Mini Banana Upside-Down Cake Bites

My mom recently taught me one of the most valuable lessons of my life. Count the bananas at Costco. Let me explain... Costco bags their bananas according to weight. So you can either get 5 big bananas or 9 medium. One time I got 10 in one bag... at $1.19 per bag, you can't really beat that.

Moral of the story: count your bananas!

I love baking banana recipes because they are always so inexpensive to make and stay moist for DAYS! These Mini Banana Upside-Down Cake Bites have a great moist banana flavor that's complimented by the crunchy, brown sugar topping. 

Mini Banana Upside-Down Cake Bites

Topping:

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter


1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar


1 1/2 tablespoons dark corn syrup


1/3 cup walnut halves or pieces

Cake:


INGREDIENTS:

1 cup cup cake flour


1/2 teaspoon baking powder


1/2 teaspoon baking soda


1/2 teaspoon salt


1/4 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature


1/4 cup sugar


1/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar


1 large egg


1/2 cup mashed very ripe bananas (2 large)


2 tablespoons sour cream


1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream

DIRECTIONS:

1. For topping: Spray a 24 mini muffin tin with nonstick spray. 

2. Bring butter, sugar, and corn syrup to boil in medium saucepan, stirring constantly until butter melts. Boil syrup 1 minute. Stir in nuts. 

3. Pour 1 tablespoon of mixture into each sprayed muffin tin. (There may be a little left over, that’s ok).

4. For cake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Sift first 4 ingredients into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter and both sugars in large bowl until blended. 

5. Beat in egg, then mashed bananas, sour cream, rum, and vanilla. Beat in dry ingredients in 2 additions just until combined. Spoon 2 tablespoons of batter into each muffin tin, so the batter is just below the top of the muffin tin.

6. Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 15 to 20 minutes. Cool 30 minutes. 

7. Cut around each mini cake. Place platter over mini muffin tin. Holding pan and platter together, turn over. Let stand 5 minutes, then gently lift off pan. 

8. If the mini banana cakes don’t pop out, use a knife to gently pry out the cakes. Serve warm or at room temperature with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Recipe Adapted from Smitten Kitchen