Caramelized Banana Upside-Down Cake

My week with the kids. Detroit Jazz Festival next month. The Riverfront getting ready. Easy week at the plant. The line ran. The body held.

Pop's tireder. Sugar runs low some days. Mama monitors. Pop complains. The system holds. Sunday at Mama's. She made greens with hambone the way she has since 1985.

Corn on the cob in the husks on the smoker. Butter and salt after.

Aiden's 11. The youth basketball league. I'm coaching. He's the best player on the team and he knows it. Zaria's 8. Helps me cook on a step stool. Has opinions about the seasoning.

The week held. The kitchen held. The chain holds.

Stopped at Eastern Market Saturday. Got chicken thighs, bacon, a watermelon, and a pound of greens that I did not need but bought anyway. The vendors know me by name now. Three of them asked about the family.

I made grocery lists on the back of envelopes the way Mama did. The list this week was short — onions, garlic, half-and-half, cornmeal, a pound of bacon. The list is the recipe of the week before it happens.

The basketball court at the rec center got refurbished. New floor. Plays different. Bouncy. I shot a few from the elbow before practice Wednesday. The knee held. The shot fell short.

The drive home Friday was the long way around. I took Outer Drive past the lake. The water was still. I do not always notice the water. I noticed Friday.

Plant ran clean this week. The line ran. The body held. The paycheck is the paycheck.

Watched the Tigers Sunday afternoon. Lost in extras. Detroit reflex. I yelled at the TV the way Pop used to yell at the TV. The TV did not respond. The bullpen will probably not respond either.

I cleaned the smoker Sunday morning. Brushed the grates. Emptied the ash. Wiped down the body. The smoker repays attention. So does most everything that matters.

The grass came in fast this week. Cut it Saturday morning before the heat. The mower had been sitting all winter. Took three pulls to start. Once it ran, it ran. Some things just need patience.

The block had a small drama Tuesday. Somebody parked in front of Ms. Diane's driveway. Ms. Diane addressed it directly. The car moved within the hour. The neighborhood polices itself on small things.

Drove past Jefferson North on Tuesday. The plant is still the plant. The trucks coming out. I waved at the gate guard out of habit. He waved back even though he didn't know me. The plant is its own neighborhood.

A reader wrote in about the smothered pork chops. Said her late husband loved them. I wrote back. I told her about Pop. We exchanged three emails. She's in Saginaw. She's coming to the city in the spring.

A neighbor down the street gave me a tomato plant Saturday. He grows them on his porch. Said he had extra. I put it next to the back step where it gets the afternoon sun. Detroit gardens are improvised victories.

The Lions on TV Sunday. Lost on a missed field goal. Detroit. The neighborhood collectively groaned at the same moment. You could hear it through the windows.

A catering inquiry came in this week — fifty-person family reunion. Booked. Saturday after next.

Aiden had practice Tuesday and Thursday. I drove. He shot threes for an hour after.

Mr. Williams across the street had a heart scare. He is okay. We are all watching each other now. I took him a plate of greens and chicken Wednesday. He said, "DeShawn. You're a good neighbor." I said, "We're even, Mr. Williams. You shoveled my walk in 2024." He laughed.

Zaria had opinions all week — about the seasoning on the chicken, about how much butter goes on the corn, about whether the greens needed more time. She’s eight and she’s already right more than she’s wrong, so Sunday evening I handed her the step stool and let her help me put together this cake. Bananas were on the counter going soft, the kitchen still smelled like smoke and hambone, and it felt right to end the week with something warm that she could point to and say she made. That’s the whole point of the step stool.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 40 min | Total Time: 55 min | Servings: 8

Ingredients

3 ripe bananas, sliced into 1/2-inch rounds
1/4 cup unsalted butter (for the caramel topping)
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened (for the batter)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream
2 very ripe bananas, mashed (about 3/4 cup)

Instructions

Preheat and prep the pan. Preheat your oven to 350°F. In a 9-inch round cake pan or oven-safe skillet, melt 1/4 cup butter over medium heat on the stovetop. Stir in the brown sugar and cook for 1–2 minutes until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is smooth and bubbling. Remove from heat.
Arrange the bananas. Lay the sliced banana rounds in a single layer over the caramel in the pan, covering the bottom as evenly as possible. Set aside.
Mix the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon until well combined.
Cream the butter and sugar. In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar together with a hand mixer or stand mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Add the wet ingredients. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then mix in the vanilla extract and mashed bananas until smooth. Add the sour cream and mix until just combined.
Combine and pour. Gradually add the dry ingredient mixture to the wet ingredients, stirring gently until just combined — do not overmix. Pour and spread the batter evenly over the banana layer in the pan.
Bake. Bake at 350°F for 35–40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the top is golden brown.
Cool and invert. Let the cake cool in the pan for exactly 10 minutes — no longer or the caramel will set and stick. Run a thin knife around the edge of the pan, place a serving plate firmly on top, and flip in one confident motion. Lift the pan away slowly. Serve warm.

Nutrition (per serving)

Caramelized Banana Upside-Down Cake — What Zaria and I Made After the Smoker Cooled Down