This incredible Banana Upside Down Cake is the perfect dessert to make if you have 1 banana to use. Caramelized bananas top a buttery, easy to make "quarter" pound cake. This mini upside down cake is the perfect size for one or two people. If you like bananas, you will absolutely LOVE this cake!
This Caramelized Banana Upside Down Cake is the perfect dessert to make when you have just one banana. It's a mini cake and it's the ideal size for one or two people.
Banana Upside Down Cake
Melted butter and brown sugar make the perfect topping for this delightful cake. Together with sliced bananas they caramelize and create a buttery, sweet top layer to a perfectly tender "quarter" pound cake.
Why This Recipe Works
- This is the perfect recipe to use one banana in.
- Upside down cakes are classic desserts and they're so pretty.
- An upside down cake is easy to make and absolutely delicious!
- The batter for this upside down cake produces a perfectly moist and flavorful cake.
I used a 7 inch round springform pan to bake this mini cake and found it to be the perfect size. You can use any non-springform baking dish of a similar size.
Ingredient Notes
See recipe box below for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions.
- Butter: I use salted butter in this cake recipe. For the banana base, use melted butter and for the cake batter, use softened butter.
- Brown sugar: Use for the sweet banana base.
- Banana: Use one sliced banana to lay on the bottom of the pan.
- Sugar, salt, and vanilla extract: For flavor.
- Egg: One large egg adds structure to the cake.
- Flour: Use all-purpose (plain) flour.
- Baking powder: A leavening agent that causes the batter to rise.
- Milk: Milk moistens the batter and builds structure to the batter. It also helps to give the cake a crisp crust. Use whole milk, 1%, 2%, skim or almond milk.
How To Make This Recipe
- Mix together brown sugar and melted butter in a small bowl.
- Spread the sugar mixture on the bottom of your baking pan.
- Top with slices of one banana.
- Pour cake batter over the bananas and bake.
- Remove the cake from the oven to cool and if using a springform pan, release the attachment and flip onto your cake plate. If using a mini cake pan, place a plate over the top and invert.
Expert Tips
- The batter is fairly thick and will require a spatula or a large spoon to help the batter out of the mixing bowl and to spread evenly over the banana.
- Place your springform pan on a rimmed baking sheet in case any sugar leaks out of the base of the pan.
- Insert a toothpick into the cake when you have reached the 40 minute mark. If the toothpick comes out clean, with no wet batter stuck to it, the cake is ready. If there is wet batter on the toothpick, place the cake back in the oven and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes.
- Although this dessert is wonderful at room temperature. It is absolutely spectacular when it is enjoyed warm from baking.
Banana Desserts
If you have one or two overripe bananas, you might like to use them in any of these easy banana recipes:
- Small Batch Banana Muffins (2 bananas)
- Grilled Pound Cake with Limoncello Bananas (1 banana)
- Banana Bread For One (1 banana)
- Banana Oat Pecan Muffins (2-3 bananas)
- Banana Cream Pie For One (1 banana)
- Bananas Foster For One (1 banana)
Other Single Serving and Mini Cake Recipes
- Pineapple Upside Down Cake For One
- Mini King Cake
- 2-Ingredient Chocolate Cake For One
- Coffee Cake For One
- Flourless Chocolate Cake For One
- No Bake Cheesecake For One
- Small Carrot Cake
- Mini Pound Cake
- Mini Spice Cake
Frequently Asked Questions
For this Mini Caramelized Banana Upside Down Cake, I use a 7-inch Nordic Ware pan. It holds 4 cups of cake batter. For more information on the dishes I use in our “recipes for one”, please visit our FAQ page.
For examples of the dishes used at One Dish Kitchen, please visit our Store page.
You can use a ripe or an over ripe banana in this cake recipe. The banana will be baked and caramelized so if it's a super-soft banana, it's totally okay.
If you’ve tried this banana upside down cake or any recipe on One Dish Kitchen please let me know how you liked it by rating the recipe and telling me about it in the comment section below.
If you take a picture please tag us on Instagram (@onedishkitchen) we’d love to see!
RELATED: 15 Easy Single Serving Dessert Recipes
Ingredients
FOR THE SWEET BANANA BASE
- 3 tablespoons salted butter , melted
- 6 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 banana , sliced
FOR THE CAKE
- 1/4 cup salted butter , softened
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 cup milk
Instructions
FOR THE SWEET BANANA BASE
- Heat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C).Grease a 7-inch springform pan with butter. Place pan on top of a baking sheet. Mix the melted butter and brown sugar together and spread it on the bottom of the pan. Top with sliced bananas.
FOR THE CAKE
- In a small bowl, beat butter and sugar until well mixed.
- Beat in egg and vanilla.
- In a separate small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to butter/sugar mixture and mix to combine.
- Stir in the milk.
- Spread the batter evenly over the top of the bananas, and bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes or until top is golden.
- Allow to cool for 10 minutes before inverting over a plate.
- Best if served warm.
Notes
- The batter is fairly thick and will require a spatula or a large spoon to help the batter out of the mixing bowl and to spread evenly over the banana.
- Place your springform pan on a rimmed baking sheet in case any sugar leaks out of the base of the pan.
- Insert a toothpick into the cake when you have reached the 40 minute mark. If the toothpick comes out clean, with no wet batter stuck to it, the cake is ready. If there is wet batter on the toothpick, place the cake back in the oven and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes.
- Although this dessert is wonderful at room temperature. It is absolutely spectacular when it is enjoyed warm from baking.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Delicious. We loved it. Is there anyway to double the recipe and make it in a 9 inch cake pan? I have four coming over for dinner.
I’ve actually never tested the recipe with the ingredients doubled. But, the 7-inch pan is 38.5 square inches, a 9-inch round cake pan is 64 square inches. You may need to cook the cake longer because the batter will be thicker. I would suggest you test to see if the cake is done by inserting a sharp knife or a toothpick in the center of the cake to see if it comes out clean. If not, bake longer until the cake is cooked completely. Please let me know how it turns out.
I made this today and it was delicious! I used a 6” round pan. I used 1/2 cup sugar instead of 3/4 cup for the cake. I also added 1/4 cup of semisweet chocolate chips to the batter. Cake cooked in 40 minutes. It’s so nice to have such a great recipe foe one banana!
Made this for dessert tonight because I had a banana on the counter needing to be used used. So good. Served it warm with vanilla ice cream.
Baked this today.. This is a very good recipe.. Very simple and the result is a delicious dessert..
I don’t have a springform pan so, I used my Wilton 6x6x2 pan and it came out perfect..
I like that the cake can be baked by itself as, I often like to have pound cake and all recipes I have are for too large a cake for us..
I can see making this with other fruit also.. :O)
I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks so much for letting me know and YES, I hope you try it with other fruits. I love using cherries and pears!
Joanie
rated it tops and I am not fond of cooked bananas but this was excellent and will be on my return to list. Thanks
I am so happy you loved the cake, it’s one of my favorites. Thank you so much for letting me know!
This sounds fabulous! If I wanted a plain quarter pound cake, would I just omit the banana topping parts and make the cake? Also, does the ripeness of the bananas make a difference in flavor once they are cooked in sugar and butter?
Hi Tricia,
Yes, you can make the cake part of the recipe without the bananas.
I don’t find much of a difference in taste whether you use super ripe bananas or ripe bananas. Super ripe (spotty) bananas are sweeter but you likely won’t notice much of a difference in this recipe.
Hope you enjoy it!
Seriously incredible recipe. Easy to put together, bakes beautifully and tastes amazing. If only I could figure out a way to make one full size lol.
So glad you loved the recipe, Anita!
First time trying this recipe. The taste was great I, think I went a little heavy on the sugar. Have to work on presentation.
Thank you, LuAnn. I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe!
DELICIOUS and pretty ! Moist ! I did cut back the sugar to a half cup…3/4 seems like a lot…Next time i’ll add walnuts to too !
Hi Marie, thanks so much for letting me know you enjoyed the recipe. Such a great idea to add walnuts, I might have to do that next time I make this cake.
I love your recipes, they look and taste fantastic! Do you have a cook book for sale? I hope you do! I have 2 sisters that live alone and they would be great Christmas gifts for them! I have pointed them to your website already. They always complain that they don’t want to make big recipes because they would just go to waste and let’s face it, not everything works well to freeze the leftovers.
Hi Marsha,
Thank you so much! I currently do not have a cookbook but we have plans for one soon. When everything for the cookbook is finalized, I’ll be sure to let everyone know.
Thank you so much for forwarding our website information and recipes to your sisters, I hope they find many recipes they love there.
Have a wonderful week,
Joanie