Banana Espresso Chocolate Crumb Cake for #Choctoberfest

from The Sweets Life

Ingredients:

• 3-4 mashed ripe bananas, approximately 1 1/2 cups
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1/2 cup [1 stick] unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 1/4 cup half and half
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour [can use 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour & 3/4 cup all-purpose flour if you wish]
• 1 tablespoon instant coffee [or 1 1/2 packets of Starbucks Via or other packaged instant coffee]
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

for crumb topping

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon coarse salt [I used Kosher salt–use 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon depending on how salty you like things]
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 8×8 or 9×9 square pan with cooking spray and set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, stir together bananas, sugar, butter, half and half, and egg. In a larger bowl, whisk together flour, instant coffee, and baking soda. Fold wet ingredients into the dry, stirring until just moistened. Gently stir in chocolate chips. Transfer batter to prepared pan.

In another bowl, make the crumb topping by mixing together flour, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Pour melted butter over dry ingredients, then toss with a fork gently until crumbs form. For larger crumbs, toss less. Sprinkle evenly over cake batter.

Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and top is golden brown. Do not overbake–sometimes it can be hard to tell with banana baked goods whether they are done or not, so if you are in doubt, take it out and let it cool a little bit and check it a few more times.

For clean slices, cool before cutting. Slices of this cake reheat well in the microwave!