I loved how Baypuppy's pineapple upside down cake looked, but being allergic to pineapple meant I needed to find an alternative.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Oil 8x8 glass pan (or other similar sized pan with rounded edges.) Slice bananas into pan, arranging in a single layer. I used about 1 1/2 large bananas cut into approximately 1/2 inch slices, but amount can vary depending on how you cut them. Drizzle on the chocolate syrup and set aside. Add the optional coconut on top of the bananas if desired.
In a medium bowl, mix together dry ingredients with a wire whisk. Add wet ingredients and mix until large lumps are gone. (I like the wire whisk for this because its fast, but be careful not to over mix or the gluten in the flour will begin to develop resulting in a tougher cake.) Fold in nuts and/or chocolate chunks until combined if desired.
Pour into banana pan and bake for 45 minutes. Every oven is different but this is the consistent amount of time my oven takes. The cake should be nicely risen and spring back when gently poked, if not cook another 5 minutes and check again. The toothpick test doesn't seem to work on the vegan cakes I've tried. If the cake falls a little after cooling a bit once removed from the oven, it could have been cooked another 5-7 minutes.
Once baked, let cool to nearly room temp. I had to loosen the sides with a table knife along the top edge, and then again with a rubber spatula. The reason for the curved edge pan is so the spatula can loosen the sides of the cake, but also a little under the cake as well to get some air space that will help the cake come out of the pan.
Place serving platter over the top of the cake and invert. Firmly hold cake pan and platter together and shake a few times to loosen cake from pan. Repeat step with spatula if needed (I did not need to repeat, but the syrup and bananas and syrup are sticky.)
Serve as is or top with your favorite vegan vanilla ice cream for a VERY rich dessert!
*Note: I did not use the nuts, chocolate chunks, or coconut but I though they sounded good after the fact. I have added these to previous cake recipes as indicated and work just fine.
Source of recipe: This was slightly modified from Baypuppy's Pineapple Upside Down Cake http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=12596.0 [1] and that was a modification of Jeanne's White Cake http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=6372.0 [2]