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    Home / Recipes / Cakes & Cupcakes

    Banana Rum Upside-Down Cakelets

    Published Aug 18, 2010

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    banana rum upside down cakelet on a plate

    I have the pleasure of working with one of the nicest, sweetest, warmest, best-looking and most vulgar people I have ever met. He is Luciano, the bartender at the Peruvian restaurant where I make desserts. Seeing him, as I am ending my shift and he is beginning his, always brightens my day. He greets me with a huge hug, asks me how I'm doing, then shows me a picture on his iPhone of his latest conquest's erect manhood, or a shot of him in full drag. Then he moves on to flirt mercilessly with the homophobic kitchen staff before setting up the bar for an evening of mixing pisco sours andcaipirinhas.

    knobs of butter in muffin molds

    I love grilling Lucy about Brazilian desserts, mainly to hear his gorgeous accent. He taught me that 'bolo' means cake, and confided that his favorite desserts are ones made with bananas. (Then he took hold of one and spent several minutes making lewd gestures with it.) When I found this recipe for bolo de banana inMani Niall's bookSweet!,a vibrant collection of recipes using every sweetener you can imagine, I knew I'd have to bake some for Lucy. I fell in love with Mani all over again when I turned these stunning cakelets, fragrant with rum, butter and molasses, out of their pans.

    cake pan close up

    Lucy on the other hand, well, I'm always in love with him.

    ripe bananas

    Aside from my meat phobias and a certain pesto incident many years ago, I am not a particularly picky eater. I am, however, picky about bananas. (Look, I didn't mean that in a dirty way, ok?) They have to be perfectly yellow for me to want to eat them. (Not dirty!) A bit green, and they taste pithy, but bespotted and soft they lose their appeal (uh.. get it?). Since there is only so much banana bread a person can eat, I often end up looking for unique ways to use up slightly overly ripe fruit.

    sliced bananas

    Unlike banana bread, here there are no bananas in the batter. Instead, butter and the brown sugar of your choice (muscovado, panela, or plain old dark brown) are melted together in the bottom of muffin cups, and banana slices are arranged on the bottoms and sides.

    cakelets pre baking

    A simple oil-based cake batter laced with rum and more brown sugar is added, and minutes later you are the lucky recipient of a dozen luscious banana cakes. (Now all you need is a hot Brazilian cabana boy to feed them to you.)

    cakelets baking

    These cakelets remind me of really easy sticky buns, with bananas instead of nuts. They bake up golden, gooey and tender with the tang of dark rum in the batter cutting the sweetness of the cake. They are fun and easy to make, and would look impressive at a brunch buffet, with or whithout a Latin theme. Or serve them warm with a scoop of ice cream for a warmly satisfying dessert.

    cakalets on a tray

    These cakes are best the day they are made, when they are handsome and golden, but they can be kept for several days at room temp or in the fridge and reheated before serving.

    top down shot of banana rum cakelets

    For other ways to use up bananas, try these, these or these.

    For more upside down cake recipes:

    • Ginger, Vanilla + Quince Upside-Down Cake {Gluten-Free}
    • (Gluten-Free!) Rosemary Nectarine Upside-Down Cake
    • (Gluten-Free) Nectarine Plum Almond Upside-Down Cake

    *Bojon appétit! For more Bojon Gourmet in your life, follow along on Instagram,  Facebook, or Pinterest, purchase my gluten-free cookbook Alternative Baker, or subscribe to receive new posts via email. And if you make this banana rum upside-down cakelet recipe, I’d love to know. Leave a comment and rating below, and tag your Instagram snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet  and  #bojongourmet.*

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    Banana Rum Upside-down Cakelets

    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    These cakelets remind me of really easy sticky buns, with bananas instead of nuts.
    Alanna Taylor-Tobin
    Prep Time: 15 minutes
    Cook Time: 30 minutes
    Total: 45 minutes
    Servings: 12 cakes.

    Ingredients

    The bananas:

    • vegetable oil, for greasing the pans
    • 2 ounces salted or unsalted butter, cut into 12 equal pieces (4 tablespoons)
    • 1/2 cup packed grated panela (or muscovado or dark brown sugar)
    • 4 ripe bananas, peeled, sliced diagonally into 12 pieces each

    The cake:

    • 1/2 cup all purpose flour
    • 1/2 cup whole wheat or spelt flour
    • 2 teaspoons baking powder
    • 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
    • 1/2 teaspoon salt
    • 1/2 cup packed grated panela (or muscovado or dark brown sugar)
    • 1/3 cup vegetable oil (such as sunflower)
    • 2 large eggs
    • 3 tablespoons half and half or milk
    • 3 tablespoons dark rum
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

    Instructions

    • Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375º.
    • Lightly oil 12 standard muffin tins with the vegetable oil. Place a piece of butter and 2 teaspoons of the sugar in the bottom of each cup. Place in the oven for 10 minutes, until the mixture is melted and bubbling. Remove the pan and let cool slightly. Arrange two banana slices on the bottom and two along the sides of each muffin cup.
    • In a medium bowl, sift together the flours, baking powder, nutmeg and salt. Whisk together the sugar, oil, eggs, dairy, rum and vanilla in a separate bowl, then stir the wets into the dries until just combined. Spoon the batter into the cups; it will come almost to the top of the pans.
    • Bake the cakelets for 15 - 20 minutes, until puffed, golden, and springy when pressed with a finger. Immediately turn the cakes out onto a pan; they will be drippy and messy! Cool at least 10 minutes, and serve warm or at room temperature.

    Notes

    Adapted from Sweet! by Mani Niall.
    Nutritional values are based on one of twelve cakes.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 252kcalCarbohydrates: 35gProtein: 2gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 38mgSodium: 148mgPotassium: 271mgFiber: 1gSugar: 22gVitamin A: 195IUVitamin C: 3.4mgCalcium: 57mgIron: 0.8mg
    Making this? I'd love to see!Tag your snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet!

    Banana Rum Upside-down Cakelets

    Adapted from Sweet! by Mani Niall

    Makes 1 dozen

    The bananas:
    vegetable oil, for greasing the pans
    2 ounces (4 tablespoons) salted or unsalted butter, cut into 12 equal pieces
    1/2 cup packed grated panela (or muscovado or dark brown sugar)
    4 ripe bananas, peeled, sliced diagonally into 12 pieces each

    The cake:
    1/2 cup all purpose flour
    1/2 cup whole wheat or spelt flour
    2 teaspoons baking powder
    1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    1/2 cuppacked grated panela (or muscovado or dark brown sugar)
    1/3 cup vegetable oil (such as sunflower)
    2 large eggs
    3 tablespoons half and half or milk
    3 tablespoons dark rum
    1 teaspoon vanilla extract

    Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375º.

    Lightly oil 12 standard muffin tins with the vegetable oil. Place a piece of butter and 2 teaspoons of the sugar in the bottom of each cup. Place in the oven for 10 minutes, until the mixture is melted and bubbling. Remove the pan and let cool slightly. Arrange two banana slices on the bottom and two along the sides of each muffin cup.

    In a medium bowl, sift together the flours, baking powder, nutmeg and salt. Whisk together the sugar, oil, eggs, dairy, rum and vanilla in a separate bowl, then stir the wets into the dries until just combined. Spoon the batter into the cups; it will come almost to the top of the pans.

    Bake the cakelets for 15 - 20 minutes, until puffed, golden, and springy when pressed with a finger. Immediately turn the cakes out onto a pan; they will be drippy and messy! Cool at least 10 minutes, and serve warm or at room temperature.

    fork cutting into rum cakelet

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    the cover of the award-winning cookbook, Alternative Baker

    Hungry for more?

    Alternative Baker celebrates the unique tastes and textures of 14 gluten-free flours, from buckwheat flour to almond flour to sorghum and coconut! This cookbook will fill your kitchen with sweet treats that burst with flavor every month of the year.

    Learn more and find out where to buy →

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Jessa says

      August 18, 2010 at 4:05 pm

      HolyjeezIwanttoeatthemNOW.

      Great, now I have to go buy bananas...(the rum, of course, I already have).

      Reply
    2. Todd Wagner says

      May 02, 2013 at 7:02 pm

      In my opinion, anything with rum is worth making. Rum and bananas? Even better. I'm not much of a baker but these look delicious and simple enough that I'm tempted to try. Perfect for a sweet treat for Cinco De Mayo this weekend!

      Reply
      • Alanna says

        May 03, 2013 at 12:34 am

        Thanks, Todd! I'm with you on all counts. I do hope you give these a go as they are quite rewarding for being so simple to make.

        Reply
    3. Asha Wild says

      August 14, 2019 at 11:45 pm

      Theses look amazing, and while I am happy to experiment on my own, I thought I would ask if you have any specific advice on what GF flour substitutes would work well here. Thanks!

      Reply
      • Alanna says

        August 21, 2019 at 10:42 am

        Hi Asha! Ooh such a good question. My go-to is usually equal parts sweet rice, oat, and one other flour such as millet or sorghum. In this case I think teff flour would be brilliant - I love its flavor with bananas! Now I want to try too... :)

        Reply
    4. Stephanie says

      May 07, 2021 at 11:14 am

      I am going to try this gf as well! I have loved your other gf banana recipes. They always turn out great. Any suggestions for baking powder ratios when doubling the recipe? Thank you!

      Reply
      • Alanna says

        May 07, 2021 at 10:27 pm

        Oh awesome, I've been wanting to try this recipe GF as well! I don't usually change the ratio of baking powder when doubling... should I?!

        Reply

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