Bananas Foster Upside-Down Cake

  • Level: Easy
  • Yield: 6 to 8 servings
  • Total: 1 hr 15 min
  • Active: 20 min
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Ingredients

Topping:

1 cup light brown sugar

2 tablespoons unsalted butter 

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon allspice 

3 tablespoons dark rum 

2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

4 ripe bananas, sliced lengthwise 

Cake:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda 

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg 

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar 

1/2 cup granulated sugar 

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature 

2 eggs, at room temperature 

2 very ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup) 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

1/2 cup buttermilk 

Directions

Special equipment:
a 9- or 10-inch cast iron skillet; a stand mixer or electric hand mixer
  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. For the topping: Melt together the brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, salt and allspice over medium-high heat in a 9- or 10-inch cast-iron skillet, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to a bubble and let the syrup cook until thick, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and carefully stir in the dark rum (see Cook's Note) and vanilla, then return the pan to the heat for 1 minute. Arrange the banana slices cut side down on top of the syrup.
  3. For the cake: Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda and nutmeg in a large bowl.
  4. Beat together the brown sugar, granulated sugar and butter in a stand mixer or electric hand mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well and scraping the bowl down after each addition. Beat in the mashed bananas and vanilla until incorporated. Beat in the dry ingredients, alternating with the buttermilk in two additions, scraping down the bowl to ensure all the dry ingredients are incorporated.
  5. Carefully, spread the batter over the top of the bananas in the skillet. Place a baking sheet on the bottom rack of the oven to catch any spillage! Bake until a tester comes out with some moist crumbs sticking to it, 45 to 50 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before running a paring knife along the sides and inverting onto a serving platter while still warm.

Cook’s Note

If you would like to flambe the rum, do so off the heat. It is not necessary for the baking process.

Let's Get Cooking!

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Lori Sherwood

Was planning to make two of these at the same time for two different occasions. I used cast iron pans, but the caramel burned in both! By the time the pans were hot & the caramel started bubbling, it was hard to tell how dark it was and when I took it off the heat it continued to cook, making it way too dark & it burned. So I switched to my regular nonstick skillet & did them one at a time. That turned out just fine! I put a few walnut halves on the top (bottom) of the cake and I wish I’d put some toasted chopped walnuts in the cake itself. The cake is good, moist & flavorful, but it’s pretty sweet & needed some more texture. I made one cake with brandy & one cake with dark rum. I only tried the one with the dark rum (really tasty, you could pinpoint the rum flavors), but the people I gave the other cake to said it was divine! So I think either would work. My bananas I used for slicing weren’t very ripe, still kinda firm, but yellow. I think if I make it again I would want a softer banana. I didn’t like the weird texture of the sliced banana after baking. Or maybe I need to cook the bananas in the caramel longer before proceeding to the next step. I also don’t really even like bananas! But I was given a couple bunches & needed a dessert.

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