This moist and delicious, Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake is a fall favorite. Fresh juicy apples caramelize in butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar as they bake underneath a homemade white cake batter. Once inverted, it's hard to resist the sweet and decadent syrupy topping--especially as it oozes down the cake's edges. So, so good!
It doesn't get much better than desserts with cinnamon caramel toppings, like Make Ahead Monkey Bread and Peach Upside Down Cake.
But this delicious Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake is my absolute favorite.
With fresh apple slices smothered in a buttery topping that's thick like honey, the taste is caramel-y sweet and decadent, and the apples always come out juicy and fork tender.
This scrumptious dessert gets better the longer it sits, mainly because this gives a chance for the fluffy, tender vanilla cake to absorb some of the sweet, buttery caramel topping.
Normally I'm a fan of suggesting a scoop of ice cream on top of apple desserts, like with Baked Apple Crisp and Dutch Apple Crumb Pie. But this luscious apple upside down cake already has such a rich and flavorful caramel topping built in that adding more only takes away from its supreme deliciousness!
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👪Why you'll love it
| Perfect for apple season- Celebrate your fall trip to the farm (or market) and make this delicious apple dessert with your freshly picked favorite apples! Great for small gatherings- Baked in an 8x8 square pan or 8-9 inch round pan, this dessert easily serves 9. Easy to make, light and fluffy vanilla cake- This recipe is 100% made from scratch, but I promise, with the help of a fruit peeler and hand mixer, it's quite simple to make! |
🥘Ingredients
- salted butter- half is used for the delicious topping; the other half is used for the fluffy cake
- brown sugar- light or dark, firmly packed; along with the butter, this creates the caramel topping
- cinnamon & nutmeg- warm, cozy spices for added flavor
- apples- your favorite variety (I often use Gala, Honeycrisp, or Granny Smith); peeled, cored and sliced thin
- lemon juice- used as a preservative
- all purpose flour- spooned into measuring cup and leveled
- cornstarch, baking powder & salt
- white granulated sugar
- milk- I often use skim, but any percentage will do (the higher the fat percentage, the creamier the cake)
- pure vanilla extract
- egg- only 1 is needed for this recipe; bring it to room temperature before using for better mixing
See recipe card for quantities.
🔪Instructions
- Step 1: Make the caramel topping, then place in the bottom of a well greased pan.
- Step 2: Arrange apple slices on top; sprinkle with lemon juice.
- Step 3: Make the vanilla cake; beat egg white in separate bowl until stiff peaks form, then fold into cake batter.
- Step 4: Pour cake batter on top of apples and bake for 30 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes, then invert.
Hint: Try to keep the apple slices uniform so that they bake evenly. Aim for thin slices (¼ inch thickness or less) so that the fruit is fork-tender after it bakes.
🥣Substitutions
- Cake flour- You may choose to use 1 & ⅓ cups cake flour for a softer, lighter cake instead of all purpose flour. If choosing this option, omit the cornstarch from the recipe.
📖Variations
- Extra spice - add ¼ teaspoon of ground mace to the topping for added spice to the caramel sauce
- Pear - swap out some or all of the apples with pears for a sweeter topping
- Salted caramel - add a pinch of coarse salt to the caramel layer; this is especially good with Granny Smith apples for a tart, salty & sweet contrast
See Peach Upside Down Cake for a summer version!
🍽Equipment
- apple peeler/slicer/corer OR fruit peeler, cutting board, and pairing knife
- small microwaveable mixing bowl
- measuring cups & measuring spoons
- 8x8 square pan OR 8-9 inch round pan, well greased (optional to line with parchment paper)
- large mixing bowl
- pastry cutter
- hand mixer
- small mixing bowl
- rubber spatula
- wire cooling rack
🍶Storage
Store the cake in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the fridge (preferred).
Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake can also be frozen for up to 3 months, but keep in mind that the topping will be very soggy when defrosted.
💭Top tip
Only allow the cake to cool for 5 minutes before inverting. You want to flip it over while the caramel topping is still warm. After inverting, allow the pan to stay on top of the cake for 1 minute before removing for best results.
🗨️FAQ
Firm varieties are best. Decide if you want a contrast in flavor between tart and sweet, or more of an even flavor profile. Granny Smith is a good choice for tart, while Pink Lady, Gala, Honeycrisp, and Fuji offer sweeter options (with Fuji being the sweetest).
Wait only 5 minutes for this recipe. You want to flip while the caramel topping is still warm. The more it cools, the more it sets, which will cause it to stick to the pan (for more advice, see Top tip above).
You have two options. Either use a heavily coated nonstick pan, or line your pan with greased parchment paper.
🥄Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
🍴Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake:
📋Recipe
Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake
Equipment
- apple peeler/slicer/corer OR fruit peeler, cutting board, and pairing knife
- small microwaveable mixing bowl
- measuring cups & measuring spoons
- 8x8 square pan OR 8-9 inch round pan well greased and/or lined with parchment paper
- large mixing bowl
- pastry blender
- electric hand mixer or stand mixer
- small mixing bowl
- rubber spatula
- wire cooling rack
Ingredients
- 1 stick salted butter divided
- ½ cup brown sugar light or dark; firmly packed
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 3 large apples Gala, Honeycrisp, or Granny Smith; peeled, cored and sliced thin
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 & ¼ cups all purpose flour spooned into measuring cup and leveled
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 & ¾ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup white granulated sugar
- ½ cup milk at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 egg at room temperature; separated
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375℉.
- In a microwaveable mixing bowl, melt ½ stick butter (save other ½ for cake).
- Add brown sugar and spices; mix well. Pour the mixture into prepared baking pan.
- Arrange apple slices over brown sugar mixture; sprinkle with lemon juice.
- Combine flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt in large bowl; mix well. Then add white sugar and mix.
- Add remaining stick of softened butter; cut with pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Add milk and vanilla; stir until ingredients are just moistened.
- Use a hand mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes to blend ingredients; add egg yolk and mix for an additional 30 seconds on low speed.
- In a separate bowl, beat egg white on high speed with clean beaters (whisk beaters preferred if available) until stiff peaks form.
- Use a rubber spatula to carefully fold the egg white into the cake batter; then pour batter over apples in pan.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until cake tester inserted in middle comes out clean. (Cake will be dark brown and will have some bubbles on top.)
- Cool in pan on wire rack for 5 minutes; then loosen edges and invert onto serving plate. Let stand 1 minute before lifting and removing pan.
Barbara K. says
I've always loved pineapple upside- down cake. Making it with apples is easier and cheaper too. The caramelized topping makes it so delicious.
Kitchen Ready Betty says
It's also more delicious! The caramel topping is the best!