Incredibly soft and moist banana chocolate chip coffee cake with a cinnamon sugar ribbon in the middle, lots of gooey chocolate chips, and a crunchy pecan streusel on top.

Meet my new favorite coffee cake. Soon to be your favorite too because, gee whiz if this ain’t pure gold in a pan. Seriously, the best coffee cake I’ve ever put in my face.
Bananas and chocolate are obviously a king combo but throwing it in coffee cake form with a cinnamon sugar ribbon AND streusel on top? Deceased.
I mean, this is leveling up breakfast in a serious way.

There are 3 different components to this coffee cake, but I promise, each one only takes minutes to prep! We’ve got the banana cake batter, cinnamon sugar center, and pecan streusel and each one does its job to total perfection.
I mean just look at that slice down there and tell me that’s not perfection.
This Coffee Cake features…
- A soft banana cake base with lots of chocolate chips
- A sweet cinnamon sugar center
- Lots of crunchy pecan streusel baked on top

Making the Coffee Cake
(scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe)
Ingredients You Will Need
- Unsalted butter
- Brown sugar
- Egg
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Ground cinnamon
- Ground nutmeg
- Kosher salt
- Buttermilk
- Bananas
- Semisweet chocolate chips
- Granulated sugar
- Chopped pecans
Choosing Your Bananas
You will need 3 medium bananas for this coffee cake. When mashed that should equal about 1-1/2 cups mashed banana.
For best results, I recommend choosing ripe, spotty bananas as these mash well and distribute a sweet banana flavor throughout the cake.

Tips for Perfect Coffee Cake
- Bring butter, eggs, and buttermilk to room temperature – this will help these ingredients mix more cohesively.
- Cream softened butter with sugar – this builds the fat base to the cake batter.
- Measure flour correctly – I use the spoon-and-level technique for measuring flour as this will prevent over-measuring your flour. Use a spoon to scoop flour into the measuring cup, then level with the back of a knife.
- Gently fold batter – use a light hand when mixing batter and gently fold so as not to overmix.
- Use a toothpick to test cake – insert a toothpick in the center of cake to test for doneness.
Recipe Variations
Try these ideas for a different twist on this coffee cake.
- Use another kind of chocolate – try dark chocolate, milk chocolate, or white chocolate.
- Add fruit – fold 1 cup diced strawberries or raspberries into batter.
- Top cake with glaze – try a simple vanilla powdered sugar glaze or a cream cheese glaze.
- Try another nut – replace the pecans with walnuts or almonds.
Storing and Freezing Coffee Cake
Allow the coffee cake to cool completely, then store in an airtight container at room temperature 4 days. For best results, I recommend reheating individual slices for serving so the chocolate is gooey.
To freeze coffee cake, allow to cool completely, wrap cake well, and freeze up to 2 months. Thaw cake completely at room temperature and reheat for serving.

Every bite of this coffee cake is a luxurious experience. You get that incredible banana cake base, gooey chocolate chips, sweet cinnamon sugar, and crunchy streusel in every bite and wow is the only word that comes to mind.
Coffee cake is technically supposed to be for breakfast, but this one is just so good, it could definitely qualify as a dessert. Or a snack. Or maybe an entire meal itself.
Save this recipe using the ‘save to recipe box’ button below. If you make it, please let us know! Leave a comment + star rating below, or take a photo and tag it on Instagram with #wholeandheavenlyoven.

More banana-packed favorites to make next!
Banana Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake
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Ingredients
Banana Coffee Cake
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup buttermilk, room temperature
- 3 medium ripe bananas, mashed
- 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Cinnamon Sugar
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Pecan Streusel
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
Banana Coffee Cake
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9-inch square baking dish with parchment paper and set aside.
- Place butter and brown sugar in a large bowl (or a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment) and use an electric mixer to beat on medium speed 2-3 minutes until smooth and creamy. Add egg and vanilla to butter mixture, beating well until smooth.
- In a medium separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Working in increments, fold half of flour mixture and half of buttermilk into liquid mixture until smooth and repeat until all the flour and buttermilk has been added and batter is smooth. Fold in mashed bananas and chocolate chips until just combined. Set batter aside for a moment.
Cinnamon Sugar
- In a small bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon. Spread half of banana coffee cake batter in prepared baking dish, sprinkle cinnamon sugar evenly over top, and spoon remaining batter in a smooth layer on top. Set aside for a moment.
Pecan Streusel
- In a small bowl, combine all streusel ingredients until crumbly. Sprinkle evenly over coffee cake batter.
- Bake coffee cake at 350F 40-45 minutes until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Allow cake to cool completely on a wire cooling rack before slicing into squares and serving. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
This post was updated with new recipe adjustments and photos on 6/19/25.
Kathy @ Olives & Garlic says
I thought I was going to lick the screen when I saw this. I know, I’m a total weirdo. 🙂 It looks so moist.
Sarah says
Haha! I totally understand Kathy! Thanks so much! 🙂
Jennifer S. says
Sarah, my 12-year-old son is begging me to make this after seeing the pictures. The problem is we don’t have bananas. He says make it anyway. I think it’s the chocolate. 😉 I’ve pinned it so we can make it when we do get bananas. I’ll have to claim three because bananas never last long here.
Sarah says
I know your son will love this coffee cake, Jennifer—it’s a total kid magnet. 😉 Thanks for the pin!
Carie Spence says
Wow, this looks crazy good!! Pinned to make very soon! From the Pintastic Pinteresting Party 🙂
Sarah says
Thanks for stopping by, Carie and for the pin! 🙂
Natalie @ Tastes Lovely says
This sounds delicious Sarah! I love banana and chocolate together, such a great combo. Can’t wait to make this!
Sarah says
Thanks, Natalie! You definitely have to try this coffee cake—I know you’ll love it! 😉
Stacy | Wicked Good Kitchen says
Girl, I’m drooling! There are bananas in my kitchen just waiting to jump into this recipe. All of my favorite flavors are here…nom. Seriously cannot wait to make this. Thanks for sharing, Sarah. Pinning (of course)!
Sarah says
I would definitely call that perfect timing since you’ve got ripe bananas—You’ve gotta try this coffee cake, Stacy! Thanks for the pin. 🙂
Allie | Baking a Moment says
Oh my goodness this cake is magnificent! I’m drooling over all those big craggy chocolate chunks on top, and that ribbon running all throughout! LOVE!
Sarah says
Thank so much, Allie! This coffee cake is definitely for you if you love chocolate! 🙂
Suzanne of Simply Suzannes at Home says
Suzanne of Simply Suzannes at Home
Oh. my. goodness. Your coffee cake looks amazing.
I haven’t had breakfast yet, and with I had some with a cup of coffee.
Thanks so much for sharing!
Have a great weekend,
Suzanne
Sarah says
Thanks for stopping by, Suzanne! I’m so happy you love the coffee cake! Have a great rest of the weekend.
ashok says
Guys, Thanks For sharing this Great Recipe. My Family Loved it. I am definitely sharing this recipe and this website with my friend. Hope they also love it. Thank you again for sharing such a great recipe.