Made with just a handful of pantry ingredients, this Banana Upside Down Cake is a fun and easy twist on traditional pineapple upside down cake. With a buttery brown sugar and banana topping, it tastes a lot like bananas foster!

Got more bananas on your countertop you need to use up? Make our ultimate banana bread and banana oatmeal pancakes.

Easy Banana Upside Down Cake

If you love bananas foster and fried bananas, you’re going to love this cake! Banana Upside Down Cake features mashed bananas in the cake batter along with a sliced banana, butter, and brown sugar topping that tastes like caramel sauce. It’s basically a banana cake with a bananas foster layer. So, amazing!

The great thing about this cake is that it’s very easy to make and pretty hard to mess up. Really, the only tricky part is removing it from the pan (but I’ve included tips for that below). The recipe begins with pretty standard cake ingredients and pantry staples, so as long as you have bananas on hand, you can whip this up anytime.

Ingredients Needed

This cake is made with just a handful of common ingredients – and all of them are pantry staples.
(Scroll below to the printable recipe card for details and measurements.)

• Flour – All purpose flour, spooned and leveled for proper measuring.
• Baking Powder and Baking Soda – Leavening agents to help the cake rise.
• Granulated sugar – For sweetness.
• Light brown sugar – Used in the batter and also in the caramel topping.
• Cinnamon – For warm flavor.
• Salt – Just a pinch.
• Whole milk – Helps provide a tender crumb.
• Vegetable oil – Helps keep the cake moist.
• Eggs – Gives structure to the batter.
• Vanilla – For flavor.
• Bananas – This cake includes mashed banana and sliced banana, which ensures the entire cake has a banana flavor.
• Butter – I recommend salted. If you use unsalted, add an extra pinch of salt for flavor.
• Rum (optional) – A key ingredient when making bananas foster. You can totally omit it here, if preferred.

Cake Variations

Of course, there are a few ways to switch up this recipe whether that means changing the flavor or subbing an ingredient.

• Give it a richer flavor. Switch out the milk with half-and-half for a richer flavor and creamier texture.
• Use butter instead of oil. Instead of using vegetable or canola oil, you can use melted butter in a 1:1 ratio.
• Swap the banana for pineapple. Replace the bananas with sliced pineapple rings for a classic pineapple upside-down cake.

How to Make Banana Upside Down Cake

This banana upside down cake comes together in just a few easy steps. Expect about 20 minutes of hands-on time – the rest is just waiting.
(Scroll below to the printable recipe card for details and measurements.)

1. Make the cake batter. Combine the dry ingredients, then add in the milk, oil, eggs, vanilla, and mashed bananas until completely combined.
2. Make the butter mixture. Whisk the brown sugar, butter, and rum (if using) until combined.
3. Add the topping to the pan. Pour the butter mixture into a greased 9-inch springform pan. Place the sliced bananas onto the mixture, pressing lightly. Pour the cake batter over top.
4. Bake. Bake at 350F for 40 to 45 minutes.
5. Cool. Let the cake cool for 10 minutes. Flip onto a serving plate or cake plate. Remove the pan. Slice and enjoy.

Tips for Success

While the process of this banana cake is quite easy, here are a few tips to make it even easier.

• Try to get three long slices out of each banana. If you don’t, that’s okay; you will just have more space between slices.
• Arrange the banana slices how you want. You can decide how you want to place the banana slices for either a lovely aesthetic, or to pack in as many bananas as possible. Try some even lines of banana slices, or place them all as close as possible. It’s up to you.
• Prevent the springform pan from leaking. Some springform pans of lower quality can be kind of “leaky,” so if that is the case, you can wrap some aluminum foil around the outside of the base to keep your oven clean.
• Be careful when flipping the cake over onto the cake plate. The best way to do this is to place a plate atop the springform pan before flipping it over, so that it drops as little as possible. If you don’t flip with caution, the cake will fall apart. Alternatively, you can remove the ring from the cake and then place the cake plate directly on the cake and flip it so that it doesn’t drop at all.

Serving Suggestions

Banana upside down cake can be served while it’s still slightly warm or at room temperature. In my opinion, serving it warm makes it feel a bit more like bananas foster upside down cake. You can enjoy it as-is or add a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Yum!

How to Store & Freeze

• Storing leftovers. This cake should be stored in the refrigerator, tightly covered. It will keep up to 5 days.
• To freeze. You can also freeze it, but make sure to wrap it tightly with plastic wrap and again with foil. It will last for about 2 months in the freezer. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.

More Cake Recipes:

• Shirley Temple Cake
• Pistachio Cake
• Brazilian Carrot Cake
• Hummingbird Cake
• Gooey Butter Cake

I hope you love this delicious and easy recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!