While my banana didn’t stay at what became the top of this cake, so the visuals aren’t miraculous, this is a delicious cake worth the hassle of cooking the banana slices! Because it only needs 3/4 cup of flour, you can get away with swapping in gluten-free flour and the texture will still be good. (I used the Bob’s Red Mill All Purpose Baking Flour mix.)

Ingredients:

Bananas:

• 4 medium bananas, about 1 1/2 pounds total before peeling
• 4 tablespoons butter, divided

Caramel layer:

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream

Batter:

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 4 tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup peanut butter chips

For serving:

• Whipped cream
• Flaky sea salt

To start with, peel the bananas and slice them into 1/2″ thick circles on a slight bias.

Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the butter is melted and frothy, add as many slices of banana as you can in a single layer, cooking for 2-3 minutes per side until browned and caramelized and until they release easily from the skillet.

After cooking on both sides, transfer the cooked bananas to a plate, add more butter to the pan if needed, and cook the remaining butter slices. Once complete, set the plate with the cooked bananas aside.

In a small saucepan, melt the 4 tablespoons of butter for the caramel over medium heat. Once melted, add the 1/2 cup brown sugar, stir, and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture darkens slightly. Reduce the heat to low and add the vanilla and cream, whisking together. Simmer for a further minute, then remove from the heat.

Grease a 9″ cake pan, then pour the caramel in in an even layer. Place in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 300 degrees. In a small bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt, then set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter and half cup of brown sugar.

Beat in the eggs. Add half the sifted dry goods, followed by half of the milk, then the remaining dry goods, and remaining milk. Beat until just combined, then fold in the peanut butter chips by hand. Set batter aside. (It seemed pretty liquid-y to me, but the texture of the finished cake was good.)

Remove the chilled cake pan from the fridge and arrange the bananas over the caramel, overlapping them slightly and pressing them into the caramel.

Pour the cake batter on top of the bananas.

Bake for 55-60 minutes, rotating halfway through, until it passes the toothpick test.

Cool at room temperature for at least 30 minutes, and then while the cake is still warm, invert onto a plate.

Serve with whipped cream and a pinch of sea salt. Theoretically a bit less whipped cream if you’re going to eat more the next day for breakfast, but I’m not the cops!

Chocolate Banana Upside-Down Cake

From a random imgur post.

Bananas:

• 4 medium bananas, about 1 1/2 pounds total before peeling
• 4 tablespoons butter, divided

Caramel layer:

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream

Batter:

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 4 tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup peanut butter chips

For serving:

• Whipped cream
• Flaky sea salt

To start with, peel the bananas and slice them into 1/2″ thick circles on a slight bias.

Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the butter is melted and frothy, add as many slices of banana as you can in a single layer, cooking for 2-3 minutes per side until browned and caramelized and until they release easily from the skillet. After cooking on both sides, transfer the cooked bananas to a plate, add more butter to the pan if needed, and cook the remaining butter slices. Once complete, set the plate with the cooked bananas aside.

In a small saucepan, melt the 4 tablespoons of butter for the caramel over medium heat. Once melted, add the 1/2 cup brown sugar, stir, and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture darkens slightly. Reduce the heat to low and add the vanilla and cream, whisking together. Simmer for a further minute, then remove from the heat. Grease a 9″ cake pan, then pour the caramel in in an even layer. Place in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 300 degrees. In a small bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt, then set aside. In a large bowl, cream together the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter and half cup of brown sugar. Beat in the eggs. Add half the sifted dry goods, followed by half of the milk, then the remaining dry goods, and remaining milk. Beat until just combined, then fold in the peanut butter chips by hand. Set batter aside.

Remove the chilled cake pan from the fridge and arrange the bananas over the caramel, overlapping them slightly and pressing them into the caramel. Pour the cake batter on top of the bananas. Bake for 55-60 minutes, rotating halfway through, until it passes the toothpick test. Cool at room temperature for at least 30 minutes, and then while the cake is still warm, invert onto a plate. Serve with whipped cream and a pinch of sea salt.