Upside Down Banana Cake

This is what I did with the other 2 bananas.  Love the upside down cake because it looks so beautiful.  This was a huge hit.  What I really liked about this cake is that is moist.  Nothing worse than a dry cake. 

2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 bananas
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 cups flour
1 tbsp. baking powder ( sounds like a ridiculous amount but it is correct )
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 cup milk ( I used 2% but you can use any kind )

You need a round cake pan, and I'd suggest non-stick.  I used a 9" one. 

Put the cake pan on the stove, at a low heat and put in 1 tbsp. of the butter and the brown sugar.  Let this melt and take a spatula and mix together until melted and then spread it evenly over the bottom.  Take off the heat.  Use hot mitts because the pan gets really hot on the stove.

Cut 1/2 bananas into 1/4" slices.  Place them on the bottom of the cake pan over the brown sugar concoction.  I layered a few of them but got the entire 1 1/2 bananas in there.  Save the other 1/2.

Beat the remaining butter in a mixer with 1 1/2 cups sugar.

Add vanilla and eggs and beat until smooth.  Add in the other 1/2 of the banana (mush it first)

Sift together the flour with the baking powder and salt (or just use a fork to mix it up).  Add this mixture to the bowl alternatively with the milk.  It went back and forth about 3 times.  It is a bit dense when finished.

Spoon this into the cake pan.  Bake at 350 for about an hour.  It gets puffy.  Make sure you insert a toothpick or a long wooden stick in the cake and make sure it comes out smooth before taking it out of the oven.  It might have had to bake a little longer than an hour but I forgot to check.  It seemed longer.

Let it cool for about 20 minutes and flip.  Voila.  Really good...and added bonus would be a little whipped cream or vanilla ice cream on top.