Once you experience the sheer joy of biting into these homemade banana coffee cake muffins, you’ll find it hard to go back to any store-bought alternative. They are not only remarkably simple to prepare, but their taste is absolutely phenomenal. Each bite is bursting with rich flavors, from the naturally sweet overripe bananas to the fragrant notes of warm spices like cinnamon and a hint of exotic cardamom. This thoughtfully curated spice blend creates an aroma that will fill your kitchen with pure comfort.

The magic lies in the layers of flavor and texture. A simple yet irresistible cinnamon sugar swirl is folded into the tender banana muffin batter, ensuring a delightful surprise in every bite. This is perfectly complemented by a generous spiced streusel topping, a buttery, crumbly mixture infused with cinnamon and cardamom. Together, these elements deliver the quintessential coffee cake experience. For an extra touch of indulgence, consider adding a luscious cream cheese glaze, just like the one I use for my cinnamon roll muffins. It adds a tangy sweetness that elevates these muffins even further.

If your kitchen counter is currently graced with an abundance of super ripe bananas, signaling that perfect sweet spot for baking, then you’re in luck! Beyond these incredible coffee cake muffins, I highly recommend exploring some of my other favorite banana-centric recipes. Try my adorable banana mini muffins, a truly decadent banana coffee cake with sour cream, or the wholesome and satisfying oatmeal banana chocolate chip muffins!

For those who find themselves irresistibly drawn to the allure of chocolate, I have delightful options too! Indulge in my rich triple chocolate muffins, packed with three kinds of chocolate for the ultimate cocoa experience, or savor the classic combination of fruit and chocolate with my blueberry chocolate muffins!

Why You’ll Adore This Recipe!

• Coffee Cake 🤝 Banana Bread: The Best of Both Worlds. This recipe masterfully combines the moist, fruity goodness of traditional banana bread with the warm, spiced, crumbly charm of a classic coffee cake. You get all the deep banana flavor from those beautifully overripe bananas, perfectly balanced by the sweet, comforting cinnamon swirl hidden within the muffin and the rich, textured crumb topping. It’s a flavor combination that feels both familiar and exciting, offering a unique twist on two beloved baked goods.
• Effortlessly Simple & No Mixer Required. Forget the hassle of lugging out heavy kitchen equipment! These muffins are designed for ultimate convenience, requiring just three bowls for the main batter, the cinnamon filling, and the streusel topping. A simple whisk and a rubber spatula are all you need to bring this recipe to life. This hands-on approach makes baking accessible and enjoyable, even for novice bakers, proving that incredible results don’t always demand complex methods or special tools.
• Perfect for Any Occasion: Versatile & Delicious. Whether you’re hosting a sophisticated brunch, preparing a quick and comforting breakfast, seeking a delightful afternoon pick-me-up, or arranging a cozy coffee morning with friends, these banana coffee cake muffins are an impeccable choice. Their satisfying flavor profile and comforting texture make them suitable for a wide array of settings. They’re also perfect as a light dessert or a thoughtful homemade gift. The options are truly endless for when and how to enjoy these delightful treats.
• Incredibly Moist & Flavorful: A Bakery-Quality Experience. Thanks to the inclusion of sour cream, these muffins are exceptionally moist and tender, retaining their freshness for days. The combination of ripe bananas, brown sugar, and a carefully chosen blend of spices ensures a deeply flavorful muffin that tastes like it came straight from your favorite local bakery, but with the added pride of being homemade.

Essential Ingredients for Perfect Muffins

Crafting these extraordinary muffins starts with selecting the right ingredients. We’ve taken the sturdy and flavorful muffin base from my banana chocolate chunk muffins and ingeniously infused it with the aromatic, comforting elements found in my cinnamon muffins. Each ingredient plays a crucial role in achieving that perfect balance of moisture, flavor, and texture that makes these muffins truly stand out. Gathering your ingredients before you begin ensures a smooth and enjoyable baking process.

• Bananas: The Star of the Show. It goes without saying, but bananas are a must-have! For the best flavor and texture, make sure to use bananas that are super ripe, characterized by plenty of freckles and distinct brown spots on their peel. These bananas are not only significantly sweeter, intensifying the natural banana flavor in your muffins, but they are also much easier to mash, resulting in a smoother, more uniform batter. Avoid green or barely ripe bananas, as they lack the sweetness and moisture needed for truly spectacular results.
• Eggs: The Essential Binder. Full disclosure: I once forgot to include the eggs when photographing this recipe, only realizing my oversight halfway through! Please learn from my mistake and don’t forget the eggs! They are absolutely crucial for providing structure and binding the muffin batter together. Eggs contribute to the overall richness, moisture, and help create that desirable tender crumb. Ensure they are at room temperature for better incorporation into the batter.
• Aromatic Spices: Cinnamon and Cardamom. This recipe utilizes a harmonious blend of classic cinnamon and a touch of fragrant cardamom. While cinnamon provides that quintessential warm, sweet, and comforting note synonymous with coffee cakes and banana bread, cardamom adds a unique, slightly floral and citrusy undertone that elevates the flavor profile considerably. I genuinely believe cardamom is an underutilized spice in baking, and it works wonderfully here. If you don’t have cardamom on hand, you can omit it or substitute with a tiny pinch of ground ginger, but I highly recommend trying it if you can!
• Sour Cream: The Moisture & Tenderness Secret Weapon. Adding sour cream to muffin batter is like uncovering a baking cheat code! Its acidity reacts with the baking soda, promoting a superior rise and resulting in taller, fluffier muffins. More importantly, sour cream contributes immense moisture and tenderness to the muffins, giving them an incredibly soft crumb. It also imparts a subtle, pleasant tangy flavor that beautifully complements the sweetness of the bananas and spices. Make sure your sour cream is at room temperature for the best results.
• Sugars: Light Brown Sugar & Granulated Sugar. We use a combination of both light brown sugar and granulated sugar in this recipe, each serving a distinct purpose. Granulated sugar provides crispness and sweetness. Light brown sugar, with its molasses content, adds a deeper, caramel-like flavor and contributes to the muffins’ moistness. It’s used in the muffin batter itself, the irresistible cinnamon sugar filling, and the crumb topping, ensuring a consistent and delicious sweetness throughout.
• Unsalted Butter: Richness and Structure. Butter forms the base of our streusel and adds rich flavor and moisture to the muffin batter. Using unsalted butter allows you to control the overall salt content of the recipe. Ensure it’s melted for easy incorporation.
• All-Purpose Flour, Baking Soda, Baking Powder, Kosher Salt, Vanilla Extract: The Supporting Cast. These foundational ingredients work in concert to create the perfect muffin. All-purpose flour provides the primary structure, while baking soda and baking powder are crucial leavening agents that give the muffins their characteristic rise and airy texture. Kosher salt balances the sweetness and enhances all the other flavors. Finally, vanilla extract adds a lovely aromatic depth, rounding out the flavor profile.

1. Step 1: Prepare Your Dry Ingredients. Begin by lining two muffin pans with paper liners, preparing them for the delicious batter to come. In a medium-sized bowl, combine all the dry ingredients for the muffins: the all-purpose flour, kosher salt, baking soda, baking powder, and ground cinnamon. Whisk these together thoroughly to ensure the leavening agents and spices are evenly distributed. This prevents pockets of unmixed ingredients and guarantees a consistent rise and flavor in your muffins. Set this bowl aside for a moment.

2. Step 2: Combine Wet Ingredients. In a separate, larger bowl, start by whisking the melted (and slightly cooled) butter with both the light brown sugar and granulated sugar until well combined and smooth. Then, incorporate the remaining wet ingredients: the mashed ripe bananas, room temperature eggs, sour cream, and vanilla extract. Whisk everything together until the mixture is almost smooth, ensuring no large lumps of banana remain. This forms the flavorful liquid base for your muffins.

3. Step 3: Gently Combine and Rest the Batter. Pour your dry ingredients directly into the bowl with the wet ingredients. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the ingredients together until they are *just* combined. It’s crucial not to overmix at this stage; a few streaks of flour are perfectly fine. Overmixing can develop the gluten in the flour too much, leading to tough, dense muffins. For an optional, yet highly recommended step: cover the bowl and let the muffin batter rest for 30-60 minutes at room temperature. This resting period allows the flour to fully hydrate, resulting in a more tender crumb and taller, domed muffin tops.

4. Step 4: Prepare the Cinnamon Sugar Filling & Streusel. While your muffin batter is resting, prepare the delicious additions. In a small bowl, whisk together the light brown sugar and ground cinnamon for the cinnamon sugar filling. In another bowl (or even a liquid measuring jug), combine the melted butter with the all-purpose flour, light brown sugar, ground cinnamon, ground cardamom, and kosher salt for the spiced crumble topping. Mix these ingredients thoroughly until they form a thick, clumpy streusel. For the best texture, place the streusel in the fridge to chill while the muffin batter finishes its rest. This chilling step helps the streusel hold its shape and prevents it from melting too quickly in the oven.

5. Step 5: Fill and Layer Your Muffins. Preheat your oven to 425ºF (218ºC) and position an oven rack in the middle. If you desire those coveted tall, domed bakery-style muffin tops, I recommend placing liners in every other muffin cavity, baking only 6 at a time to allow for optimal airflow and expansion. Using a medium cookie scoop or two spoons, fill each prepared muffin liner with approximately 1.5 tablespoons of muffin batter. Then, generously sprinkle about ½ teaspoon of the cinnamon sugar filling over the batter in each cup. This creates that wonderful cinnamon swirl!

6. Step 6: Top and Bake to Perfection. After adding the cinnamon sugar, top it with another 1.5 tablespoons of muffin batter. At this point, your muffin liners should be nearly full to the brim. Now, retrieve your chilled streusel topping from the fridge. You may need to gently break it up with a fork or your fingers to achieve nice clumps. Sprinkle a generous amount of streusel over each muffin, and for an extra touch, add a tiny bit more cinnamon sugar filling on top of the streusel. Bake in the preheated 425ºF (218ºC) oven for 5 minutes. This initial burst of high heat encourages a quick rise, creating those beautiful domed tops. Then, without opening the oven door, lower the temperature to 350ºF (175ºC) and continue baking for an additional 14-16 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let the muffins cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

Pro Tips for Achieving Bakery-Style Muffins

Transforming your homemade muffins into ones that rival your favorite bakery treats is simpler than you think. A few key techniques can make all the difference, resulting in taller, more domed tops, and an even more tender crumb. Here are my top tips for achieving those coveted bakery-style banana coffee cake muffins:

• The Magic of Resting Muffin Batter: This isn’t just an optional step; it’s a game-changer! Allowing your muffin batter to rest for 30-60 minutes at room temperature gives the flour sufficient time to fully hydrate. This hydration process helps relax the gluten, resulting in a more tender and moist muffin texture. Furthermore, it allows the leavening agents (baking soda and baking powder) to begin their work, leading to a more vigorous rise in the oven and ultimately, those beautiful, tall, domed muffin tops we all adore. While I won’t come to your house and scold you if you skip it, I highly encourage it if you have the time!
• Chilling Your Streusel Topping for Perfect Clumps: For that irresistible, crunchy, and perfectly crumbly streusel topping, always make it ahead and place it in the fridge to chill. The cold butter in the streusel will firm up, which prevents it from melting too quickly when it hits the hot oven. This ensures your streusel maintains its distinct, chunky texture throughout the baking process, instead of spreading and disappearing into the muffin top. You want those beautiful, defined crumbles!
• Bake 6 at a Time for Optimal Rise: If you’re aiming for truly impressive, towering muffin tops, try baking only 6 muffins at a time, using only every other muffin cavity in your pan. This simple trick provides each muffin with more space and better airflow, allowing them to expand and rise without constraint. The increased air circulation helps distribute heat more evenly around each muffin, encouraging them to develop those characteristic high, domed crowns. Again, it’s not a strict requirement for delicious muffins, but it certainly helps achieve that quintessential bakery look!
• Don’t Overmix the Batter: This cannot be stressed enough! Overmixing is the enemy of tender muffins. Once you add the dry ingredients to the wet, mix just until they are combined. A few streaks of flour are absolutely fine. Overmixing develops the gluten in the flour, leading to tough, chewy, and dense muffins rather than the light and airy texture we’re aiming for.
• Fill Muffin Liners Generously: Unlike cupcakes where you might fill liners two-thirds full, for bakery-style muffins, you want to fill your liners almost to the top. This generous fill, combined with the high initial baking temperature, is key to creating those impressive, overflowing muffin tops.

Storage & Freezing Instructions

Proper storage is essential to keep your delicious banana coffee cake muffins fresh and flavorful for as long as possible. Whether you plan to enjoy them within a few days or save some for a later treat, here’s how to store them:

For immediate enjoyment, store the cooled muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. To extend their freshness further, you can store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Be aware that the streusel topping might soften slightly in the refrigerator, but the muffins will remain wonderfully moist.

These muffins also freeze beautifully! To freeze, ensure the muffins are completely cooled to prevent condensation and ice crystals. Place them in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze for about an hour until firm. Then, transfer the frozen muffins to a freezer-safe container or a heavy-duty freezer bag, removing as much air as possible to prevent freezer burn. They can be frozen for up to 2 months. When you’re ready to enjoy, let them thaw overnight in the fridge or at room temperature for a few hours. For a warm treat, you can also gently reheat thawed muffins in the microwave for 15-30 seconds or in a preheated oven at 300°F (150°C) for about 5-10 minutes.

Craving More Delicious Breakfast Recipes?

If these delightful banana coffee cake muffins have sparked your appetite for more incredible breakfast and brunch ideas, you’re in the right place! Explore a variety of comforting and flavorful recipes to kickstart your day or impress your guests. Here are some hand-picked favorites from my collection that you might just fall in love with:

If you’ve made this incredibly delicious recipe, please take a moment to leave a ⭐️ rating and review below! Your feedback is invaluable and truly brightens my day. I absolutely love seeing your culinary creations, so don’t hesitate to tag me on Instagram @alpineella so I can admire what you’ve baked! You can also stay connected and discover more recipes by following along on Pinterest, Facebook, and TikTok!

Equipment

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  2 Muffin pans
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  Bowls
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  Whisk
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  Rubber Spatula
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  Kitchen Scale
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  Measuring Spoons

Ingredients

 

 

Instructions

 

Video

Notes