese Filling
8 ounces 1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup Reserved Batter (see instructions)
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour all inside surfaces of a nonstick bundt pan (Mine is 9.75" x 3.38", a 16 cup/10" capacity tube or bundt pan also works.). Make sure you get all of those nooks and crannies so the cake releases easily from the pan. Set aside.
Cinnamon Walnut Streusel:
In a bowl, add walnuts, flour, brown sugar and cinnamon stirring to combine. Cut in cold butter mixing by hand until the walnuts the mixture resembles small pebbles, retaining a fluffy, granular texture. I don't suggest using a food processor as it is difficult to retain a light and easily spreadable streusel. Set aside in the refrigerator.
Cake:
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
Using a stand or hand mixer, beat butter and sugar until fluffy on medium high speed, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating just until the yellow disappears after each egg. Mix in vanilla and bananas until combined.
Gradually add flour mixture to banana/butter mixture in thirds, alternately with sour cream and Greek yogurt in between each third. Beat until just combined. Measure out 1/4 cup batter and set aside for cream cheese filling. Stir chocolate chips into remaining batter until just combined.
Measure out 1 cup batter (to top cream cheese layer) and spoon the rest of the batter into the prepared pan.
To your now empty mixing bowl, add 1/4 cup reserved batter, cream cheese, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1/4 cup sugar. Beat on medium high speed until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Spoon Cream Cheese Filling over batter and gently smooth, keeping the filling in the center of the bundt pan, not allowing it to touch the sides of the pan. Spread reserved 1 cup of batter evenly over filling.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes. Sprinkle evenly with Cinnamon Walnut Streusel. Bake for an additional 40-45 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean (check for batter, not cream cheese filling). Let baked cake cool on wire rack for 1 hour. Gently invert cake onto a baking sheet, remove pan, and invert back onto cooling rack streusel side up. Let cool to room temperature.
Store in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
Reheat individual slices in microwave and serve warm.
Triple Layer Banana Coffee Cake (printable recipe)
I have made the following recipe three times in the past six months tin an effort to perfect it. When I first came across it, it looked delicious, but my result just didn't come out like a) the picture showed and b) how I wanted it to and expected it would taste the best. So, I played a couple of more times, changing a few ingredients to lighten up the caloric count just a tad and adjusting some of the instructions. If you have some brown bananas but don't want to make the same regular loaf of banana bread give this a try. It does require a few steps, but it holds up really well in the refrigerator, and a quick trip to the microwave provides a warm goey and hearty breakfast or mid morning treat! The original recipe called for a vanilla glaze on top. Although it looks pretty, I think you will find this cream cheese stuffed cake sweet enough as is.
Triple Layer Banana Coffee Cake
Adapted from Carlsbad Cravings
12-18 servings
INGREDIENTS
Cinnamon Walnut Streusel
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
4 tablespoons cold light butter, cubed
Banana Cake
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup mashed bananas (about 2 large ripe bananas)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup light sour cream
3/4 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)
Cream Cheese Filling
8 ounces 1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup Reserved Batter (see instructions)
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour all inside surfaces of a nonstick bundt pan (Mine is 9.75" x 3.38", a 16 cup/10" capacity tube or bundt pan also works.). Make sure you get all of those nooks and crannies so the cake releases easily from the pan. Set aside.
Cinnamon Walnut Streusel:
In a bowl, add walnuts, flour, brown sugar and cinnamon stirring to combine. Cut in cold butter mixing by hand until the walnuts the mixture resembles small pebbles, retaining a fluffy, granular texture. I don't suggest using a food processor as it is difficult to retain a light and easily spreadable streusel. Set aside in the refrigerator.
Cake:
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
Using a stand or hand mixer, beat butter and sugar until fluffy on medium high speed, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating just until the yellow disappears after each egg. Mix in vanilla and bananas until combined.
Gradually add flour mixture to banana/butter mixture in thirds, alternately with sour cream and Greek yogurt in between each third. Beat until just combined. Measure out 1/4 cup batter and set aside for cream cheese filling. Stir chocolate chips into remaining batter until just combined.
Measure out 1 cup batter (to top cream cheese layer) and spoon the rest of the batter into the prepared pan.
To your now empty mixing bowl, add 1/4 cup reserved batter, cream cheese, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1/4 cup sugar. Beat on medium high speed until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Spoon Cream Cheese Filling over batter and gently smooth, keeping the filling in the center of the bundt pan, not allowing it to touch the sides of the pan. Spread reserved 1 cup of batter evenly over filling.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes. Sprinkle evenly with Cinnamon Walnut Streusel. Bake for an additional 40-45 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean (check for batter, not cream cheese filling). Let baked cake cool on wire rack for 1 hour. Gently invert cake onto a baking sheet, remove pan, and invert back onto cooling rack streusel side up. Let cool to room temperature.
Store in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
Reheat individual slices in microwave and serve warm.
Triple Layer Banana Coffee Cake (printable recipe)
I played with the amount of reserved batter to spread over the cream cheese filling. As you can see from this picture, the bottom layer is very thin. Although spreading just 1 cup of batter over the cream cheese filling seems like it will contribute to one very thin layer, the cake rises over the heavier cream cheese filling, so a more robust first layer and a thinner top layer actually contributes to a more even three layer cake. See picture below.
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