This post may contain affiliate links, please see our privacy policy for details.

I made you a cake and I flipped it up side down.

Lightened-Up Chocolate Banana Upside Down Cake-1

And between the peanut butter in my hair (this took forever to get out), spilled milk in the fridge and ah hello, the snow (yes, it is still snowing. Sun, please come back and warm my bones!) it was the highlight of my day.

Lightened-Up Chocolate Banana Upside Down Cake-11

Oh, and please do not tell me you are sick of bananas or peanut butter. Cause I know it seems like half the things I post contain at least one of these two ingredients. There is the super healthy Coconut Banana pancakes, the Chocolate Chip Cookie Banana muffins (that are the best cookie/muffin creation), oh geez and the Peanut Butter Oreos, the Double Chocolate Peanut Butter stuffed Truffle Cookies (my Dad swears these are the best cookies he has ever eaten), the Pomegranate Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins and of course a Gerard family favorite Special K-Bars.

I know, I have a problem and actually, there are still MORE.

Really though what is not to like? Bananas keep things moist and naturally sweet so I can use less butter and sugar. Peanut butter on the other hand, is well – just plain addicting. And hey, it’s packed with a whole lot of protein, another bonus! Note – if you have a peanut allergy, I am sorry, but you can swap in almond or really any other nut butter into any of these recipes.

Lightened-Up Chocolate Banana Upside Down Cake-3

Seriously, the moment I flipped this cake out of the pan to reveal its caramelized deliciousness, I knew it was going to be good. Then when I drizzled the peanut butter caramel sauce over the top, I just about jumped for joy at this cake’s amazingness.

No really, I jumped for joy. Like I have said before I need a life, and this was exciting!

Flipping cakes upside down is awesome! This is my first upside down cake and I now have like a million more in the works. Prepare yourself.

Lightened-Up Chocolate Banana Upside Down Cake-4

Ok, so here is the thing. I had every intention to make this cake a healthy one. Full of bananas, peanut butter, coconut oil and whole wheat flour. And for the most part this cake is super healthy and I would totally consider this a well-rounded snack or even serve it at Easter brunch for something sweet. But, then I started adding butter……

Then things went a little down hill.

But, only just a little. See, I just HAD to add some brown sugar to help caramelize the bananas and then the whole sauce thing just had to happen. I mean it definitely makes the cake. Hey, don’t look at me that way. I tried, and like I said, three-fourths of the cake is totally healthy.

Lightened-Up Chocolate Banana Upside Down Cake-5

Three-fourths is good enough for me.

Lightened-Up Chocolate Banana Upside Down Cake-6

Chocolate Peanut Butter Upside Down Banana Cake

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Rest 10 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 18 Servings
Calories Per Serving: 404 kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Ingredients

Cake

Peanut Butter Carmel Drizzle

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease or butter the sides of a 9×13 inch glass baking dish.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, whole wheat pastry flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar until smooth. Add in the milk and melted coconut oil, whisking until combined. Stir in mashed bananas and vanilla until mixed. Slowly stir in dry ingredients and mix until just combined (this can also be done with a stand mixer). Fold in the chocolate chips.
  • In a small bowl, blend the 4 tablespoons of butter with the brown sugar and spread it in the baking dish. Arrange the sliced bananas in the dish. Spoon dollops of the peanut butter into the dish and fill in the gaps with the chocolate banana cake batter. Bake for about 45-55 minutes.
  • Let the cake cool for 10 minutes, then loosen the edges with a knife and invert onto a platter. Let the cake cool slightly, then cut into squares and serve with the peanut butter carmel sauce.
  • While the cake cake cools make the peanut butter carmel sauce. Mix 4 tablespoons of butter with 1/4 cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoon peanut butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla, then melt it in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time, stirring after each interval, for a total of 1 minute. Pour the warm sauce over the cake.
View Recipe Comments

Lightened-Up Chocolate Banana Upside Down Cake-9

Definitely.

 

Shared with: Inside BruCru Life, Lil Luna, Chef In Training, Buns In my Oven, Foodie Friday Friends, Tidy Mom, Taste and Tell, Cheerios and Lattes, Somewhat Simple, Mom on Timeout, I Heart Nap Time, Fine Craft Guide, The Country Cook, Whipperberry, Chef In Training, Thursday’s Treasures

Add a Comment

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comments

  1. Yum. Just yum. That is all.
    Oh, and thanks for sharing. You’ve made this chocolate-banana-peanut-butter loving lady very VERY happy. Pinned!

  2. DELICIOUS looking!!
    Hard to believe this cake is light, as it looks moist and very rich 🙂
    I’d looooooooooove a piece of two to eat now

  3. This is totally being done at my next paleo dinner party. By the way, thanks to my very hyper four year old I have found that if you put conditioner in your hair first, let it set for a few minutes and then shampoo (without washing out the conditioner) that the peanut butter comes right out. Or at least it worked with the almond butter, the soy nut butter and the sun butter (she has a peanut allergy).

    I just discovered this site today thanks to PaleOMG and it is getting bookmarked. I am determined to get my MIL eating sweet potatoes and there are at least 3 recipes on here that she said she would at least ‘try’. This is a woman who has grape juice and Peppridge Farms Chessman cookies for breakfast. So thank you for those!

    1. Ha, I love this!! I am for sure trying you tip! And I love that I might get your MIL to try some sweat potatoes! Man she needs to find out what she is missing! Good luck and let me know how it goes!