Upside Down Banana Bread

Our friend, Claire, just joined the Peace Corps and is about to move to The Gambia for the next few years! Before her new adventure, Tony & Katie hosted a surprise going-away brunch.

I decided to try out a recipe I saw on BuzzFeed for upside down banana bread – which is more of a dessert really.  You make your standard banana bread mix, but before pouring it into the pan, you line it with a layer of bananas covered in caramel sauce.  When you flip it over at the end, it becomes a gooey treat. 

The bananas on mine slid around a bit when they were flipped and I had to clean up some of the excess caramel sauce that leaked off the plate, but overall I’d say it was a success.  Next time I’d dry adding walnuts or pecans to the recipe as well (maybe just toast some to sprinkle over the top). 

We didn’t serve ours with ice cream, but Buzzfeed suggested that you do and I’m sure it’d be amazing. 

I don’t think this will be my replacement banana bread recipe since it was a bit too sweet and dense for me, but it’s perfect for a potluck when others can help eat it!

Best of luck to Claire on her exciting journey to come!

Upside Down Banana Bread (adapted from BuzzFeed)

Ingredients:

• 4-5 ripe bananas (I had a few ripe ones in the freezer that I thawed out along with some fresher ones)
• 3 eggs
• ½ cup oil
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 T ground cinnamon
• 2 cups flour
• ½ cup butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2-3 fresh bananas, sliced
• Vanilla ice cream (optional)
• Toasted walnuts/pecans (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large bowl (or in a stand mixer), mash the ripe bananas.

3. Add the eggs, oil, sugar, and cinnamon, mixing until evenly incorporated.

4. Add the flour and mix until the batter has no large pockets of flour. Set aside.

5. In a pot over low heat, melt the butter, then mix in the brown sugar until dissolved.

6. Bring up the heat to medium, cooking until the mixture starts bubbling.

7. Remove the caramel from heat and pour into a greased 9x9 baking pan.

8. Lay the banana slices evenly on top of the caramel.

9. Spread the banana bread batter on top.

10. Bake 40-50 minutes.

11. Cool until the bottom is barely warm and use a knife to loosen the edges from the pan.

12. Place a plate upside-down on top of the pan, then invert the pan, flipping the banana bread onto the plate.

13. Slice, then top with toasted nuts and/or vanilla ice cream.