While my banana didn’t stay at what became the top of this cake, so the visuals aren’t miraculous, this is a delicious cake worth the hassle of cooking the banana slices! Because it only needs 3/4 cup of flour, you can get away with swapping in gluten-free flour and the texture will still be good. (I used the Bob’s Red Mill All Purpose Baking Flour mix.)
Ingredients:
Bananas:
- 4 medium bananas, about 1 1/2 pounds total before peeling
- 4 tablespoons butter, divided
Caramel layer:
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
Batter:
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 tablespoons butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup peanut butter chips
For serving:
- Whipped cream
- Flaky sea salt
To start with, peel the bananas and slice them into 1/2″ thick circles on a slight bias.
Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the butter is melted and frothy, add as many slices of banana as you can in a single layer, cooking for 2-3 minutes per side until browned and caramelized and until they release easily from the skillet.
After cooking on both sides, transfer the cooked bananas to a plate, add more butter to the pan if needed, and cook the remaining butter slices. Once complete, set the plate with the cooked bananas aside.
In a small saucepan, melt the 4 tablespoons of butter for the caramel over medium heat. Once melted, add the 1/2 cup brown sugar, stir, and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture darkens slightly. Reduce the heat to low and add the vanilla and cream, whisking together. Simmer for a further minute, then remove from the heat.
Grease a 9″ cake pan, then pour the caramel in in an even layer. Place in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 300 degrees. In a small bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt, then set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter and half cup of brown sugar.
Beat in the eggs. Add half the sifted dry goods, followed by half of the milk, then the remaining dry goods, and remaining milk. Beat until just combined, then fold in the peanut butter chips by hand. Set batter aside. (It seemed pretty liquid-y to me, but the texture of the finished cake was good.)
Remove the chilled cake pan from the fridge and arrange the bananas over the caramel, overlapping them slightly and pressing them into the caramel.
Pour the cake batter on top of the bananas.
Bake for 55-60 minutes, rotating halfway through, until it passes the toothpick test.
Cool at room temperature for at least 30 minutes, and then while the cake is still warm, invert onto a plate.
Serve with whipped cream and a pinch of sea salt. Theoretically a bit less whipped cream if you’re going to eat more the next day for breakfast, but I’m not the cops!
Chocolate Banana Upside-Down Cake
From a random imgur post.
Bananas:
- 4 medium bananas, about 1 1/2 pounds total before peeling
- 4 tablespoons butter, divided
Caramel layer:
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
Batter:
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 tablespoons butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup peanut butter chips
For serving:
- Whipped cream
- Flaky sea salt
To start with, peel the bananas and slice them into 1/2″ thick circles on a slight bias.
Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the butter is melted and frothy, add as many slices of banana as you can in a single layer, cooking for 2-3 minutes per side until browned and caramelized and until they release easily from the skillet. After cooking on both sides, transfer the cooked bananas to a plate, add more butter to the pan if needed, and cook the remaining butter slices. Once complete, set the plate with the cooked bananas aside.
In a small saucepan, melt the 4 tablespoons of butter for the caramel over medium heat. Once melted, add the 1/2 cup brown sugar, stir, and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture darkens slightly. Reduce the heat to low and add the vanilla and cream, whisking together. Simmer for a further minute, then remove from the heat. Grease a 9″ cake pan, then pour the caramel in in an even layer. Place in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 300 degrees. In a small bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt, then set aside. In a large bowl, cream together the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter and half cup of brown sugar. Beat in the eggs. Add half the sifted dry goods, followed by half of the milk, then the remaining dry goods, and remaining milk. Beat until just combined, then fold in the peanut butter chips by hand. Set batter aside.
Remove the chilled cake pan from the fridge and arrange the bananas over the caramel, overlapping them slightly and pressing them into the caramel. Pour the cake batter on top of the bananas. Bake for 55-60 minutes, rotating halfway through, until it passes the toothpick test. Cool at room temperature for at least 30 minutes, and then while the cake is still warm, invert onto a plate. Serve with whipped cream and a pinch of sea salt.
Ingredients:
Remove from the heat and beat in the sugar.
Add the eggs, then the espresso powder, salt, and vanilla.
Fold in the flour, then the caramel bits and chocolate chips.
Transfer into the prepared pan.
Bake for 20 minutes. Rotate the pan, then bake another 15-20 minutes, until the edges have darkened and the top looks cooked.
Cool in the pan at least 30 minutes, then remove from the pan (remembering now that the bottom of your parchment will be greasy so you don’t want it directly on your counters), slice, and serve.
Ingredients:
Mix in the eggs and vanilla.
Whisk in the flour and salt, then the chocolate chips.
Spread into the crust.
Cool in the pan, on a wire rack, then slice and serve. If you lined the pan with parchment, you can lift out before slicing. Store in an airtight container.
Stir in the cereal and chocolate chips.
Turn out onto the lined pan and press into an even layer – it may be helpful to spray a silicone spatula with baking spray to press with.
Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in the pan on a wire rack, then break into chunks and store in an airtight container.
Combine the buttermilk, honey, salt, and baking soda (perhaps in a large measuring cup, which you can also use to microwave the buttermilk to warm it), whisk together, then pour into the yeast mixture.
Add 3 cups of the flour and mix until smooth on low speed of your mixture, starting with the paddle attachment, 3-5 minutes. Add the melted butter and mix until completely combined.
Add the remaining flour 1 cup at a time, continuing to mix on low speed. I do recommend briefly stirring by hand after each addition, so that turning on the mixer doesn’t create a huge cloud of loose flour. When the dough pulls from the sides of the bowl, remove and knead until smooth. I had hoped to knead fully just with the dough hook, but it seemed like much of the dough wasn’t really getting kneaded, so I did do it by hand.
Place the kneaded dough in a greased bowl, rotate to cover all sides of the dough in the grease, and cover. Let rise somewhere warm for 1 1/2 hours, or until doubled.
Grease two bread pans. Once risen, punch down and shape into two loaves, putting each into a greased pan with seam-side down. Lightly grease the top of the bread, then cover and let rise a further 45 minutes, or until the dough has reached the top of the bread pans.
Preheat the oven to 375, put in the loaves, and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove the bread from the oven and brush the tops with melted butter.
Let cool on a rack in the pans for 10 minutes, then remove from the pans and let cool completely on a wire rack.
Ingredients:
Bake until set, about 8 minutes, then move to a wire rack to cool. You’re done with the oven now and can turn it off.
Pour the warm egg mixture back into the larger pot and return to the heat, bringing to a gentle boil while stirring constantly.
Boil for two minutes, then remove from the heat. Add the peanut butter and stir until smooth.
Pour into the cooled crust, cover, and refrigerate at least two hours.
After the filling has cooled, beat the heavy cream until it begins to thicken, then add the powdered sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form. If you don’t expect the custard to all get eaten that day, add the tablespoon of pudding powder, which will ensure no liquid starts seeping out of the leftover whipped cream. Spread the whipped cream over the peanut butter layer, then top with the Reese’s Pieces and chocolate sauce.
At fridge temperature, this is a dish you serve with a spoon. For nice slices, freeze maybe an hour, then slice. Once it’s fully frozen, it becomes hard (but still possible) to draw a knife through, so half-frozen would be ideal.
If you’re not already aware – it’s easier to separate egg whites from the yolks cleanly while they’re cold, but then egg whites beat up better at room temperature, so this will go better if you separate your eggs and then let the whites sit for a bit to warm.
Gradually add the sugar mixture to the egg whites and continue beating until the egg whites reach stiff peaks.
Beat in the vanilla, then fold in the crushed Ritz and mini chocolate chips by hand.
Transfer the meringue mixture to the greased pie pan.
Place the meringue in the oven and reduce the temperature to 325 degrees. Bake for 30 minutes, then remove from the oven and place the pan on a wire rack to cool completely.
Ingredients:
Meanwhile, beat the cream cheese with a mixer on high until smooth and creamy, about a minute.
Add the yogurt and beat until well combined at medium-high, another minute.
Beat in the eggs/yolk.
Beat in the sugar, lemon juice and zest, and vanilla, making sure to scrape down the insides of the bowl.
Pour the filling into the crust.
Bake 34-38 minutes, until still somewhat jiggly but not still liquid.
Cool on a wire rack at room temperature for 1 hour, then refrigerate at least 3 hours, up to overnight.
When ready to serve, use the parchment to remove the bars from the pan and cut with a sharp knife, wiping down the knife between cuts if you care about nice edges. Serve with whipped cream and/or berries as desired. Store in the fridge for several days, or freeze and then thaw overnight in the fridge to keep for longer.
Ingredients:
Press the dough into the lined dish and pierce all over with a fork.
Bake 40-45 minutes, until lightly golden brown, then set aside (still in the dish) to cool.
I beat together the dough and then realized that the cream I had was actually half-and-half, so threw the dough in the freezer for a few days until I’d gone to the store, let it thaw in the fridge for a day, and then proceeded.
Reduce the heat while you add the butter, sugar, and cream, then raise to medium-high and cook until the mixture reads 255 degrees on a candy thermometer.
Remove from the heat, stir in the salt, and then quickly pour over the shortbread, spreading with a silicone spatula if needed to get an even layer. Let cool to room temp.
When you’re ready, melt the white chocolate and oil in the microwave (the chocolate probably has instructions on the package – I was pleased how well store brand white chocolate melted), stir until smooth, and then spread in an even layer over the caramel.
Let set at room temperature or in the fridge, then remove from the pan and slice.
sparecake 