Banana Upside Down Cake

4.96 from 22 votes

Put those ripe bananas to excellent use and make this easy, rich and sinful Banana Upside Down Cake. Its the perfect dessert for any occasion.

Prep Time20

Cook Time40

Total Time1

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Using a 9 inch cast iron skillet, melt 1/2 cup unsalted butter over medium heat until bubbly. Sprinkle 3/4 cup light brown sugar evenly over melted butter. Do not stir, but allow to sit over heat for just a minute until it starts to dissolve. Remove from heat.
Take the ripest banana of the 4 medium sized ripe bananas and set aside - it will be mashed up and mixed into the cake batter. For the remaining three bananas, peel, cut in half, and then quarter each half lengthwise. Gently place these banana spears in a circular pattern in the butter and brown sugar mixture.
To make the cake batter, combine the 1 cup all purpose flour, 3/4 cup granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons baking powder, and a pinch of salt in a medium sized bowl. Set aside.
Separately, mix together 1 large egg, 3/4 cup buttermilk, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract, and mashed banana. Add this wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir just to combine. Do not overmix - this will be very similar to pancake batter.
Pour over banana pieces taking care not to change their position.
Bake in preheated oven until golden brown, about 40 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly, about 5 minutes, before inverting onto plate.
Store in airtight container. Best if eaten within 1-2 days because bananas will brown over time.

Cooking tips:

If your bananas aren't as ripe as mine were, you can still make this recipe. If you'd like to quicken the ripening process, you can store them in a brown paper bag on the counter.
If you do not have buttermilk, you can make your own by adding a couple teaspoons of lemon juice to whole milk and letting it sit for about 10 minutes.
Inverting the cake can be tricky, especially since the cast iron skillet is heavy and hot. You might need someone to help you. To invert the cake, place a plate over the skillet, hold it tight, and then flip it over without allowing the plate to come away from the skillet.