Miso Banana Upside-Down Cake

As winter intensifies, we lean into comfort. And what brings about comfort better than nostalgia? In our opinion, nothing. Nostalgia is the sentimental yearning for a return to some past period or condition, oftentimes those which evoke happy personal associations. Nostalgia often encapsulates comfort in a nutshell. You may be asking, what happens when you combine two nostalgic foods? Our answer, the ultimate comfort food is created. In the interest of pure pleasure, we’d like to introduce you to this Banana Upside Down Cake.

This mashup pulls inspiration from the banana bread and pineapple upside-down cakes of your childhood. Umami-rich miso caramel coats sliced bananas embedded in a moist and fluffy banana cake.

Both white miso and brown butter are used to amp up this bonanza of a cake. Adding white miso to the caramel creates a salty-sweet caramel that outranks the rest. When mixing the miso into the caramel, the salt melds with the brown sugar, and the nuttiness of the fermented soybean blossoms.

The caramel and toffee notes released by the brown butter incorporated in the banana cake echo the caramel notes found in the cake topping and complement the natural sweetness of the bananas. Not to mention, the savoriness of the brown butter compliments the natural umami of the miso. These flavors are curated to feel like a warm embrace… balanced, soothing, and comfortable. Just wait until your house smells like this!

For the foundation of the recipe, we use brown butter, which is quite simple to make. For this recipe, take one stick of unsalted butter and place it in a medium saucepan. Transfer that saucepan to a burner set to medium-low heat. Cook the butter until it is completely melted. From here, the butter will begin to bubble while excess moisture evaporates off. Stir the butter continuously from this time forward. The butter will begin to foam.

Shortly after this, the foam will subside, light brown specks will become visible, and a nutty aroma will develop. At this point, remove the pan from the burner, allowing the residual heat to carry over cook the butter to a golden brown color; this ensures the milk solids don't burn. Transfer the brown butter to a heat-safe container and cool to room temperature.

Add 15% water by weight, 17 grams in total, to the brown butter and mix to combine. Use as directed in the main recipe or store in an airtight container under refrigeration for future use. Typically, 15% water is lost while making brown butter and that needs to be supplemented back in post-cooking. This eliminates the need to make any conversions and/or alterations to your main recipe.

If time is slim, or you don’t have brown butter on hand, feel free to substitute the brown butter listed in the recipe for plain unsalted butter. But if time allows, lean into brown butter bliss.

Next, let’s bring our attention to the bananas used in this recipe. You want to utilize ripe bananas for the caramel topper and over-ripe (or frozen) bananas for the banana cake. Be sure to avoid bananas that are green or contain any green spots when making this recipe. Green or underripe bananas tend to lack flavor and have an unpleasant starchy texture.

Ripe bananas are perfect for the caramel topper because they have a nice banana flavor and still maintain their form when baked. The 6” Utility Knife is perfect for the even, delicately sliced banana coins needed here. Overripe bananas are the ideal fit for the banana cake since they mash easily, have concentrated sweetness, and are more intense in flavor. This creates a naturally flavored cake with a beautiful crumb. You get the best of both worlds by using both ripe and over-ripe bananas within this recipe! Quick tip: if you only have ripe bananas, throw some in the freezer for at least 4 hours, then thaw them to achieve the texture of an overripe banana."

Multiple mashups play a flavorful part in this Banana Upside Down Cake. We hope they elicit the same comfort for you that they did for us. Be sure to consume this cake warm for maximum enjoyment. A hearty dollop of whipped cream doesn’t hurt either! Happy New Year from the whole Forge To Table team!

Miso Banana Upside-Down Cake

Fire up that oven for a flavorful mashup between banana bread and pineapple upside-down cake. This nostalgic combination is further elevated by incorporating white miso to create a decadent “salted” caramel top. Who needs candles when you can just bake a cake?

Recipe and Photography by SyEnna Hackbarth

Forge To Table Knives

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 60 minutes

Servings: 12

Ingredients:

Miso Caramel and Banana Base:

• 85 grams Unsalted Butter

• 130 grams Light Brown Sugar

• 15 grams White Miso

• 5 grams Water

• 2 each Ripe Bananas

Banana Cake:

• Baking Spray, As Needed

• 250 grams All-Purpose Flour

• 5 grams Baking Soda

• 5 grams Baking Powder

• 3 grams Kosher Salt

• 300 grams Over Ripe Mashed Banana

• 140 grams Plain Full Fat Greek Yogurt

• 113 grams Brown Butter, Melted (see Chef’s Notes for instructions)

• 110 grams Whole Eggs

• 110 grams Light Brown Sugar

• 100 grams Granulated Sugar

• 12 grams Vanilla Extract

Directions:

1. PREHEAT. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees with convection (optional).

2. CARAMEL. Add unsalted butter and light brown sugar to a saucepan. Place on a burner set to medium-low heat. Whisk continuously. Once the mixture has come to a gentle bubble, cook until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is homogeneous, about 2-3 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat.

3. COMBINE. In a small bowl, whisk together the white miso and water until a thick paste forms. Add the miso to the brown sugar mixture and whisk thoroughly to combine.

4. TRANSFER. Spray a 9” cake pan with baking spray. While the miso caramel is still warm, pour it into the base of the cake pan. Swirl the pan around to evenly cover in a layer of caramel.

5. SLICE BANANAS. Slice the ripe bananas into even coins with a slight bias. Arrange slices in the bottom of the cake pan in concentric circles. Set aside.

6. DRY INGREDIENTS. In a large bowl, add the all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, and kosher salt. Whisk well to combine ingredients.

7. WET INGREDIENTS. In a separate medium bowl, add the mashed banana, greek yogurt, brown butter, egg, light brown sugar, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract. Whisk to combine.

8. BATTER. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and gently fold them together. Mix until no pockets of dry ingredients remain and a homogenous cake batter has been formed. Be sure not to overmix the batter. Carefully pour the batter over the arranged bananas and smooth out the top with a spatula. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to ensure there are no large air pockets.

9. BAKE. Place the pan on a sheet tray. Slide the sheet tray into the oven on the middle rack. Bake until a knife or toothpick removes from the center cleanly, about 50-60 minutes. The internal temperature should read 205F degrees.

10. COOL. Remove the banana upside-down cake from the oven and place it on a cooling rack to rest for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, invert the cake pan onto a plate or serving platter, allowing the miso caramel and banana layer to gently release.

11. SERVE. Slice, serve, and enjoy your warm banana upside-down cake!

Chef’s Notes:

• For the base design on the banana upside-down cake, feel free to cut and arrange the ripe bananas into whatever shape and pattern you please.

• To make brown butter, in a medium saucepan add one stick of unsalted butter and heat over medium-low heat. Melt the butter, and stir until it starts to bubble and foam. Shortly after the foam subsides, light brown specks will become visible, and a nutty aroma will develop. Remove the pan from the heat, letting the residual heat carry over, and cook the butter. Transfer the brown butter to a heat-safe container. Add 15% water by weight, 17 grams in total, to the brown butter and mix to combine. Use as directed in the main recipe or store in an airtight container under refrigeration for future use.

• Remove the cake from the cake pan promptly after 15 minutes of cooling, otherwise, the miso caramel and banana layer will not release properly.

• This cake is best served warm, so don’t shy away from rewarming any leftovers!

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