for kristi. and her idea of heaven.

A while back, my dear friend/sister Kristi gave me one of the most phenomenal dessert cook books. The pictures in this book are amazing. I sometimes find myself involuntary drooling after flipping through page after page of succulent, sweet, delectable treats. Kristi filled the book with an assortment of post-it notes, with little phrases such as "make me now" or "i might die if i eat this."

{kristi's post-it note, next to an upside down banana cake}

Yesterday, after failing to accomplish any schoolwork, I picked up the book to spark my creativity, and to make my mouth water. One of Kristi's post-its saying "my idea of heaven" was tagged to a lovely looking banana cake. I felt inspired to recreate it, using the general idea, but tweeking it with the current ingredients I had in my apartment.

The cake is so good. Its gooey, and not too rich. I accompanied it with a homemade warm custard. Some friends came over last night and we enjoyed jumbo pieces of cake while watching an entire disc of Arrested Development. It made for a lovely Saturday evening.

{upside down banana cinnamon maple cake}

{with homemade warm custard sauce}

Upside Down Banana Cinnamon Maple Cake
Topping:
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 bananas
Cake:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
4 Tablespoons milk
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 350degrees.
In a bowl, combine butter, brown sugar, and maple syrup. Spread into the bottom of an 8x8inch square baking pan. Slice the two bananas length wise and place into baking dish on top of butter mixture. Set the pan aside.

For the cake: In a small sauce pan, melt the butter, brown sugar and maple syrup until blended. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and milk together. In another bowl, stir the flour, cinnamon, salt and baking soda together. Slowly add the egg mixture to the melted butter mixture. Once blended, add the flour mixture and blend until combined. Pour cake batter into the 8x8 pan. Bake in the middle of the oven for 30-40 minutes, until the cake is set.
Remove from the oven and let the cake cool for about 3 minutes. Run a knife around the perimeter of the cake and then invert the cake onto a plate, letting the gooey-ness drip down the sides.

This cake is great on its own, and best served warm. For a homemade custard sauce, blend 3 egg yokes with 3 Tablespoons of superfine sugar. In a saucepan, bring 1 1/4cups of milk just to a boil. Remove from heat and wisk in the egg mixture. Return the pan to heat and keep stirring until custard thickens. Don't let it boil, or it will curdle. Pour a good serving over a warm piece of cake and enjoy Kristi's idea of heaven.