Banana Upside-Down Cake

This treat was inspired by a banana tart from British restauranteur Simon Rimmer in his cookbook The Accidental Vegetarian. This version however is a little more cost-concious with fewer bananas and easier to make with a batter rather than a puff pastry base.

Ingredients: 

• 2 Tbsp butter, melted
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp sugar
• 3/4 cup milk of choice
• 1 cup flour

• 1 Tbsp water
• 3 Tbsp sugar (do not substitute)
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg (optional)
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves (optional)
• 1 Tbsp butter

• 2-3 large bananas, 1/4" slices

Directions:

1. Place two racks close together in the middle of the oven. Preheat oven to 400ºF.
2. To prepare batter, place first 6 ingredients above in a small bowl and whisk together thoroughly. Set aside.
3. In a small sauce pan over low heat, add water, sugar, nutmeg and cloves, and stir periodically until sugar is melted. Add butter, stirring occasionally until butter is melted. Make sure the syrup is well stirred and sugar on sides has melted and mixed in. (Do not rush making the syrup by using higher heat as you'll only burn the syrup, damaging the flavour.)
4. Carefully pour half of the hot syrup in the bottom of an 8" round cake pan (See note 1). Place sauce pan back on very low heat to keep melted. Gently swirl the cake pan to coat the bottom with the syrup.
5. Quickly arrange the banana slices, overlapping, in the bottom of the the cake pan. (Watch that the syrup does not burn while you are doing this step.)
6. Make sure the syrup is still fully melted and stirred, then carefully pour the remaining syrup evenly over bananas. Gently jiggle the pan to encourage the syrup to fill all the spaces evenly.
7. Pour batter on top of the bananas and syrup, spreading with a plastic scraper/spatula to create an even top that reaches all edges of the pan. (Do not worry about pushing it down into the spaces between the bananas, it will expand into them as it bakes.) (see note)
8. Place cake on the top of the two racks you placed in the middle of the oven. Place a cookie sheet on the rack below it - small amounts of the syrup WILL boil over (see note 2). Bake for 10-15 minutes. The batter will become dry and smooth, then begin to turn golden brown.
9. Remove baked cake from the oven and let cool almost completely. Run a sharp knife around the edges to separate the cake and syrup from the edges of the pan. Place serving tray or plate upside down over the top of the cake pan, then carefully turn both plater and cake pan over at once. Carefully lift the cake pan off. 
10. Serve warm; alone, with vanilla ice cream, or whipped cream.

Notes: 

1. I have nice new Calphalon cake pans that are non-stick and the batter doesn't stick to the sides at all as the cake bakes. If you do not have non-stick pans, you may need to prep the inside of the pan (butter/flower - I'm not sure as I haven't needed to do this) or scrape around the edges, separating the batter from the edges, before turning the cake out. 
2. Do not skip the cookie sheet underneath as that burnt syrup will be very tough to clean up from the bottom of your oven. I haven't yet tried putting a piece of parchment paper on the cookie sheet, to make it easier to clean the cookie sheet too, but it's an idea I want to try next time I make this. I'm just not sure if it will stay in place without anything on top of it or if it will float around and/or catch fire if it floats into contact with the heating element. Do not place the cookie sheet directly under the cake pan on the same rack as the combined thickness of the two pans will keep the bananas from properly cooking.
3. Variation idea: I really want to try this substituting the spices in the syrup with a shot of spiced rum! I just haven't had any in my home to try it yet. If you do, please let me know in the comments how it turns out.