This upside-down banana cake is comfort baking at its best. Soft, cinnamon-scented sponge sits on top of a glossy layer of caramelised bananas, creating a cake that’s rich without being heavy and familiar without being dull. It’s the kind of cake that feels right for afternoon tea, family gatherings, or any time you have bananas that are ripe but not past their best.
The key to success here is confidence at the end: once the cake comes out of the oven, it needs to be turned out while still hot. Leave it too long and the caramel will set, sticking stubbornly to the tin. Get the timing right and you’re rewarded with a beautifully glossy topping and tender fruit.
Serves 12
Topping
- 100g butter, melted
- 1 cup soft brown sugar, firmly packed
- 4-5 medium bananas, peeled and halved lengthways
Cake
- 200g butter, softened
- 1½ cups caster sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 cups plain flour
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ cup milk
Method
Heat oven to 180°C. Grease a 24cm springform cake tin. Mix melted butter with brown sugar and spread into base of cake tin. Cover with banana halves and set aside.
Make cake mixture by beating butter and sugar in a bowl until thick and pale. Beat in eggs, vanilla and cinnamon. Sift flour and baking powder together and stir into creamed mixture, alternating with milk.
Spread cake mixture over bananas. Bake for 55 minutes, or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Remove from oven, loosen cake and invert on to a serving plate while still hot or the caramelised sugar will stick to the tin making it impossible to remove.
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