Banana Coconut Upside Down Cake

JD and I have slipped into a nice little rythym around the house on weekends. At some point on either Saturday or Sunday, when we are making our "weekend" meal, I bake a dessert for the week. Our "weekend" meal is the one "big" meal we make each weekend. We usually cook it together, but sometimes we each fly solo in the food-prep arena. I always make the dessert, and said dessert usually lasts the week. It's always nice to have tasty homemade treats around the house. I've made banana bread, sweet potato cake, and a few other tasties. I'm a better baker than I am chef, so I seem to be running with my strengths. This week, I tried my hand at Banana Coconut Upside Down Cake. I happened upon the recipe on a website that is now suspended (what is that about?!), but it linked back to this original. It turned out pretty tasty. 

Be forewarned. This recipe actually makes two single-layered cakes. Feel free to half the recipe to make just one. I'll be doing that next time I make it. Of course, my colleagues enjoyed the additional cake when I brought it in to work this morning! We don't need two cakes just laying around the house!

Needed ingredients:

yellow cake mix

3 whole eggs

1/4 cup peanut oil (can be subsituted for other oil if there is a nut allergy.)

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup water

5  bananas sliced 1/4 inch thick

1 1/2 cups shredded coconut

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup butter

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

Steps:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prep 2 (8 inch) round cake pans with cooking spray.

Beat cake mix, eggs, oil, water, and sour cream in an electric mixer on low until combined. Switch to high and beat for 2 minutes.

Slice bananas and layer them evenly on the bottom of the pans. 

In a small saucepan, melt butter. Add brown sugar and lemon juice and heat until dissolved. Pour half of the brown sugar mixture into each of the 2 round cake pans over the bananas. You may need to manipulate the pans a bit to make sure that the sugar sauce covers the bottom completely. 

Sprinkle coconut over brown sugar sauce. I'm pretty sure I used more than the specified amount, but I love me some coconut!

Pour cake batter on top of the coconut into the two pans. You'll need to use a spatula to make sure that the cake batter covers all of the bananas and coconut.

Bake 35 minutes or until toothpick in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes. Invert onto serving dishes. You'll most likely find that some of your bananas stuck to the bottom of your pan when you flip it. This annoyed me, but it was a pretty easy fix. Just use a fork to replace them onto the cake top. It would have been nice if they had come out more easily, but it certainly wasn't the end of the world.

This cake is best served warm. Pop it in the microwave for a few second and dollop on some vanilla (or coconut!) ice cream.

The finished product. 

Sliced and ready to serve!