BANANA UPSIDE DOWN CAKE

By darylsueb

Ingredients

• 9 Tbs. unsalted butter
• 1/3 Cup Demerara sugar
• 1 1/4 Cups Sugar
• 1 Tbs. maple sugar
• 1/2 Cup milk
• 3 Firm but ripe bananas, halved length-wise
• 1 Tsp. vanilla
• 2 Egg yolks
• 1 1/2 Cups cake flour
• 1 1/2 Tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 Tsp. Salt
• Lightly sweetened whipped cream for serving

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350. Have all the ingredients at room temperature. Lightly butter the sides of a cake pan. In the cake pan, over medium heat, melt 3 Tbs. of the butter. Add the Demerara sugar, 1/4 cup sugar, and maple syrup and stir to combine. Cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly caramelized, about 3 minutes. Remove pan from heat. Arrange banana slices, cut side down, to cover bottom of the pan in a single layer. Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the milk, vanilla and egg yolks. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater (or in a larger bowl with a hand mixer), sift together the flour, remaining 1 cup sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the remaining 6 tbs. of butter and beat on medium-low speed until the batter forms pea-sized pieces. Reduce the speed to low and slowly add the milk mixture. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until smooth (1-2 minutes).

Spoon the batter over the bananas, spreading it evenly. Bake until the center is done - 50 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes. Run a spatula or knife around the edges to loosen the cake. Place a flat serving plate upside down on top of the pan and invert the pan and plate together. Let stand for 5 minutes, lift off pan. Slice and serve with whipped cream