Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake
caramel apple upside down cake
Ingredients
for the caramel
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
2 tablespoons water
¼ cup heavy cream
1-½ teaspoons unsalted butter
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
⅛ teaspoon cinnamon
for the topping
2 cups peeled and roughly chopped (½” pieces) apples (green if you’re looking for tart caramel apple vibes, but you can use any you’d combo you’d like)
2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
½ cup (100g) light brown sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
for the cake
1-¾ cups (228g) all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup (2 sticks, 227g) room temp unsalted butter
1-¼ cups (250g) granulated sugar
3 large room temp eggs
2 large room temp egg yolks
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
½ cup (120g) room temp sour cream
A Few Notes:
Feel free to add some toasted and chopped nuts to the topping layer if that’s your caramel apple vibe.
Pairs Well With:
This cake has several steps, but nothing is complicated. We’ve got chopped apples + brown sugar on the bottom topped with rich and dense golden cake (think pound cake!) with a layer of homemade caramel drizzled in. As the name suggests, you turn it upside down to serve.
makes an 8” square cake
the how-to: caramel
Add the granulated sugar and water to a medium heavy bottomed pot and stir to combine. Cook the mixture over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Just hang tight and don’t stir - if you do, it will get clumpy. Keep boiling - be patient, it will take awhile. When the mixture turns a deep golden color you can start stirring. Stir until smooth. Remove it from the heat and whisk in the heavy cream, unsalted butter, vanilla extract, and cinnamon.
the how-to: topping
Preheat the oven to 350ºF and grease an 8” square pan.
In a medium bowl, stir together the apples, melted butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Spread the mixture evenly in the bottom of your pan.
the how-to: cake
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and granulated sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. With the mixer running, add in the eggs one at a time, beating thoroughly between each one. Mix in the vanilla extract.
Add the flour mixture and sour cream in two alternating batches, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Mix on low speed just until combined. Pour half of your batter on top of your apple mixture and spread it evenly. Pour in the caramel evenly. Top with the remaining cake batter, spread around the pan evenly.
Bake for 55-60 minutes, until a tester inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs. Let the cake cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then turn it out onto a wire rack placed over a piece of parchment paper (to catch any drips!), leaving the pan on top of the cake. Wait 30 seconds, then lift the pan off. Let cool completely before serving.
Store at room temp in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
