This Banana Upside Down Cake is for all the banana lovers out there! Soft, buttery and moist banana cake with flavors of cinnamon and brown sugar topped with sticky caramelized banana topping. It is baked with the banana topping at the bottom, then flipped upside down when it is done to get it in top.
I love this delicious Banana Caramel Cake. It is such a lovely treat, and I would even eat it for breakfast with a cup of coffee to go with it!
Looking for more sweet brunch/breakfast inspirations? I think you will love my Orange Cinnamon Rolls, Strawberry Banana Bread, Lemon Poppy Seed Bread, and Cinnamon French Toast Casserole as well!
Caramelized Banana Upside Down Cake
I think of this Caramelized Banana Upside Down Cake like a dessert banana bread. It’s a little sweeter than regular banana bread, and has that sticky caramelized topping. But if you want to eat it for breakfast like a regular banana bread, I promise nobody’s going to judge you.
It’s called a banana upside down cake because the cake baked with bananas at the bottom of the cake pan, and then the cake is flipped out of the pan to reveal all the delicious caramelized bananas on top…
This is similar to my upside down pineapple cake and Peach Upside Down Cake recipes, but it’s bananas instead of pineapples or peaches! And also lots of caramelized brown sugar-buttery qualities, obviously.
It seriously is every banana + caramel lover’s dream.
Here’s why we are loving this Caramelized Banana Upside Down Cake:
- Lots of banana flavors!…from the top caramelized banana topping, to the actual banana cake underneath.
- That cake texture! It’s buttery, moist, and so very soft.
- Caramelized bananas. YUM. There’s a layer of brown sugar + butter on the top of the cake that caramelizes the halved bananas. That combination is ridiculously good.
- No additional step for topping! Since it’s an upside down cake, there’s no cooking on the stovetop or boiling to create the caramel and/or topping. Just melt butter, top with brown sugar, add bananas, batter, and bake it, flip it, and you get that sticky topping and glaze.
If you have brown bananas at hand and don’t know what to do with your overripe bananas, count on this banana upside down cake recipe to save the day!
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you will need to make caramelized banana cake:
- Bananas – expert tip: use overripe bananas for a sweeter cake! You would need to first mash bananas, and then you will also be slicing bananas lengthwise to place on top of the cake (or technically, the bottom of the baked cake).
- Brown sugar – I like to use brown sugar in my banana upside down cake to bring on the caramel flavors. Use it for the cake itself and also in the caramelized banana topping! Light brown sugar or dark brown sugar can be used – it comes down to your preference.
- Whole milk – you’ll need a little bit for the cake. 2% or 1% works as well – I would just avoid using non fat milk for a richer cake.
- Sour cream – helps keep our caramelized banana upside down cake moist! You can also substitute with plain Greek yogurt.
- Vanilla extract – use pure vanilla extract if possible for best flavor.
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder & baking soda
- Salt
- Ground cinnamon – other warm spices such as ground nutmeg or all spice can be added as well.
- Unsalted butter
- Egg – binds everything together
You’ll notice that none of these ingredients are hard to find or require more work, but together they make this amazing Banana Upside Down Cake happen!
How to make it
Let’s make this yummy banana upside down cake!
Step 1: Make Banana Cake Batter
First we want to bring all the ingredients together to make the cake batter for our banana caramel cake.
Using a large mixing bowl, bring together soften butter, brown sugar, sour cream, milk, egg, vanilla extract, mashed bananas and cinnamon. Whisk to combine.
Then add in the dry ingredients, and mix again to combine.
Step 2: Making the Topping
Once the staple batter is done, bring it to a 9′ round cake pan (see my favorite cake pans).
To make the delicious topping for our banana caramel cake, start by melting the butter in the cake pan.
If the oven is preheating, you can go ahead and melt the butter in the cake pan and leave it in the oven to completely melt the butter
Once the butter is completely melted, remove it from oven and sprinkle brown sugar evenly on top.
Place halved bananas all over the cake pan on top of the brown sugar and butter.
Lastly, pour cake batter over bananas and use a spatula to smooth out the top of the cake.
Pro tip: pour batter in two stages and press the batter down after each pouring to get the batter into the nooks and crannies between the bananas.
Step 3: Bake!
At last it is time to bake this yummy upside down banana caramel cake into completion!
Banana upside down cake is baked at 350ºF for ~40 minutes.
Insert a toothpick into the middle of the cake to check for doneness. If toothpick comes out clean, banana upside down cake should be done.
Once the cake is done, let it rest for 10 minutes before running a knife along the edges to make sure the sides of the cake are loose from the edges.
Then flip the cake upside now onto a large plate to reveal the caramelized banana which is now the top of the cake.
Which is basically upside down…which is why this is called a banana upside down cake. 🤪
Top with more caramel sauce if you’d like!
Serve banana upside down cake with a warm cup of coffee or tea, or even with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
Banana upside down cake is a beautiful show piece and also a delicious, comforting treat to enjoy any day of the week. Something I love to enjoy when I have a bunch of overripe bananas sitting on my counter.
Tips and Tricks
A few things to note when making this banana upside down cake recipe:
- Use Ripe Bananas: Choose ripe bananas (should be yellow with some black dots on the outside) for the best flavor, for both the topping and the cake itself.
- Arranging the Bananas: If you want to create a beautiful top once the banana cake is flipped upside down, aranging banana slices in a neat pattern.
- Don’t Overmix: After adding dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mix just until combined. Overmixing can result in an overly dense cake.
- Fill in the cake mixture: When adding cake mixture to the pan, do it in 2 batches. After pouring in the first batch, use a spatula to press down the mixture so that it gets into the nooks and crannies between the banana slices to remove air that is caught between the batter and bananas
- Cooking the cake: Be sure to let the cake cool for at least 10 minutes after it is removed from the oven before flipping. Cake needs to set before being inverted upside down.
- Releasing the cake: Run a knife around the edge of the cake to gently separate it from the pan before flipping the cake upside down.
- Invert Quickly with Confidence: When flipping the cake out of the pan, use a large serving platter and flip quickly but carefully to avoid losing any banana topping. Note that some juices will leak from the cake when doing this but that is ok!
Storage and Reheat
Wrap up leftover banana upside down cake or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
When ready to reheat, bring upside down banana cake to room temperature and microwave in the microwave for a few seconds to warm the cake.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Just omit the salt if you use salted butter.
You can use plain Greek yogurt.
Yes, you can freeze banana upside down cake. Make sure to wrap the cake securely with plastic wrap and aluminum foil, or use an airtight container to prevent freezer burn. Let cake thaw for a few hours before reheating.
ENJOYED THIS RECIPE? Tell us what you think by leaving a rating and review below! 🤍
More Delicious Dessert Ideas
Banana Upside Down Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
Cake Batter
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- ⅔ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup sour cream
- ½ cup whole milk or 2%
- 1 large egg
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 3 bananas mashed
- 1⅔ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
Topping
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 5 bananas halved
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉.
- Make the cake batter: In a large bowl, bring together softened butter, brown sugar, sour cream, milk, egg, vanilla extract, mashed bananas, and cinnamon. Whisk to combine. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to the mixture. Fold to combine.
- Make the topping: Place the butter in the cake pan. Place in the warm oven that is pre-heating and allow the butter to completely melt (a few minutes). Once butter is melted, remove the cake pan from the oven. Mix cinnamon and brown sugar together. Evenly sprinkle the brown sugar mixture over the melted butter. Arrange the halved bananas at the bottom of the cake pan.
- Pour half of the cake batter over the arranged halved bananas. Use spatula to press down on the batter to remove any air bubbles formed, especially between the bananas. Pour the rest of the cake batter into the pan and evenly spread out cake batter.
- Bake at 350℉ for 40 minutes.
- Remove cake from oven. Insert a toothpick to the center of the cake to check for doneness. Cake is done if the toothpick comes out clean. Allow cake to cool for at least 10 minutes.
- Gently run a knife around the outside of the cake to make sure it doesn't stick to the side. Place a large plate over the cake pan. Gently flip cake over keeping the plate firmly on the cake pan.
- Allow to cool for a few more minutes.
- Serve and enjoy!
