Sour Cream Banana Coffee Cake

Banana coffee cake is the perfect way to use up those ripe bananas on your counter. This recipe takes things up a notch with a chocolate-nut layer that adds flavor and texture to every bite. Whether you serve it for breakfast, brunch, or dessert, this cake is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser.

Why You’ll Love This Banana Coffee Cake Recipe

• Delicious layers. The chocolate-nut mixture creates beautiful layers of flavor throughout the cake.
• Moist texture. Sour cream and ripe bananas ensure a soft, tender crumb.
• Versatile. Great for breakfast, brunch, or dessert.
• Easy to make. Simple ingredients and straightforward steps make this recipe approachable for all skill levels.

What You’ll Need

For ingredient quantities and full instructions, see the recipe card below.

• Chocolate chips – Mini chocolate chips work best here as their smaller size ensures they distribute evenly throughout the layers, giving you a perfect balance of chocolate in every bite. If you don’t have mini chips, you can try using normal chips or chop them (or a chocolate bar) into smaller pieces.
• Nuts – I most often use pecans, but feel free to substitute walnuts, hazelnuts, or another favorite. For more flavor, toast them first. Learn more: How to Toast Nuts
• Cinnamon – There’s cinnamon in both the filling and cake. If yours has been in the cabinet for a while, give it a sniff to make sure it still smells fragrant and strong.
• All-purpose flour – As always, measure using a digital kitchen scale if possible. Otherwise, use the spoon and sweep method. Learn more: How to Measure Flour
• Baking powder and baking soda – Not sure if yours are still effective? Here’s how to test them.
• Salt
• Unsalted butter – Let this soften before mixing.
• Granulated sugar and brown sugar – The combination of sugars provides sweetness and moisture.
• Eggs – Set these out along with the butter so they can come to room temperature. They’ll mix more easily and give your cake a better texture. I recommend baking with large eggs.
• Bananas – You’ll need about 2/3 cup of mashed ripe banana, so count on needing 2 or 3 medium bananas.
• Sour cream – Let this come to room temperature, too. Full-fat sour cream works best. Greek yogurt is a good substitute here if you don’t have sour cream.

How to Make Banana Coffee Cake

• Make the chocolate-nut layer. In a small bowl, combine the chocolate chips, pecans, sugar, and cinnamon. Set aside.
• Prepare for baking. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a Bundt pan or a tube pan with a fixed bottom.
• Combine dry ingredients. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

• Mix the wet ingredients. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in the mashed bananas and sour cream until fully combined.
• Finish mixing. Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture, mixing just until combined.

• Assemble the cake. Sprinkle about a third of the chocolate-nut mixture on the bottom of the prepared pan. Drop half of the cake batter by spoonfuls into the pan. Sprinkle with half of the remaining chocolate-nut mixture. Top with remaining cake batter, followed by remaining chocolate-nut mixture.
• Bake. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a pick inserted into the center comes out clean.
• Cool and serve. Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Invert the cake onto a wire rack, then invert again onto a cake plate for serving.