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Prep time
40 minutes
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Cook time
50 minutes
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Serves
8
Author Notes
An easy to throw together, deliciously moist (a controversial word, I know), oil-based yellow cake—baked in a cast iron skillet and "topped" with caramelized bananas. —Jessie Sheehan
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Caramelized Banana Upside-Down Cake
Ingredients
- For the caramelized bananas
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1/4 cup
unsalted butter
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1/3 cup
light brown sugar
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4
large bananas, just ripe, sliced lengthwise
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1/4 teaspoon
table salt
- For the yellow cake
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1 1/2 cups
all-purpose flour
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1 1/2 teaspoons
baking powder
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3/4 teaspoon
table salt
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1/2 cup
vegetable oil
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1 cup
granulated sugar
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2 teaspoons
pure vanilla extract
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1
large egg
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1
large egg yolk
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1 cup
buttermilk, room temperature
Directions
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Preheat the oven to 350° F.
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Melt the butter in a 10-inch cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add the brown sugar and salt and cook until melted, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and decoratively press the bananas (flat side down, rounded side up) into the caramel, until all of the caramel is topped with bananas. Set aside.
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Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium-sized bowl, and set aside.
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Place the oil, sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl. Whisk to combine. Add the egg and yolk, and continue whisking until smooth. Add the buttermilk and whisk again.
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Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and using a rubber spatula, gently fold to combine. Do not over mix.
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Scrape the batter over the bananas and gently smooth the top.
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Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, rotating at the halfway point, until a cake tester comes out with a moist crumb or two.
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Immediately run a paring knife around the edge of the pan. Let sit for 5 minutes, then carefully invert the cake onto a serving platter. If bits of caramel or banana stick to the bottom of the pan, scrape them off and place them back onto the cake.
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Let cool until the caramel sets a bit, about 20 minutes, or cool to room temperature. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
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The cake will keep wrapped in plastic on the counter for up to 3 days, but it is best the day it is made.
Jessie Sheehan is a celebrated cookbook author, recipe developer, baker, and host of Cherry Bombe’s baking podcast, She’s My Cherry Pie. She is the self-proclaimed queen of “easy-peasy baking;” and has contributed recipes and writing to The New York Times, The Washington Post, Epicurious, Food52, Bon Appetit, and more. Her third cookbook, Snackable Bakes: 100 Easy-Peasy Recipes for Exceptionally Scrumptious Sweets and Treats was a New York Times best cookbook of 2022. And its savory sibling Salty, Cheesy, Herby Crispy Snackable Bakes, was published in the fall of 2024.
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