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.
Upside Down Cake
When I was brainstorming new small batch recipe ideas a few weeks ago, pound cake came to mind. I love a good pound cake – it’s the perfect cake to enjoy simply, perhaps with strawberries and whipped cream.
I played around with the ingredient ratios and after a few attempts, I created a rich and buttery mini pound cake.
This pound cake is a delightful cake to enjoy on it’s own but because it tastes so delicious, I decided to use the mini cake recipe as the base in this banana upside down 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.
How To Make A Banana Upside Down Cake
Here’s how I put this banana upside down cake together…
Step 1
Mix together brown sugar and melted butter in a small bowl.
Step 2
Spread the sugar mixture on the bottom of your baking pan.
Step 3
Top with slices of one banana.
Step 4
Pour cake batter over the bananas and bake.
Step 5
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.
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)
Other Single Serving 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
Best Dish To Use In A Mini Banana Upside Down Cake
For this Mini Caramelized Banana Upside Down Cake, I use a 7-inch Nordic Ware pan. You can also use a similar sized baking dish. 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.
RELATED: 15 Easy Single Serving Dessert Recipes
Banana Upside Down Cake Recipe
Ingredients
FOR THE SWEET BANANA BASE
- 3 tablespoons butter , melted
- 6 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 banana , sliced
FOR THE CAKE
- 1/4 cup 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.
Nutrition
RELATED: Cooking For One – Simple Tips For Solo Cooking
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.
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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
Looks Delish! Need to try to make this.
Nicole
It looks totally good! I would love to try it!
I love how moist and delicious this looks.
Oh, how I would love a piece right now with my morning coffee! I can’t wait to give your recipe a try!
Wow this looks so good! Thanks for the recipe!
This looks so yummy! I’ll have to try it. My family loves bananas!
This looks absolutely amazing and I cannot wait to try!
Um, this cake sounds amazing. Would you believe that I’ve never heard of a banana upside down cake? I think I need to crack into it and have a go!
OMG! I am definitely going to try the Carmelized Banana Upside Down Cake! It looks delicious!
Oh my goodness this looks amazing. Perfect for a chilly day like today!