What do you do when you have overripe bananas sitting on your counter? You bake with them, of course. As luck would have it, I saw this recipe for Banana Crumb Coffee Cake just as my bananas were starting to go from edible to mush. A quick check of the pantry and fridge showed I had all the ingredients on hand, so I set to baking.



What a cake. I loved the subtle banana flavor mixed with the traditional coffee cake. This was moist and delicious, just perfect to have with your morning coffee or tea (I don't drink either, by the way) or as a sweet treat.

A few notes:

1. I don't like using my stand mixer so I used my hand mixer. It worked fine.
2. I don't own a pastry cutter, so I attempted to break up the butter for the streusel topping by hand. It didn't work. I ended up just mixing it together as best I could and sprinkling it on top of the cake. The butter melts as the cake cooks, so it didn't matter.
3. I tried to divide the batter in half, sprinkling some of the streusel in the middle before topping with the remaining batter. It didn't work. It also didn't matter.
4. Steve is lactose intolerant, so he asked me not to glaze the cake (since the glaze contains milk). And, let's be honest, this is sugary enough without adding more sugar on top. You won't miss it. We certainly didn't.
5. This makes a TON of food, which makes it great if you're having a party or know people who will take a few slices off your hands. We kept four pieces for ourselves and gave away the other 12 (3 sets of 4 pieces each). We had some very thankful friends and family, let me tell you.

Banana Crumb Coffee Cake
As seen on Tide and Thyme

2 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 ripe bananas
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup milk

For the streusel:
12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) cold butter, cubed
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon

For the glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2 tablespoons milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9×13 baking dish with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. Set aside.

In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.

In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or a large bowl with a hand mixer), mash bananas until they become liquified. Mix in butter until combined and then mix in sugar, eggs, milk, and vanilla.

With mixer running on low, carefully add flour and mix until just combined.

Prepare streusel by combining all the ingredients in a medium bowl, cut the butter in with a pastry cutter until a coarse crumb forms.

Pour 1/2 of the batter into the prepared pan. Top with 1/3 of the crumb mixture. Cover the filling with the remaining batter and top with remaining crumb mixture. Don't worry if this doesn't work - it didn't for me and it still tasted great.

Bake for 50-55 minutes until the center is set and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for at least 1 hour.

Mix together the glaze ingredients and drizzle over the cake before serving.

Whenever I buy buttermilk for a recipe there's always a lot leftover. Usually I can find ways to use it up but this time SP called dibs on it so he could make Buttermilk Scones.


I woke up on Sunday morning to the smell of these baking. Mmmm. While the second batch was cooking I fried up some bacon and then we all sat down to enjoy the delicious, hot scones and crispy, salty bacon. These were incredible fresh from the oven, so light and flaky. Unfortunately, by the time we got them to my parent's house that evening they were a bit mushy and tough. If you aren't going to eat these right away, definitely freeze them so they don't lose their texture.


I've already asked SP to make a savory version with bacon, cheddar and scallions, modeled after an episode of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives where Guy Fieri had savory scones with a bacon gravy. I can almost taste them.

Buttermilk Scones
As seen on All the Cooks

3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces
1 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon lemon zest

1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted for brushing
1/4 cup sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 425.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt with a fork. Add the cold butter pieces and, using your fingertips (or a pastry blender or two knives), work the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles course cornmeal. It's okay if you have some larger pieces of butter, it makes the scones flaky.

Add the buttermilk and lemon zest and mix with a fork until the ingredients are just moistened. The dough will be soft. If the dough looks dry, add another tablespoon of buttermilk.

Gather the dough into a ball, pressing it gently so it holds together, and turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead it very briefly (about a dozen turns) then cut in half.

Roll one of the dough halves into a 1/2-inch thick circle about 7 inches across. Brush the dough with half of the melted butter and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of the sugar. Cut the dough into 6 triangles and place the triangles on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat with the other half of the dough.

Bake the scones for 10 to 12 minutes, until both the tops and bottoms are golden. Transfer the scones to a rack to cool slightly.

NOTE: These are best served warm or at room temperature. But they do not last long. If you aren't going to eat them immediately, wrap each scone in plastic wrap and put in a freezer bad. They'll stay fresh for one month. To serve, defrost the scones in the plastic wrap, then unwrap and reheat on a baking sheet for 5 minute in a 350-degree oven.