Banana Cajeta Upside Down Cake

Ingredients

• For the cake:
• 3 very ripe bananas
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for brushing pan
• 1 1/4 cup sugar, divided
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup Cajeta
• For the anglaise:
• 2 cups half and half
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 vanilla bean
• 4 egg yolks

Directions

1. Make the cake: Peel the bananas, cut them lengthwise in half, then cut them crosswise, and keep them nearby. Put 1/2 cup sugar in a small saucepan, splash in just enough water to dampen it, and set it over medium heat. Let it cook until caramel starts to form, then take it off the heat and gently swirl the pan until the color is even and amber, somewhere between honey and maple syrup. Pour it right away into the bottom of a standard loaf pan. Using oven mitts or dry towels, pick up the pan and tip it back and forth so the caramel covers the bottom evenly. While the caramel is still pliable, arrange the bananas cut side down in the pan, trimming them as you need to so you cover as much of the surface as possible. Brush the sides of the pan with soft butter, then set it aside.
2. Place a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, or in a medium bowl with a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter with the remaining sugar until creamy. Add the eggs 1 at a time, mixing each one in completely before the next goes in and scraping the bowl when needed. Mix in the vanilla extract. Stir together the flour, baking powder and salt, then add them to the batter and mix on low speed. Stop the mixer, add the Cajeta, and mix slowly until it is fully blended in, scraping often. Make sure you get all the way to the bottom of the bowl, because the Cajeta tends to need a little encouragement down there.
3. Spoon the batter into the pan and place the pan on a small baking sheet, just in case any caramel bubbles over. Bake for 40 minutes, rotate the pan, and keep baking until a skewer poked into the center comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes more. Let it bake for another 3 to 5 minutes after that so the cake firms up enough to hold onto the bananas. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let it cool for 5 to 10 minutes. Once the cake is still warm but the pan has cooled down noticeably, slide a paring knife around the edge and turn the cake out onto a plate. If some bananas cling to the pan or the corners look a little scruffy, stay calm and use a paring knife to lift the bananas out and place them back on the cake. Wrap it in plastic right away and chill overnight.
4. Make the anglaise: Put the half and half and sugar in a medium saucepan. Split the vanilla bean, scrape out the seeds, and add both to the pan. Have the egg yolks waiting in a medium bowl. Set the saucepan over medium heat, stirring now and then so the sugar dissolves, and warm it until it steams without letting it boil. Take it off the heat and slowly whisk the hot mixture into the yolks. Pour everything back into the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring the whole time, until the custard coats the back of a spoon. Strain it into a bowl and chill it over an ice bath or in the refrigerator for a couple of hours, with plastic wrap pressed directly onto the surface.
5. To serve: Cut the cake into slabs about 1 inch thick. Warm the slices briefly in a warm oven or microwave, then serve them in a pool of chilled anglaise.