Banana Espresso Upside-Down Cake

Sometimes you don’t want to make banana bread…and sometimes you only have 2 ripe bananas, and the rest are, well, firm.

I highly recommend serving these about 20 minutes after baking, they will still be hot, and it give the caramel enough time to soak into the cake.

You can bake these in muffin tins, make sure to grease the tin well, then just divide the caramel evenly and slice bananas for each muffin well.

Banana Espresso Upside-Down Cake – Make 2 loaves
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed, at room temperature
2 large eggs
2 medium ripe bananas, peeled and mashed; about 1 cup
3/4 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 tablespoon instant espresso powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 recipe “Caramel” topping (recipe and ingredients below)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare 2 baking loaf pans by greasing and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle, beat the sugars and butter at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time until combined, then the mashed bananas, sour cream, and vanilla, scraping down the bowl as needed.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, espresso powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the banana mixture by the spoonful, mixing until thoroughly combined. Set aside and make “caramel”.

To make the “caramel” topping:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 firm bananas, peeled

Melt the butter in a saute pan. Stir in the brown sugar and salt and cook over medium heat, stirring until evenly combined, and most of the sugar is melted, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat. Divide mixture among loaf pans.

Cut the bananas in half crosswise. Arrange the slices, cut side down, on top of the caramel.

Divide batter among both loaf pans – pour evenly over the bananas, use an offset spatula to smooth over the batter.

Place the loaf pan (baking 1 at a time) on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for 20 minutes.
Invert onto serving platter.

Serve immediately or refrigerate up to 5 days. Warm before serving.

Happy Cooking

Bon Appetit!