Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake
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!
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
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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.
Notes
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.
Room temperature butter, milk and egg allows for easier mixing and blending of ingredients.
Store the cake in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the fridge.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!