Caramelized Banana Upside-Down Cake
User Reviews
4.7
Caramelized Banana Upside-Down Cake
Description
This Caramelized Banana Upside-Down Cake begins by melting butter and spreading it in a springform cake pan, coating the sides as well. Lightly packed brown sugar is sprinkled evenly over the butter, then ripe banana slices are artfully fanned over the sugar to cover the surface with minimal gaps. The cake batter is prepared separately by mixing dry ingredients—flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and optional salt—with wet ingredients including buttermilk, sour cream, oil, egg, and vanilla.
The wet batter is gently incorporated into the dry mixture, then poured over the banana layer in the pan. The cake is baked at 350°F until cooked through. When inverted, the bananas create a caramelized, glossy topping with natural sweetness enhanced by the brown sugar butter base. The cake beneath is tender, moist, and mildly spiced.
This cake is appealing for showcasing ripe bananas beyond typical muffins or breads. Optionally, drizzling salted caramel sauce over slices adds richness and balances the sweetness.
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter 1 stick, unsalted
- ¾ cup light brown sugar packed
- banana sliced in half horizontally and then sliced in vertically (if banana is ‘fat’, slice each half into 3 or 4 long vertical pieces, about 3 extra-large ripe or 4 small/medium
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- pinch salt optional and to taste
- 1 egg large
- ½ cup buttermilk or Powdered Buttermilk, use 2 tablespoons with the dry ingredients + 1/2 cup water added with the wet
- ⅓ cup sour cream lite okay, or plain Greek yogurt may be substituted
- 3 tablespoons canola oil or vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- salted caramel sauce optional (homemade or storebought, for drizzling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 9-inch springform cake pan with cooking spray; set aside. A regular 9-inch round cake pan is likely going to be too shallow and is not recommended.
- In a small, microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter, about 1 minute on high power.
- Pour the butter into the cake pan. Use your finger to run a bit of butter around the side of the pan to ensure it’s well-greased.
- Evenly sprinkle the brown sugar over the butter.
- Fan banana slices (cut side down) out from center of pan like the spokes of a wheel covering the entire pan with banana slices. The less gaps and space between bananas, the better. Use short pieces to fill in gaps.
- Add 8 to 10 short banana pieces around sides of pan (cut side down), spaced uniformly; set pan aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, optional salt; set aside.
- In a separate small bowl, whisk together the next 5 wet ingredients (through vanilla).
- Add the wet mixture to the dry, mixing lightly with a spoon or folding with a spatula until just combined. Small lumps will be present, don’t overmix or try to stir them smooth.
- Gently turn batter out into prepared pan, being careful to not disturb the banana slices on the bottom or sides of pan. Fill pan to about 3/4-full. If you have a little extra batter, discard it rather than overfilling your pan (was not a problem for me but pan sizes and depths vary).
- Place pan on a cookie sheet as insurance to catch anything that may leak from springform pan and bake for about 38 to 40 minutes, or until center is set, not jiggly, lightly golden browned, and springy to the touch. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter. Only go down about 1-inch with the toothpick, not all the way to the bottom where you’ll hit gooey caramelized bananas.
- Place pan on a wire rack and allow cake to cool for at least 1 hour before inverting, slicing, and serving. Optionally before serving, drizzle with salted caramel sauce. Cake will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Use a 9-inch springform pan for best results; standard round pans may be too shallow.
- Slice bananas lengthwise and arrange close together over the brown sugar butter layer to minimize gaps.
- Optional salted caramel sauce can be drizzled on serving to add depth and contrast to sweetness.
- This recipe builds on techniques from similar fruit-topped cakes like blueberry muffins and buttermilk pancakes cake.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 9-inch cake
Amount Per Serving
Calories 443 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Serving | 1 | |
| Calories | 443kcal | 22% |
| Carbohydrates | 61g | 20% |
| Protein | 7g | 14% |
| Fat | 20g | 31% |
| Saturated Fat | 9g | 45% |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 9g | 53% |
| Cholesterol | 64mg | 21% |
| Sodium | 232mg | 10% |
| Fiber | 1g | 4% |
| Sugar | 46g | 92% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
4.7
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