Banana Bread With Streusel

Treat yourself to a slice of the best banana bread with streusel topping. It is made with brown sugar and lots of bananas, flavored with dark rum, and baked with a delicious sweet crumb topping.

When you think that you have tried all the banana bread recipes, there is only one left to try!

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Have you known that banana bread enthusiasts celebrate National Banana Bread Day on February 23?

Neither did I. I bake it just because I love it! And once I see spotty bananas on the kitchen counter, I know what I would be baking.

In 2015, one of my friends shared her favorite banana bread recipe for homemade banana bread with me.

I happily baked that quick bread until I experimented with other banana bread recipes.

Today, I can tell you that the best banana bread recipe exists; it has stolen my heart. This sweet bread has a charm: it has a streusel on top!

Why you should try this recipe

1. Streusel (aka crumble topping) baked on top of banana bread adds crunchiness and intractable charm to the dessert. This banana bread with crumb topping stands apart from the ordinary.
2. Brown sugar brings a caramelized flavor and compliments banana sweetness. 
3. Rum infuses the loaf with a fruity flavor.
4. Using ripe bananas adds moisture and an additional boost of sweetness.

Ingredients

Here is a quick overview of what ingredients you will need. Follow the full recipe below for exact amounts and instructions. I recommend making this recipe as written for the best results. 

Butter: use unsalted butter to make the bread batter and semi-salted (or salted) butter to make the crumb topping.

Soften unsalted butter on the counter: take it out of the fridge 2 hours before you start.

Keep the salted or semi-salted butter chilled in the fridge. Cold butter is used to make the streusel.

Brown sugar: use golden or dark brown sugar interchangeably, but consider that golden brown sugar gives a milder caramel flavor than the dark one that contains more molasses.

Replace brown sugar with an equal amount of white sugar if you desire. 

Eggs: the recipe calls for large eggs at room temperature.

Flour: all-purpose flour makes the bread batter and the streusel.

Baking powder: use fresh aluminum-free baking powder. Please, don't confuse it with baking soda.

Bananas: ripe and even overripe bananas with black spots or streaks on the peel are the best ones to make this banana bread.

Bananas help make this bread moist! Please, try to avoid green or all yellow bananas.

Dark rum: it brings a fruity flavor to banana bread; it upgrades a regular banana bread to the next level. Replace rum with some juice if you serve the dessert to kids.

Almond flour: use blanched finely ground almond flour.

Icing sugar: make it yourself with a coffee grinder or buy powdered sugar.

Flaked toasted almonds: these are optional and used to decorate the cake.

To toast flaked almonds at home, bring them in the oven at 300 degrees F/150 degrees C for about 10 to 15 minutes.

How to make streusel-topped banana bread

Heat oven to 300 degrees F/150 degrees C. To make the bread batter, in a large bowl, beat softened butter and brown sugar for 5 minutes, using an electric mixer (photo 1).

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour (1 ⅔ cup + 4 tablespoons/240 g) with baking powder, add eggs (photo 2)...

and delicately mix with a rubber spatula (photo 3). In a separate bowl, mash bananas with a fork and fold them into the principal preparation (photo 3).

Add rum and mix with the spatula just until combined (photo 5). Place the bread batter in the refrigerator while making the streusel.

To make the crumbly streusel, mix all-purpose flour (5 tablespoons or 40 g) and almond flour in a separate medium bowl.

Add icing (powdered) sugar and chilled semi-salted (or salted) butter cut into pieces.

Work with your hands until the streusel dough forms crumble like wet sand (photo 6).

Butter and flour a silicone loaf pan or line a nonstick loaf pan with parchment paper.

Pour batter into the prepared pan, sprinkle streusel on top (photo 7), and bake for 90 minutes.

The bread is ready when a tester/a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean (photo 8).

Let it cool in the pan for a few minutes, remove it from the mold and cool on a wire rack.

Sprinkle top of the banana bread with flaked almonds and dust with a little bit of icing (powdered) sugar.

Recipe variations

The wonderful thing about banana bread is that it has an almost infinite number of different recipes.

You can try your hand at making this delicious treat in different ways to suit any palate!

Make banana nut bread by adding chopped walnuts, pecans, or macadamia nuts to the batter.

Or add dry fruits, for example, dried cranberry or pineapple, to make it fruitier. Or try to add some shredded coconut if you are a coconut lover.

If you love chocolate, mix in semi-sweet chocolate chips or swirl the Nutella through the cake batter before baking.

To make a healthy variation of banana bread, try it sugar-free or add ground golden flaxseed.

Do you want more ideas? Blend in some ground cinnamon to make cinnamon banana bread or upgrade it to the Christmas Banana Bread.

Finally, play with banana bread toppings to create your perfect banana bread.

Still, it doesn't mean if you make banana streusel bread or leave it plain, add a newly created recipe to your recipe collection.

Storing instructions

Place banana bread in a plastic bag or cover with plastic wrap and store the bread at room temperature for 1 to 2 days.

If you want to prolong the shelf life of your bread, keep it wrapped in the fridge for up to one week.

Can you freeze banana bread? Yes, it is completely fine to freeze it. Just wrap a whole loaf or individual slices of the bread with aluminum foil or plastic freezer wrap and place them in the freezer.

Banana bread could be safely stored in this way for up to 2 to 3 months.

Thaw wrapped or unwrapped bread in the fridge or at room temperature.

Expert tips

1. Soften unsalted butter by taking it out of the fridge 2 hours before cooking.
2. Replace dark rum with some juice if you serve the cake to kids.
3. Mash bananas with a fork, a potato masher, a pastry cutter, or beat bananas with an electric handheld mixer.
4. Important thing: do not overmix the bread batter when you add crushed bananas. Gently mix just to combine.
5. Split the recipe into four small loaves or make banana bread mini muffins if you prefer.
6. Adjust your oven's baking time: it has been tested and re-tested by me that the cake is ready in 90 minutes.
7. Test the cake for readiness! Use a toothpick: if it is inserted in the middle of the cake, comes out clean, the bread is ready. If it still has the batter on it, add another 3 to 5 minutes and test again.
8. Cool the baked banana bread completely before slicing.
9. Serve with a dollop of mascarpone or slabs of salted butter.

Frequently asked questions

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The nutritional information has been calculated using an online recipe nutrition calculator such as Verywellfit.com and is intended for informational purposes only. These figures should be used as a general guideline and not be construed as a guarantee. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should independently verify it using your preferred tool. Under no circumstances will Baking Like a Chef be responsible for any loss or damage resulting from your reliance on the nutritional information. You are solely responsible for all decisions about your health and ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate. Please, read the disclaimers in our Privacy Policy.

The recipe was adapted from www.lacuisinedethomas.fr. It was originally published on January 22, 2019. The recipe has been revised to include improved content and photos. All posted pictures are mine.