Caramelized Banana Upside-Down Cake

This Caramelized Banana Upside-Down Cake is absolutely decadent. Served warm, topped with some fresh whipped cream and you’ve got a simple dessert that’s just to die for.

I made this beauty for this first time this past summer and shared it with friends who totally loved it. I’ve made it a few times since and it’s honestly one of my favorite cakes of all time.

If you’re a regular follower here at the BHK, you know the first non-box cake I attempted back in the day was a pineapple upside-down cake. My dad LOVED it. I don’t even remember where I found the recipe, but it looked so pretty I just had to try it.

So this summer when I had an overload of bananas and I was frankly tired of putting them in my cereal and just couldn’t make another loaf of banana bread, I decided an upside-down cake was in the cards.

If you’ve never tried making an upside-down cake, it’s actually super easy. You can pretty much use any kind of fruit in place of the classic pineapple/maraschino cherry combo.

You’ll make a brown sugar glaze in a saucepan on your stovetop before adding it to your 9-inch round cake pan and then you’ll top it in a single layer with your sliced bananas. I like to slice my bananas lengthwise (as pictured)↓, but you could also slice them diagonally into 1/4-inch thick slices.

Then you’ll make your cake batter which isn’t overly sweet, so it totally balances out the sweetness of the brown sugar glaze. It’s so nice, moist and fluffy.

Once the cake is done baking, you’ll let it sit on a cooling rack for just about five minutes before inverting onto a serving platter.

As soon as my cake comes out of the oven, I run a knife around the sides of the pan first and after four to five minutes, with hot pads on my hands, I place a serving platter over the top of the cake and then flip it carefully over. If any fruit sticks to your pan just carefully remove it and place it gently on top of the cake. You definitely don’t want to wait longer than five minutes to cool it or the fruit will stick to the pan.

I know you guys are just going to LOVE this cake! Please let me know if you give the recipe a try. And if you have any questions about the recipe, just drop a comment below. Enjoy!

Caramelized Banana Up-Side Down Cake

Author: MaryAnn Dwyer

Servings: 8 servings

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This Caramelized Banana Upside-Down Cake is absolutely decadent. Served warm, topped with some fresh whipped cream and you've got a simple dessert that's just to die for.

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 5 minutes mins

Ingredients

  

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Topping

• 1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
• 6 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 4 bananas, sliced lengthwise

Cake

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9-inch round baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
• In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Add brown sugar and mix until well combined. Pour into prepared pan. Top the brown sugar mixture with the bananas, flat side down. Use as many as you need to fill the pan.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt until well combined. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the vegetable oil, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and buttermilk until well combined. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until just combined. Do not overmix.
• Pour the batter over the bananas and smooth the top with an offset spatula. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the pan comes out mostly clean with just a crumb or two.
• Run a knife around the edges of the pan when you remove it from the oven. Let cool for just 4-5 minutes, then invert onto a serving platter. If any of the bananas stick to the pan, just carefully remove and place on top of the cake.

  Let cool for about 15-20 minutes before slicing and enjoying, or you can cool to room temperature. Serve with fresh whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, if desired.

Notes

As I mentioned above, I used a 9-inch round cake pan for my cake, but you could also use a 9-inch skillet and just cook the brown sugar glaze right in the skillet, top it with the fruit and then add the cake batter and bake. 

This cake is delicious served warm topped with fresh whipped cream or even vanilla ice cream on the side.

Nutrition

Calories: 459kcal | Carbohydrates: 86g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 68mg | Sodium: 178mg | Potassium: 430mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 61g | Vitamin A: 425IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 119mg | Iron: 2mg

Keyword: bananas, cake, upside-down cake

Cuisine: American

Course: Breakfast, Dessert

Before your first bite, snap a photo and share!If you make this recipe, I'd love to see! Be sure to follow thebeachhousekitchen on Instagram and tag Mention @thebeachhousekitchen or tag #thebeachhousekitchen!