Chocolate Banana Upside Down Cake

Today was the 50th Birthday of one of my coworkers. When I looked into my pantry to decide what to make this morning, I realized that I had some bananas that I thought would be good to use, as they were starting to reach overripe. I had some butterscotch chips, so I thought that maybe I would make some sort of banana butterscotch bars, but I wasn't well prepared, as I was out of flour. That meant banana bread was out of the question too. I didn't have a 'plain' cake mix that I could mix in the bananas, but I did have a chocolate cake mix that came with a fudge filling. I also had no frosting and wasn't really in the mood to whip any up. So, I decided that I would do a banana upside down cake with what I did have on hand. The mix was for a full cake, so unlike my pineapple upside down cake, I made it in a 9x13 pan.



Chocolate Banana Upside Down Cake

Banana Topping
6 T Butter
1/2 c brown sugar, packed
3 bananas, sliced

Melt the butter in a saucepan and stir in brown sugar until dissolved, allow to simmer for a couple of minutes. Pour the sauce into buttered pan. Distribute banana slices over the bottom of the pan. Set aside.

Chocolate Cake

Prepare cake mix according to package directions or whip up your favorite homemade chocolate cake. Gently pour over the bananas.

Bake according to package directions. Allow to cool on wire rack for 15 - 20 minutes. Invert onto plate. Slice and serve.

I had a piece this morning when it was still warm, it was so delicious and the banana topping made it so moist. I do recommend a more ripe banana, they tend to be a little sweeter and in my opinion a little less 'starchy'.


Disclaimer

Honey Spice Cereal Mix

When it comes to cereal snack mix, caramel corn and snack bars, I have a tendency to view cereals as interchangeable. So, when I found myself with a box of Corn Pops that someone brought upstairs but no one was choosing for breakfast, it didn't phase me a bit on where to look for a recipe - I simply headed over to the collection of recipes on Chex.com. Now understandably, some recipes will work better with some cereals than others, so I read through several before coming across one that I thought would be just about right. I found this recipe for Hot Buttered Yum Chex Mix and then did a bit of my own thing.

Honey Spice Cereal Mix
6 c cereal (I used Corn Pops)
1/4 c butter or margarine
1/4 c packed brown sugar
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 c miniature marshmallows
1 c white chocolate chips

Place cereal in large microwavable bowl.

In 2-cup microwavable measuring cup, microwave butter, brown sugar and honey uncovered on High 2 minutes, stirring after 1 minute, until mixture is bubbly. Stir in spices. Pour over cereal mixture, stirring until coated.

Microwave uncovered on High 3 minutes, stirring and scraping bowl after every minute.

Cool about 20 minutes. Stir in marshmallows and chips. Store in airtight container.

It was such a hit that we quickly ran out and I am making a second batch...this time with butterscotch chips - it's what I have on hand!

Disclaimer