Banana Upside Down Cake

Oh Summer. It is literally going by so fast. It may in fact may be so fast that I jumped the gun and made a winter style dessert. Like.. banana upside down cake. Bananas have been a friend of mine for some time now. As seen here, heerrree and over there. The oven and I are a different story.

The one upstairs has straight up died. It likes to broil, even broil convection and maybe clean itself but heaven forbid it wanted to bake. The one in the basement will bake but only unless it is guaranteed to give completely inaccurate temperatures. Perfect right? This cake was beautiful on the outside, flip it and it looks delicious. Turns out that it was not fully cooked in the center. Be careful!

Banana Chocolate Chip Upside Down Cake
Adapted from David Lebovitz


topping

1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar (preferably dark)

2 tablespoons water

2 large bananas

few drops of lemon juice
cake

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons melted butter, salted or unsalted

1 large egg

1 large egg white

1 cup banana puree (about 2 or 3 bananas)

1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350º. To make the topping, place the brown sugar and water or butter in an 8-inch (20 cm) square cake pan. Warm the pan directly on the stovetop over low heat, stirring until the sugar is thoroughly moistened. If using water, simmer the mixture for about 45 seconds. If using butter, stir just until the sugar is moist and bubbling, then remove from heat. (It won't melt completely smooth, and there may be a few bare spots, which is normal.) Let cool to room temperature. Peel and slice the bananas in 1/4-inch (1 cm) slices. Arrange them in slightly overlapping rows over the melted brown sugar. Sprinkle with a few drops of lemon juice. For the cake, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl, making sure there are no lumps. Mix in the granulated sugar. In a small bowl, mix together the butter, egg, egg white, banana puree, buttermilk, and vanilla. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and stir in the wet ingredients until almost combined. Do not overmix. Gently fold in the chocolate pieces. Scrape the batter into the pan over the bananas, then use a spatula to carefully spread the batter over the sliced fruit. Bake for 40 minutes, or until the cake feels just set in the center when you touch it. Make sure it is not undercooked! Cool the cake for about 20 minutes, then run a knife along the edges of the cake to help it release from the pan. Invert the cake onto a serving platter.