Bananas Foster Upside Down Cake

It's the last day of cake week and I'm wrapping it up with this amazing gluten free bananas foster upside down cake.  Bananas foster is a classic dessert, that originated in New Orleans, which is comprised of bananas cooked in a brown sugar and rum sauce.  This easy cake recipe captures the flavors of a the familiar dessert in a single layer of moist banana bread style cake topped with a quick caramel sauce and fresh bananas.

There are two great things about this recipe (besides the flavor of course).  First, the cake and topping are all baked together, so you don't need to make any frosting or decorate anything.  Second, this upside down cake actually is best served warm, which means you don't need to wait for anything to cool down.  In less than 2 hours you can be eating a warm slice of this gluten free banana cake.   It's perfect served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a hot cup of coffee!

If you like upside-down cake recipes, I recommend you try my strawberry banana upside down cake, which has a similar concept to this cake, or this delicious gluten free pineapple upside down cake.

Ingredient Notes

The number of ingredients in this cake recipe may look intimidating, but some are duplicates used in the topping and the cake. I promise this is an easy gluten free and dairy free cake recipe!

For the bananas foster topping:

• Vegan Butter - I used Country Crock plant butter, but any vegan stick type butter will work fine.  If you're not dairy free, use unsalted butter in the same measure. 
• Dark Brown Sugar - Dark brown sugar has a rich molasses flavor and it is what is normally used in a bananas foster dessert.  If you don't have any on hand, you can substitute with light brown sugar or possibly even coconut sugar, although I haven't tested that. 
• Rum - I used a dark spiced rum for the extra bit of flavor.  Use your favorite type of rum.
• Cinnamon - A little bit of cinnamon enhances the spiced flavor of the rum and goes perfectly with bananas.
• Bananas - For the topping, you want fresh bananas.  The best bananas will be firm with yellow skins.  I find it easiest to slice the bananas long ways by laying them flat on the counter and placing the knife parallel to the countertop.  

For the gluten free banana cake layer:

• Gluten-Free Flour Blend - I used Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 gluten free flour blend for this recipe.  You can use your favorite brand of flour, but ensure it contains xanthan gum or a similar binder to keep your cake from crumbling.  I have not tested this recipe with any other brands of flour so your results may vary. 
• Sugar & Brown Sugar - I used a mixture of granulated sugar and dark brown sugar for both moistness and flavor.  Just like the topping, you can use light brown sugar if you prefer.
• Baking Powder & Baking Soda - We are using a combination of leavening agents to help this cake rise. This is actually a heavy banana cake that's almost like banana bread, so the extra lift is needed. 
• Salt - A little bit of salt compliments the sweet flavors of the dessert.  Don't skip it!
• Cinnamon - Adding a little cinnamon for spice brings out the flavors of the rum and bananas. 
• Vegan Butter - As listed above, use your favorite butter here.  For the cake, we are using melted butter which helps the cake achieve a denser texture while providing the buttery flavor.  If you want to replace the butter in the cake with vegetable oil or coconut oil, that would work fine. 
• Bananas - For the cake you want ripe or extra ripe bananas.  The darker the skins, the more banana flavor your cake will have.
• Eggs - This cake uses two large eggs and I haven't tested and egg substitutes.  I believe flax eggs would work well here if you need an egg free version. 
• Vanilla Extract - A little vanilla just enhances the flavor of this dessert.
• Rum - A little more rum is added to the cake, just to match the flavor of the topping.

See recipe card for full ingredient list and quantities.

Storage

This cake is best if it is served the same day it is baked. It's even better if you eat it while it is still a little warm.

If you must store leftovers, place them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. I recommend warming slices in the microwave for about 20 seconds prior to serving.

More banana recipes to consider:

If you try this recipe, please leave a 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 star rating and let me know how you liked it in the comments below.