How To Make An Upside-Down Banana Bread

When you’re looking for a treat that’s sweet and satisfying without being too sweet, you can’t do much better than a recipe involving bananas. We’ve played around with all kinds of desserts involving the potassium-rich, tropical fruit, but the one we always end up finding ourselves craving is classic banana bread.

Still, we also always want to see if we can find ways to take the classics to new and interesting places, so we couldn’t just settle for “regular” banana bread. We kept searching for twists, and our search led us to THIS— Upside-Down Banana Bread! Not only does this take on the treat feature bananas both sliced and mashed, it’s topped with a caramel glaze that adds just the right amount of sticky sweetness. Just take a look at how tempting it is.

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UPSIDE-DOWN BANANA BREAD

Serves 6
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

INGREDIENTS

Bread

  • ½ cup brown sugar, packed
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced
  • 2 bananas, sliced into ¼-inch rounds
  • 1­½ cups whole wheat flour
  • ¾ cup granulated white sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 cup overripe bananas, mashed
  • 2 large eggs
  • ⅓ cup coconut oil (or oil of choice)
  • ⅓ cup buttermilk
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Caramel Glaze

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons heavy cream

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit (163 degrees Celsius). Grease a 9-inch-by-5-inch loaf pan.
  2. Spread the brown sugar on the bottom of the loaf pan. Dot with the butter and place in the oven for about 8 minutes.
  3. Stir the mixture until the sugar has dissolved and spread evenly across the bottom of the pan.
  4. Place the banana slices in the pan in a single layer on top of the melted sugar.
  5. In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients.
  6. In a small bowl, combine the wet ingredients, and mix well.
  7. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones, and mix until just combined.
  8. Pour the batter into the loaf pan over the sliced bananas.
  9. Bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
  10. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 to 15 minutes before inverting onto a plate. The bananas should face up when you do so.
  11. Prepare the caramel glaze by placing the butter, brown sugar, and heavy cream in a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 2 minutes.
  12. When you’re ready to serve, pour the glaze evenly over the bread. The glaze will discolor as it sits. Only glaze when ready to serve.

That shiny glaze and those sliced bananas are just begging us all to dig right in— so don’t wait! Give this one a try and tell us how it turns out for you. Have you ever made an upside-down loaf of banana bread before? Do you prefer this one, or our Blueberry Banana Cake? What other twists on banana bread have you seen?

Recipe adapted from The Daring Gourmet