Plantain Upside-Down Cake

Chef notes

Anything bananas can do, plantains can do better. The two lookalike fruits originated in southeast Asia as hybrids of two wild species. Bananas in America usually mean the soft, sweet, yellow kind from the Cavendish family that you always can eat raw when ripe; they taste smooth and creamy. Plantains, common throughout Latin America, come in a range of shades: green, yellow or dark brown. Larger and tougher than bananas, they have a much thicker skin and can taste sweet or savory. Green plantains often go into savory preparations, while yellow ones find their way into sweeter dishes, such as this one. Ripe plantains still have a dry texture and need lots of heat and fat to break down their starches to make them palatable. When cooked, they smell sweet like bananas, but they taste more vegetal. You can transform plantains into chips, maduros, mofongo, patacónes and so much more. In America, the first published recipes for upside-down cake, which used prunes, appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle and the Pittsburgh Press in 1923. This recipe stretches the already versatile culinary capabilities of the powerhouse plantain to something new — and much tastier than prunes!

Technique tips: To select ripe plantains, look for the yellowest plantains you can find, with spots like a leopard. If you can't find fresh ones, double-check the freezer section. When still in the pan, don't let the hot cake cool for more than 10 minutes. If you do, the caramel will harden and glue the cake to the pan. You also don't want the cake to cool to room temperature because, if it does, the plantains will toughen. The cake tastes best right away, but you can store it, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

If you do not have a steaming basket, try the microwave method. Lay the long, sliced plantains flat in a single layer on a microwave-safe plate. Cover the plate tightly with a damp paper towel or microwave-safe plastic wrap to trap the steam. Microwave on high in 1-minute intervals for 2 to 3 minutes total. Check them after each minute; stop as soon as they feel bendable, so the thin tips do not become rubbery or overcooked. You can even skip softening the ripe plantains, but softening prior to baking is recommended so that the naturally sturdy and starchy plantains will be fork tender.

Swap options: For the ultimate melt-in-your-mouth texture, use crema mexicana. But you can swap it out for sour cream or Greek yogurt in a direct 1:1 substitution. Because crema mexicana boasts a luxurious 30% fat content (compared to sour cream's 18% and Greek yogurt's 10%), it coats the flour molecules more efficiently to prevent tough gluten from forming. Furthermore, its lower acidity prevents the batter's proteins from tightening up in the oven. The result is a richer, velvet-soft bake that locks in moisture and stays fresh days longer than standard bakes.