The recipe for this delicious cake is brought to you by Pizzazzerie, a beautiful blog I follow.  This recipe arrived in my inbox one day and I pinned it to my cake board on Pinterest knowing it would be something I would want to try.  We had a bunch of ripe bananas left over at work, and I had a ladies event at church coming up — the perfect combination to set this cake into motion!

If you are looking for a Mother’s Day gift for someone who loves to entertain, Courtney Whimore’s book Pizzazzerie Entertain in Style is the perfect coffee table book.

The Banana Walnut Crumb cake has all the right elements going for it — it’s easy to make, it bakes beautifully, it slices perfectly and it’s a great way to use up ripe bananas.  I am not a walnut fan, but I did make sure to include them just in a smaller amount and I substituted buttermilk for the milk.

You can either access the recipe here or below.

Ingredients For the Crumble:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped walnuts (I used 1/2 cup)

For the Cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
4 ripe bananas
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup milk (I used buttermilk)

For the Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-3 tablespoons milk or heavy cream

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9×13 baking pan with nonstick spray.
To make the crumble topping, melt butter and set aside to cool for 2-3 minutes. Stir in brown sugar and granulated sugar. Add flour, salt, and cinnamon and stir to combine. Mix in chopped walnuts, use a rubber
spatula or back of fork to crumble the topping together. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar together until blended. Add mashed bananas and beat until just combined. Add
eggs and vanilla and beat until combined. Stir in the flour and milk alternately, beginning and ending with the milk.  Pour half of the batter into the baking pan. Sprinkle half of crumb topping. Then pour the
remaining batter on top. Finish with the remaining crumble topping. Bake in the preheated oven for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  (my cake was done at about 45 minutes so be sure to check it)

TIP: Cover cake with aluminum if top begins browning too much. Allow to cool before glazing.

To make glaze, whisk together powdered sugar with vanilla extract and milk. Add more powdered sugar if you want a thicker glaze or more milk for a runnier glaze. Drizzle on top of cake.

It’s perfect for dessert, a snack or morning brunch.  It’s a keeper and I hope you will buzz over to Pizzazzerie for more ideas.