A delicious cake with caramelized apples, wonderful with a scoop of ice cream or frozen yogourt! This cake looks stunning without any decorating effort. I’ve tried different versions of apple upside-down cakes, and my favourite method is to cook the apples beforehand, making them soft and tender before adding to the cake. This reduces the amount of juice released during baking which can make the cake soggy. The bubbling of the caramelized apples may overflow a bit while baking, so it’s a good idea to put a baking pan or sheet underneath to capture any sticky drippings.
Apple Upside-Down Cake
Delicious apple upside-down cake
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 8 tbsp (1 stick or ½ cup) unsalted butter, room temperature (divided 2 tbsp & 6 tbsp)
- 1½ cup white granulated sugar (divided ½ cup & 1 cup)
- 1 lb apples (about 4 medium), peeled, cored, cut into wedges about 1" thick
- 1½ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- ⅓ cup milk, room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Line bottom of cake pan with parchment paper, grease the sides with non-stick spray.
- Sauce & Apples: Melt 2 tbsp butter in a saucepan on medium heat. Add ½ cup of sugar and cook until sugar dissolves and mixture turns golden brown, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add apple wedges to the saucepan, gently mix. Cover and cook until apples release their juices, about 5 minutes. Uncover and cook until apples are tender and caramel thickens, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes more. The mixture might get lumpy and crystallized, if so, increase the heat and stir a bit longer.
- Pour sauce and apple mixture into the cake pan, carefully arranging the apples in a nice concentric pattern with a fork (mixture is hot). Place pan in the fridge while preparing the batter.
- Batter: In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, nutmeg and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, beat 6 tbsp butter until creamy. Add 1 cup of sugar, beat until creamy. Beat in vanilla and eggs.Pour the flour mixture into the wet mixture, and slowly mix in the milk. Don't over-mix.Pour batter over the apples in the cake pan.
- Bake at 350℉ until top is golden and a knife comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool cake in the pan for only 10 minutes. Loosen the sides of the cake with a knife and invert the cake on your serving platter, remove the parchment paper. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.
