UPSIDE-DOWN CARAMEL BANANA CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 180C (170C fan-forced).
• Generously grease a 22-24cm (9 - 9 1/2") round cake tin, approx 4.5cm (1 1/2") deep, with butter - a non-stick tin is best.
• For the caramel topping, melt 60g butter in a small saucepan over a medium heat.
• Add brown sugar and golden syrup.
• Cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Pour caramel sauce into the prepared cake tin, tilting it to ensure it covers the base evenly.
• Now, sift the flour and spices together in a bowl, add a pinch of salt ONLY if you are using unsalted butter.
• In a small bowl, mash the very ripe banana well then mix in the sour cream.
• Now, place the 90g butter and the caster sugar into a medium to large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer for 5 minutes or until light and fluffy.
• Add the vanilla extract and then the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• Reducing the speed of your mixer to low, add the flour to the butter mixture and beat until just combined.
• Add the mashed banana and sour cream mixture and beat briefly to combine.
• Now, peel the just-ripe bananas and slice them on the diagonal.
• Starting at the outside edge of the cake tin, arrange the banana slices, overlapping each other, in a circle on top of the sauce.
• Now, arrange another circle of banana slices inside the first and so on until you reach the middle of the tin.
• Reserve four smaller slices for the centre and arrange them, overlapping, as best you can.
• Now, carefully spoon the cake batter as evenly as possible into the tin, being sure not to disturb the bananas.
• Take a bread knife and gently smooth the batter until it is spread evenly.
• Place the cake onto the centre shelf of a preheated 180C (170C fan-forced) oven and bake for 45-50 minutes (approximately 40 minutes in a fan-forced oven).
• The cake is cooked when it looks golden brown and the springs back when you touch it - if unsure, insert a skewer into the cake and, if it comes out clean, the cake is cooked.
• Remove the cake from the oven and let it sit for 3 minutes before running a knife around the rim to loosen the sides.
• Now, place a large plate upside down over the top of the cake tin and, being careful not to burn yourself, quickly invert the plate and the tin.
• Leave the cake tin to stand on top of the plate for 20 seconds before removing it.
• If any bananas stick to the top of the tin, simply remove them and press back into the cake.
• Serve warm, drizzled with extra golden syrup and serve with thick cream or ice-cream.
• If you have to make the cake in advance, it can be reheated for a couple of minutes in the microwave.
• If you wish to be really decadent and serve this cake as a dessert, consider making up a batch of the Caramel Sauce that goes with my Little Icky Sticky Puddings, recipe #88565, to serve with it.