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Piece of banana cream cheese coffee cake with chocolate chip streusel on white plate.

Banana Cream Cheese Coffee Cake with Chocolate Chip Streusel

Yield: 15 Pieces
Prep Time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes

Ingredients

Cake:

  • ¾ cup (170 g) salted butter, softened
  • 1 cup (212 g) granulated sugar
  • ½ cup (106 g) lightly packed light brown sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 ½ cups (about 339 g) mashed ripe bananas
  • ¾ cup (170 g) sour cream
  • ½ cup milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 ¾ cups (391 g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon salt

Cream Cheese Layer:

  • 12 ounces (340 g) cream cheese, softened
  • ½ cup cake batter, reserved from above
  • ⅓ cup (71 g) granulated sugar
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Streusel:

  • ½ cup (60 g) chopped pecans
  • ½ cup (71 g) all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup (106 g) lightly packed light brown sugar
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 6 tablespoons salted butter, melted
  • ¼ to ½ cup (43 to 85 g) mini chocolate chips

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9X13-inch metal pan (with at least 2-inch sides since this cake rises high) with parchment paper and lightly grease with cooking spray (you can also grease the pan without lining with parchment).
  • For the cake batter, in a large bowl with an electric mixer (handheld or stand mixer - whisk attachment), beat the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy, 1-2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
  • Add the eggs, bananas, sour cream, milk, and vanilla. Mix until well combined, 1-2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
  • Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt and mix until no dry streaks remain (don't over mix). *Measure out 1/2 cup of cake batter to use in the cream cheese layer.*
  • For the cream cheese layer, in a medium bowl with an electric mixer (handheld or stand mixer), beat softened cream cheese, the 1/2 cup reserved cake batter, granulated sugar and vanilla extract until smooth and creamy, 1-2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
  • For the streusel, in a medium bowl, combine the pecans, flour, brown sugar and cinnamon until evenly mixed. Add the melted butter and mix until clumps form.
  • Spread half of the cake batter evenly in the bottom of the prepared pan. Dollop the cream cheese batter in big spoonfuls across the cake batter. Spread evenly across the top. Spoon the remaining cake batter across the cream cheese layer and spread evenly. At this point, you can use a knife to lightly swirl the layers together (totally optional).
  • Sprinkle the streusel evenly across the top of the cake followed by the chocolate chips.
  • Bake the cake for 45-55 minutes until the top springs back lightly to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  • Let cool completely before serving.

Notes

Buttermilk Substitution: 1 1/4 cups buttermilk can be subbed in for the sour cream + milk.
Cake Pan: this makes a very tall cake, so it is important that the sides of the cake pan are at least two inches. If you live at high altitude and have had cakes overflow in the oven before, you may want to decrease the baking soda/baking powder in this recipe or decrease the batter amount just slightly. I live at about 2,500 feet elevation and the cake didn't overflow.