Recipe: Banana-Pecan Coffe Cake

Banana-Pecan Coffee Cake
Source: The Hay Day Country Market Cookbook by Kim Rizk

If this coffee cake is well wrapped in an airtight container, it will keep for two to three days.

Pecan-Crumb Topping:
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2/3 cup (firmly packed) light brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
8 Tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled, cut into large chunks
2/3 cup toasted wheat germ (see note)
2 cups pecans, preferably toasted (see note), coarsely chopped

Cake:
12 Tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 large bananas)
1/2 cup sour cream

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter and flour a 13 x 9-inch baking pan.

Prepare the topping:
Combine the flour, brown sugar and cinnamon in a food processor, and pulse to blend. Add the butter to the processor, and pulse until the mixture forms a coarse meal. Stir in the wheat germ and pecans by hand, cover, and set aside.

Prepare the cake batter:
In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer on high speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the vanilla and blend in.

In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add this to the creamed mixture in batches, alternating with the mashed bananas and sour cream. Blend until smooth.

Spread a little less than half of the batter in the prepared pan. Sprinkle with half of the crumb topping, and top with the remaining batter. Scatter the remaining topping over the batter.

Bake until the cake has risen and browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for at least 10 minutes in the pan. Then cut into 12 squares and serve.

A note on toasting wheat germ:
To toast wheat germ, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Spread the wheat germ in a small cake pan or rimmed baking sheet and bake, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, 8-10 minutes.

A note on toasting nuts:
Get in the habit of toasting all kinds of nuts; you'll be impressed with the way their rich natural flavor is intensified. To toast, scatter the nuts in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake in a preheated 350 degree F. oven until slightly colored, crisp and fragrant--5 to 7 minutes for pecans, pistachios, almonds and pine nuts, 10 minutes for walnuts. (Sesame seeds, which are oily and burn quickly, should be toasted in a dry skillet; they'll take 3 minutes--stir often.).

Toasting also helps in the process of removing the outer papery skins of some nuts, like walnuts, which can leave behind an unpleasant tannic flavor. Once the nuts are toasted, the skins rub off easily when the nuts are rolled inside a clean kitchen towel.