Vegan Banana Crumb Cake

Vegan banana crumb cake - a delicious, moist vegan banana cake topped with a crisp pecan crumble topping. This cake is easy to make and very, very moreish!

This vegan banana crumb cake is the ideal cake for snacking on, or even for an indulgent breakfast! It consists of a moist, tender banana cake topped with a crisp, brown sugar pecan streusel.

The combination of soft cake and crisp crumble is extremely moreish and the flavour is incredible!

I guess this would be classed as an American coffee cake. Not a coffee flavoured cake as the name would suggest, but a cake that is made to be served with coffee.

It is generally a simple cake, no buttercream, which is flavoured with cinnamon and topped with streusel. So yeah, I think this vegan banana crumb cake qualifies!

It is adapted from my easy vegan banana bread recipe, which is a great recipe if you want a plain banana bread/cake.

What Do I Need To Make Vegan Banana Crumb Cake?:

Bananas – the more ripe and brown they are the better!

Light brown soft sugar – brown sugar gives the banana cake flavour and extra moisture, but it will still work well with white sugar if you don’t have brown.

Oil and vegan block butter – for the cake you can use a neutral flavoured oil such as sunflower, vegetable or canola oil, or use melted coconut oil or melted vegan block butter. All of these options work well. (Oil might give a sliiightly more moist texture than butter but both are good. The one in the photos was made with sunflower oil).

For the crumble topping you ideally want to use a vegan block butter/margarine rather than the spreadable kind in a tub, which has too high a water content for baking. I like Naturli Vegan Block.

Plain flour – I like this vegan banana cake best made with regular plain white flour but you can also swap about a third of it for wholemeal flour if you like. Or replace the plain flour with white spelt flour.

Non-dairy milk - soy milk is best for baking as it has the highest protein content but any variety will work (except tinned coconut milk).

Cider or white wine vinegar - a little bit of vinegar reacts with the bicarbonate of soda to help the banana cake rise. You could swap it for a teaspoon of lemon juice if you don’t have vinegar.

Baking powder and bicarbonate of soda - these are the raising agents that make the banana cake light and fluffy.

Vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg - I like to add a dash of vanilla extract for extra flavour but you can leave it out if you don’t have it. The cinnamon and nutmeg go really well with the banana flavour, I don't recommend omitting them.

Salt - I find that the flavour of most baked goods is enhanced by the addition of a little bit of salt.

Chopped nuts - I like to add some chopped nuts to the crumble topping for extra flavour and texture but you can omit them if you prefer. I use pecans but any kind of nut will work; hazelnuts would be especially delicious!

How To Make Vegan Banana Crumb Cake:

(For ingredients and full instructions see the recipe card below)

Start by preparing the crumble topping - mix plain flour, light brown soft sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl. Add cold, diced vegan block butter and rub it in using your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs, is clumping together and no lumps of butter remain.

Stir in some chopped nuts then pop the bowl in the fridge while you prepare the cake batter.

To make the cake batter, place plain flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a large bowl and whisk to combine.

Mash the bananas well with a fork then add them to the bowl of flour along with light brown soft sugar, sunflower oil, non-dairy milk, vinegar and vanilla extract.

Whisk until no dry lumps remain but be careful not to over-beat the batter as that can make the cake tough.

Pour the batter into a greased and lined 23 cm / 8 in square cake tin and spread it level. Sprinkle the crumble topping evenly over the top.

Bake the cake for 40-45 minutes until it is firm to the touch and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

 

Top Tips:

For the best results make sure that you follow the recipe closely. As always, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients using the gram measurements (with a digital scale), rather than the cup conversions. Cup measurements are simply not accurate enough for baking and I cannot guarantee the best results if you use them.

For the crumble topping it is best to use a vegan BLOCK butter or margarine, not the spreadable kind in a tub. I like Naturli Vegan Block.

Don’t over-mix the batter as that can make the cake tough, just mix it until no dry lumps remain.

I like to use pecans in the crumble toping but you can use any kind you like. Hazelnuts would be lovely.

The nuts in the crumble topping can be omitted if you prefer.

The cake is ready when it is firm to the touch and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs but no wet batter.

This vegan banana crumb cake is best eaten on the day it is baked. Any leftovers will keep in an airtight container for up to 5 days but the crumble topping will become less crisp.

Can I Freeze This Vegan Banana Crumb Cake?:

Yes, any leftover cake can be frozen in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to three months. Allow to defrost at room temperature.

The crumble topping will become less crisp but it will still be tasty!

More Vegan Banana Recipes:

• Fluffy vegan banana pancakes
• Banana bread cinnamon rolls
• Easy vegan banana bread
• Vegan chunky monkey ice cream
• Banana porridge with blueberry compote
• Vegan chocolate chip banana bread
• Vegan biscoff banana bread
• Vegan chocolate banana bread
• Vegan banana scones
• Vegan banana cake with peanut butter chocolate frosting
• Vegan banana blondies

If you tried this recipe let me know how it went! Rate it, leave a comment or tag @domestic_gothess on Instagram and hashtag it #domesticgothess

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