recipe: banana upside down cake

it was a perfect storm; i was in the mood to bake, craving something sweet, looking for a fun activity to do with nia and we had super soft/need-to-use-soon bananas.

whenever i'm feeling adventurous i always go to my trusty epicurious app and type in whatever ingredients we have lying around. a few years ago i (humbly) mastered a pineapple upside down cake, so a banana twist seemed like the best  choice.

banana upside down cake

for bottom:
1 c. firmly packed light brown sugar
6 TBSP unsalted butter (room temp)
2 ripe bananas, sliced (although i used super soft/past ripe ones, ripe, firm ones would definitely yield better results)
(although the recipe doesn't call for it, i generously sprinkled the bananas with cinnamon)

for cake:
1 1/2 c. cake flour ( if you don't have cake flour, use 1 1/4 c. all purpose mixed with 1/4 c. corn flour)
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. mashed bananas
1/2 c. buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/4 c. sugar
1/3 c. vegetable shortening (i used equal amount of butter instead)
2 eggs (i only used one)
(again, although it doesn't call for it, i added about 2 TBSP of cinnamon to the batter)

preparation:

Position rack in lowest third of oven and preheat to 350°F. Using electric mixer, cream brown sugar and butter in medium bowl until well mixed. Spread brown sugar mixture over bottom of 9-inch square baking dish with 2-inch high sides. Arrange banana slices atop brown sugar mixture, covering completely. Set cake pan aside.

Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in small bowl. Mix mashed bananas, buttermilk and vanilla in another small bowl. Using electric mixer, cream 1 1/4 cups sugar and shortening until fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add dry ingredients alternatively with buttermilk mixture, mixing until just combined. Pour batter over bananas in pan. Bake until cake pulls away from sides of pan and tester inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 1 hour 5 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool slightly. Turn cake out onto plate. Serve warm or at room temperature.

a few things to note:
you could definitely use less sugar, as this was a super sweet cake. also, i think i could have used a bit less butter and sugar for the topping (bottom when you bake) as it was too thick and you really just need enough to cover the sliced bananas for them to caramelize. the top/bottom didn't come out as great as i had hoped, but the actual cake was delicious!