Upside-Down Banana Cake - cooking recipe

Ingredients

125 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 bananas, extremely ripe, mashed
1 1/4 cups self-raising flour
1/3 cup milk
TOPPING
50 g unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup caster sugar
2 large bananas, ripe
SERVING SUGGESTIONS (optional)
125 g cream cheese, at room temperature
2 tablespoons icing sugar
1/2 cup slivered almonds

Preparation

Grease a 14cm x 24cm loaf pan, and line the base and sides with baking paper.
Making the topping: combine the butter and sugar in a small bowl and stir until the sugar has dissolved; spread this over the base of the pan; cut each banana into 9cm lengths, then cut each banana into four even slices; arrange the slices, cut-side facing downwards on top of the butter-sugar mixture.
Making the cake: beat the butter, sugar and vanilla extract in a small bowl (with an electric mixer if you have one) until light and fluffy; beat in the egg until it has combined with the mixture; transfer to a large bowl and stir in the mashed bananas; then gradually stir in the flour and the milk. Once the mixture is thoroughly combined, spoon it into the prepared pan on top of the banana slices.
Cooking the cake: cook in a moderate (180\u00b0C) for one hour or until cooked when tested with a skewer; allow it to rest in the pan for 5-10 minutes, then turn it out onto an wire rack to cool.
Serving the cake: the banana cake can be served warm or at room temperature. Serve with fresh cream or sweetened cream cheese (see SERVING SUGGESTIONS below).
SERVING SUGGESTIONS: to serve the cake with sweetened cream cheese, beat 125g cream cheese with 2 tablespoons of icing sugar until the mixture is smooth, and serve in a separate bowl. Sprinkle the cake with slivered almonds.