Upside-Down Brazilian Banana Cake
- MakesMakes one 9-inch round cake
- Cook Time1½ hours
- Active time plus cooling40 minutes active, plus cooling
This upside-down cake, our take on Brazilian bolo de banana caramelizada, is bananas inside and out. Fruit on top wasn’t enough to float our boat, so we put some into the batter, too, for moistness and sweetness. All-purpose flour is the primary ingredient in the batter, but we also add a small measure of cornstarch, approximating the effect of a low-protein cake flour to yield a tender, fine crumb. This cake is especially good warm with ice cream or a lightly sweetened whipped cream. If you have leftovers, store them at room temperature under an overturned large bowl or cake dome.
Don’t use under-ripe bananas. The bananas for both the topping and cake should yield to the touch and have darkly speckled peels. Super-ripe fruits are more easily mashed into the lump-free, near-liquid pulp that’s important for proper texture in the crumb of the cake.
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