Banana Upside Down Cake
This old school Banana Upside Down Cake is beautifully spiced, moist and delicious. The caramel topping will always be a crowd pleaser!
Ingredients
For the caramel base
- 1 cup caster sugar (NOTE 1)
- ¾ cup water
- 5 small bananas (approx. 600gm/21oz with peel on) (NOTE 2)
- Butter to grease
For the cake
- 200 gm butter (softened)
- 1½ caster sugar (NOTE 1)
- 3 large eggs (at room temperature)
- 5 small overripe bananas (mashed - approx. 600gm/21oz with peel on) (NOTE 2)
- 1½ cup buttermilk (at room temperature) (NOTE 3)
- 3 cups plain flour (all-purpose flour) (NOTE 4)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground cardamom
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- ⅓ tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp bicarbonate soda (baking soda)
- ½ tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 190°C (370°F) or 170°C (340°F) for fan-forced ovens. Grease and line the sides and base of a deep round 24cm (9.5in) spring-form cake tin. To avoid any caramel or batter from leaking out of the tin, you may wish to secure the external base of the tin by wrapping it in foil.
- Slice the bananas in half lengthwise, then organise them in the tin's base with the cut side facing down. Take the bananas out of the tin and lay them on a plate in the same arrangement. Doing this will help us quickly organise the bananas into the tin once the caramel is ready.
- Place the sugar and water into a medium heavy-based saucepan over medium heat. Gently swerve the pan to help the sugar dissolve. Once the sugar has dissolved, leave the sugar mixture to cook untouched until it turns into a deep amber colour, but do not let it burn. This should take approximately 10 minutes.
- Quickly pour the caramel evenly into the base of the tin, working quickly, place banana on top, cut side down. Don't worry too much if it doesn't look perfect because it'll still look pretty.
- For the dry ingredients - Sift the flour, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, clove, baking powder, bi-carb soda and salt together in a large bowl. For the wet ingredients - In a separate bowl, whisk the buttermilk and vanilla until combined. Set both bowls aside.
- Using a stand or hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together at high speed until fluffy and pale. Add in one egg at a time, beating in between to combine. Reduce the speed to medium and pour in the mashed bananas, mix until combined. Reduce the speed to low, add in half of the dry ingredients and half of the wet ingredients, mix until almost combined before adding the remaining dry and wet ingredients. Mix the batter just until it's all combined, but don't over mix it.
- Pour the batter into the tin over the sliced bananas and caramel. Place the tin on the bottom shelf of the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Cover the top of the tin loosely with foil to prevent the top of the cake from over-browning. Bake again for 45 minutes or until the cake comes away from the side of the pan and a skewer comes out clean when inserted in the middle. Cool the cake in the tin for 15 minutes before turning it over onto a large plate.
Notes
To get a workable batter that combines nicely, use very soft butter and room temperature buttermilk and eggs.
(NOTE 1) Caster sugar (superfine sugar) - Caster sugar has finer granules than regular white sugar. However, it's not the same as confectionary, icing, or powdered sugar. Many baking or candy recipes call for caster sugar as it dissolves faster and better into mixtures. If you can't find caster sugar, you can make your own by placing regular sugar in a food processor or blender. Pulse the sugar a few times until it looks finer, but take care not to over-blitz it so a powder consistency.
(NOTE 2) Bananas - We need mashed overripe bananas to mix in the batter and sliced bananas to place on top of the caramel base.
(NOTE 3) Buttermilk makes the cake fluffy and light. To make a buttermilk substitute, pour in a bowl a cup of milk into a bowl with 2 tablespoons of vinegar or lemon. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes for the milk to thicken. This will make 1 cup of buttermilk substitute, please note you'll need 1.5 cups for this recipe.
(NOTE 4) Plain flour (all-purpose flour) doesn't contain any leavening agents.
Leftovers - Allow the cake to cool completely at room temperature. Transfer the cake into a sealed container and refrigerate, it'll be good for up to 5 days. However, the caramel will sink into the cake. If frozen, the cake will keep for up to a month.
Cooking measurements are in Australian standard spoon and cup measurements.
A Third-Party Application calculated the calories and nutritional information. Please use this as an approximate guide only.
Nutrition
Serving: 1servingCalories: 414kcalCarbohydrates: 62gProtein: 7gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 10gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 86mgSodium: 465mgPotassium: 402mgFiber: 3gSugar: 29gVitamin A: 588IUVitamin C: 7mgCalcium: 118mgIron: 2mg