Home > Recipes > Apple Upside Down Cake

Apple Upside Down Cake

13 votes

Use apples instead of pineapples to make a different kind of upside down cake that is sweet, aromatic, tart, and oh-so-good. Top this beautiful cake with some whipped cream or ice cream for a completely decadent treat. The best apples for use in this recipe, adapted from The Pepperidge Farm Cook Book by Margaret Rudkin, are the tart and crisp varieties, which produces a magical chemistry when combined with the sugar. Granny Smith, Jonagold, Jonathan, and Pippin apples are perfect for making apple upside down cake.

After baking the cake and the top is a nice golden brown, put a foil over the top of the cake to finish baking and allow the moisture to settle. Wait for 20 minutes to half and hour and the center part will come out perfect. The last step, which is to turn the cake upside down to reveal the moist bottom with the apples slices, is also the trickiest. To ensure success, use a sharp knife to cur around the edges of the cake and loosen it from the sides of the baking pan. The serving platter should be slightly larger than the pan to accommodate the whole cake. Place the topside of the platter over the baking pan covering the entire surface of the cake.

Use oven mitts to safely grip on the hot pan. Hold the platter to the pan firmly, using both hands covered in mitts and in one quick motion, invert pan and platter so that the cake transfers to the serving platter and the pan is now on top. Let it stand like this for five minutes before gently lifting the pan off the cake, revealing the caramelized apple bottom. Use a spatula to scrape off any remaining liquid in the pan and drip this on top of the cake. Let the cake cool for a few minutes to allow the upside-down structure to settle nicely.

30 min.

Difficulty Level

Easy

Ingredients

1/3 cup milk (scalded)

¼ cup granulated sugar

2 + 4 tablespoons butter

2 ¼ teaspoons (1 package) cake yeast

1 egg (well beaten)

2 + ½ cups flour

3 tart green apples (peeled and sliced)

½ cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Preparation Instructions

1

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a mixing bowl, combine just-scalded milk, sugar, and 2 tablespoons of butter. Leave until lukewarm.

2

In another mixing bowl, pour 1/4 cup of very warm water. Add the yeast, stirring until dissolved. Add the milk mixture, the egg, and 2 cups flour. Mix well.

3

Spoon the batter into a greased 9 in. square baking dish. Spread the apple slices on top of the batter.

4

In a bowl, combine brown sugar, ½ cup flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and 4 tablespoons butter. Sprinkle this mixture over the apple slices. Cover with a cloth and allow to rise for 1 hour, or until doubled. Bake for half an hour.