banana crumb cake

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Got bananas?

We almost always have a pile of bananas that is ripening faster than we can eat them, so I end up having a LOT of smoothie breakfasts. It’s a good thing I like smoothies, but sometimes I like to figure out new and exciting ways to cook or bake with ripe bananas. Something besides banana bread. Not that banana bread isn’t magical.

Which brings me to this banana crumb cake. Oh my. It’s good. I like it in the morning with my coffee, or in the afternoon with a cup of tea. It would make a great after school snack for kiddos, or a yummy lunchbox treat.

Note: I’ve made this a few times, and this last time I totally forgot to add the vegan buttermilk. It still worked and tasted great, so if you don’t happen to have milk or lemons around, no worries. You can still make this cake. It’s a bit more dense without the buttermilk, but completely delicious.

crumb topping:

1 and 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon (I always use Ceylon)

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup cold vegan butter (I use organic Earth Balance)

Place all crumb topping ingredients in a small bowl. Using fingers, work the butter into the dry ingredients to form a crumble. Set aside.

for the cake:

~preheat oven to 350 degrees F. ~

2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon salt

3 very ripe, medium bananas, mashed well

1/4 cup melted vegan butter or vegetable oil

1/4 cup applesauce

1/4 cup soy milk + 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice (mix together and set aside to curdle)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Generously butter a 9″x9″ square cake pan or a 10 inch cast iron skillet. Mix all dry cake ingredients in a large mixing bowl, using a wire whisk.

In a medium bowl, mix all the wet cake ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients in tha large mixing bowl and mix just until incorporated and everything is evenly moistened. Don’t over mix or your cake will become tough.

Using a rubber spatula, scrape cake batter into prepared cake pan/skillet. Scatter crumb topping evenly over the cake.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes in preheated oven. Cake is done when a wooden cooking skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Once cake is done, remove from oven and cool in pan on a wire cooling rack. Cool completely before slicing and serving. This cake is wonderful with a scoop of vegan vanilla ice cream or a dollop of coconut Reddi Wip!

Enjoy!

~Melissa

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