This banana upside down cake is super moist thanks to the combo of sour cream, buttermilk, and vegetable oil. That caramelized banana flavor is so good!
Prep Time15 minutesmins
Cook Time40 minutesmins
Cooling Time1 hourhr
Total Time1 hourhr55 minutesmins
Course: Cakes & Cupcakes
Cuisine: American
Keyword: banana upside down cake
Servings: 9-inch cake
Calories: 443kcal
Author: Averie Sunshine
Ingredients
½cupunsalted butter1 stick
¾cuplight brown sugarpacked
about 3 extra-large ripe bananas or 4 small/mediumsliced in half horizontally and then sliced in vertically (if banana is ‘fat’, slice each half into 3 or 4 long vertical pieces)
1cupall-purpose flour
¾cupgranulated sugar
2teaspoonsbaking powder
pinchsaltoptional and to taste
1large egg
½cupbuttermilkor Powdered Buttermilk, use 2 tablespoons with the dry ingredients + 1/2 cup water added with the wet
⅓cupsour creamlite okay, or plain Greek yogurt may be substituted
3tablespoonscanola or vegetable oil
2teaspoonsvanilla extract
salted caramel sauce for drizzlingoptional (homemade or storebought)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 9-inch springform cake pan with cooking spray; set aside. A regular 9-inch round cake pan is likely going to be too shallow and is not recommended.
In a small, microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter, about 1 minute on high power.
Pour the butter into the cake pan. Use your finger to run a bit of butter around the side of the pan to ensure it’s well-greased.
Evenly sprinkle the brown sugar over the butter.
Fan banana slices (cut side down) out from center of pan like the spokes of a wheel covering the entire pan with banana slices. The less gaps and space between bananas, the better. Use short pieces to fill in gaps.
Add 8 to 10 short banana pieces around sides of pan (cut side down), spaced uniformly; set pan aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, optional salt; set aside.
In a separate small bowl, whisk together the next 5 wet ingredients (through vanilla).
Add the wet mixture to the dry, mixing lightly with a spoon or folding with a spatula until just combined. Small lumps will be present, don’t overmix or try to stir them smooth.
Gently turn batter out into prepared pan, being careful to not disturb the banana slices on the bottom or sides of pan. Fill pan to about 3/4-full. If you have a little extra batter, discard it rather than overfilling your pan (was not a problem for me but pan sizes and depths vary).
Place pan on a cookie sheet as insurance to catch anything that may leak from springform pan and bake for about 38 to 40 minutes, or until center is set, not jiggly, lightly golden browned, and springy to the touch. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter. Only go down about 1-inch with the toothpick, not all the way to the bottom where you’ll hit gooey caramelized bananas.
Place pan on a wire rack and allow cake to cool for at least 1 hour before inverting, slicing, and serving. Optionally before serving, drizzle with salted caramel sauce. Cake will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 5 days.