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Bananas Foster Upside Down Cake

This bananas foster upside down cake has a bananas foster topping on top of a bananas foster cake - filled with cinnamon, rum, and bananas! So much flavor and so easy to make!
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: banana bread, banana cake, bananas foster
Servings: 1 9x13 cake

Ingredients

For the bananas foster topping:

  • 2/3 cup dark brown sugar lightly packed
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature
  • 3 tbsp rum I use Bacardi Gold
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 ripe bananas Sliced lengthwise into 4 pieces

For the bananas foster cake:

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature
  • 1/2 cup dark brown sugar lightly packed
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs room temperature
  • 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tbsp rum I use Bacardi Gold
  • 4 overripe bananas mashed
  • 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 2 cup all-purpose flour

Instructions

For the cake batter:

  • Preheat the oven to 350F and prepare a 9x13 baking dish or cake pan by spraying with cooking spray or greasing with butter. I like to use my glass Pyrex dish for this so you can see what the topping looks like as it cooks and it's really easy to get the cake out of the dish when it's done baking.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl using a hand mixer, beat together the butter and sugars (brown and granulated on medium speed until combined and light in color.
  • Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Beat on medium speed to combine.
  • Add the rum and vanilla and beat on medium speed to combine.
  • Add the Greek yogurt and mashed bananas and beat on medium speed to combine.
  • On low speed, beat in the dry ingredients (salt, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, AP flour). Make sure to sprinkle the baking powder and baking soda evenly over the top of the batter to ensure it is evenly distributed.
  • Scrape down the sides of the bowl and give it one last good mix making sure everything is fully incorporated. Set the batter aside while you make the topping.

For the bananas foster topping:

  • In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the brown sugar, butter, and salt until combined. Stir frequently until the butter and sugar are melted together.
  • Remove from heat and stir in the cinnamon and rum.

To assemble and bake:

  • Pour the bananas foster topping mixture into the bottom of the prepared 9x13 pan and arrange your sliced bananas on top of it.
  • Gently pour your cake batter on top of the topping and spread the batter out evenly in the pan.
  • Bake for 30 minutes, then cover with tin foil and cook 10 minutes more, until the cake is fully cooked through. You can check the cake with a cake tester - it is ready when the tester comes out clean. If you are using a metal baking pan instead of a Pyrex dish, you will want to watch the baking time. Metal and glass heat differently in the oven so the timing will likely be different. You may also want to put something on the bottom of your oven to catch any overflow. In making this, I never had any overflow but the caramel topping does bubble up quite a bit towards the end as it heats up. If you have a more shallow baking dish, it's possible to get overflow.
  • Remove from the oven and allow to cool about 10 minutes.
  • Run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the cake and the bananas foster caramel topping.
  • Place a sheet of parchment paper over the cake and place a baking sheet on top of that. Holding the baking dish with your cake in it tightly against the baking sheet, flip the dish and baking sheet over so your cake can turn out onto the baking sheet.
  • Remove the baking dish. If any topping slides off or gets left behind in the pan, gently spoon it over the cake. Slice and serve!

Notes

This cake can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for several days.