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This Paleo Banana Upside Down Cake is an impressive and delicious cake that’s gluten-free and refined sugar free. Sweetened almost entirely with bananas, this is a banana lover’s dream! This post is sponsored by ONE Banana.
Yes, it’s still pretty much the first week of January and everyone’s still dieting, or at least trying/pretending to – right? Today, we’re keeping in theme with the rest of the world and having something a bit healthier.
No, it’s not a salad or soup or “detox” anything. Yes, I am giving you a cake as my one of my first posts of the new year – #judgeme. BUT, this is a cake that you could theoretically eat for breakfast without feeling guilty, so let’s embrace it, okay? 
The cake is gluten-free, refined sugar-free, Paleo-friendly, and absolutely FULL of bananas. Bananas are sort of magic when it comes to baking, particularly when they’re brown and yucky looking on the outside, but filled with sweetness on the inside. Bananas are the star of some of my all-time most popular recipes like my favorite Paleo Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread where bananas are the ONLY sweetener and these Vegan Blueberry Muffins, where bananas serve as an egg-replacer!
For the batter of this banana upside down cake, it’s best to use brown, super ripe bananas because bananas give all the sweetness the cake needs – there’s no other added sweetener except for the coconut sugar in the caramelized banana layer!
The batter is pretty much banana bread batter, but when you pour it over the banana slices nuzzled in a mixture of coconut sugar and coconut oil and let the bananas get golden and caramelized, you have to call this a cake.
Bananas are definitely the star of the show here – you’ll use at least five of them depending on their size – so this cake is for the true banana lovers. I used ONE Bananas, which I love because they’re organic, grown sustainably, and always sweet + delicious.
The true magic of this cake is revealed when you flip it over. The flip can be a stressful experience with any upside down cake, so to make my life easier I made the cake in a spring form pan. That way, when it’s finished you can take off the collar, gently flip it on to your plate, and peel off the bottom of the pan. Much easier than flipping and crossing your fingers it all comes out in one piece.
When the pan comes away, you’re left with a gorgeous cake topped with caramelized bananas that no one would ever guess is a healthier option. The cake is soft, moist, and plenty sweet. I devoured a slice with a cup of tea as an afternoon snack, and my dad inhaled three slices as dessert. It would be a fabulous, impressive brunch item too! Grab your bananas and get baking :) enjoy!
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Paleo Banana Upside Down Cake
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- 2 bananas, sliced
For the batter
- 1½ cups mashed banana, 3-4 bananas or 425 grams
- 3 eggs
- ⅓ cup 105g almond butter (or nut butter of choice)
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
- ⅓ cup 57g coconut flour
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease a 9” springform pan and place on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment or foil.
- Combine the melted coconut oil and coconut sugar. Spread in the bottom of the prepared pan. Arrange the banana slices over the coconut sugar. Set aside while you prepare the batter.
- In a large bowl or mixer, combine the mashed bananas, eggs, coconut oil, vanilla extract and nut butter until fully combined.
- Add the coconut flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and sea salt to the wet ingredients and mix well.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread it evenly.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 40 minutes or until the cake is lightly golden brown. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool on a wire rack for about 20 minutes, and then carefully flip out onto a cooling rack to finish cooling.
This post is sponsored by One Banana. As always, all opinions are entirely my own! Thanks for supporting the brands that support Bakerita! :)
Made this today and it was SUPERB! WOW! Looks AND tastes like art!
I make a lot of desserts and this is now my “go to” recipe crowd pleaser. I used cashew butter (only because I didn’t have almond butter on hand) and was fantastic!
So thrilled to hear it was a hit! Thanks for the feedback :)
Made this for brunch today. My coconut oil was like a brick and would not cooperate so I ended up using butter. I think that played into mine not looking exactly like your pictures. However, the flavor was awesome even with the texture being a little off. It ended up being more of a buttery pudding cake. Next time I will be better prepared so it turns out even better! Thanks for another healthy and awesome recipe! :D
Glad you enjoyed it, Mi! You can always soften the coconut oil with about 10-20 seconds in the microwave :)
Hi! Made this tonight and it’s SO delicious!!! We loved it. How should we store this? Countertop or fridge, and for how long?
Hi Elizabeth, it can stay on the counter for a day or two, or in the fridge for up to 5ish days! Hope this helps and so glad you’re loving it!
What can you use other than nut butter? I can’t have nuts and didn’t know if that could be left out or substitute for something else?
Hi Mandi, a seed butter like sunflower seed butter would be perfect here.
I’ve made the recipe many times. I simply love it. I do have a question though.. Recently, my oven is wonky and I’m waiting for a repair. I have a really good air fryer. How long should I cook it at 3:50 in a air fryer? If possible!
Hi Elaine! I’m actually not sure since I don’t have a traditional air fryer. I think you’d just need to experiment with timing, but since air fryers are convection ovens essentially, I’d start checking out it about 1/2 way through the regular cook time. Hope this helps!
Absolutely the best cake ever! I made it all the time. Love this recipe. Thank you so much.!
Woohoo! What a compliment. Thanks, Elaine, and enjoy!!