Apple Upside-Down Cake
Wonderfully tasty, made from simple ingredients, and a little out of the ordinary! This apple upside-down cake turns out remarkably juicy and fragrant, thanks to apples caramelized with honey and cinnamon. You won't make it every day, but put it on the table and it feels like a celebration!
Cooking method
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Step 1:
How do you bake an apple upside-down cake? Start with the filling. Gather what you'll need for it. Use large apples—sweet-tart varieties work well. Add cinnamon to taste.
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Step 2:
Wash and dry the apples. Peel and core them, then cut them into medium-thick slices. Don't slice them too thin, so they hold their shape as they cook. As you slice, sprinkle the apples with lemon juice to keep them from browning too much.
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Step 3:
Melt the butter in a skillet, add the sugar, and stir.
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Step 4:
Over medium heat, stirring constantly, cook until the sugar has fully dissolved. Let it cook for about 5 minutes.
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Step 5:
Add the honey to the pan and stir.
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Step 6:
Cook for another 3–4 minutes, until it turns caramel-colored. Stay by the stove and keep stirring so it doesn't burn.
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Step 7:
Add the apple slices to the pan and stir.
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Step 8:
Cook the filling over medium heat, stirring now and then, until the apples are half-cooked. Sprinkle them with cinnamon and stir. Take the pan off the heat and let the filling cool. To speed that up, transfer it to a plate.
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Step 9:
Measure out the ingredients for the batter. Take the butter out of the fridge ahead of time so it softens. Use large eggs. You can substitute vanilla extract for the vanilla sugar.
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Step 10:
Mix the flour with the baking powder and sift it. Sifting aerates the flour so the cake rises better.
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Step 11:
Beat the softened butter with the sugar and vanilla sugar until light and fluffy.
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Step 12:
Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each.
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Step 13:
Pour the milk into the mixture and stir.
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Step 14:
Add the flour sifted with the baking powder. Mix thoroughly until smooth.
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Step 15:
The batter comes out fairly thick, smooth, and creamy.
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Step 16:
Spread the apple filling, along with its caramel syrup, over the bottom of a baking pan. You don't need to grease it first, since the filling is moist and the batter has plenty of butter. I used a 9-inch (22 cm) springform pan. But if your pan doesn't seal tightly, use a ceramic, silicone, or heatproof glass dish so the filling doesn't leak.
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Step 17:
Spread the batter evenly over the filling, smoothing it with a spoon or spatula.
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Step 18:
Bake the cake right away in an oven preheated to 350°F (180°C) for 35–40 minutes, until golden. Once the top is lightly browned, test for doneness: poke it with a wooden skewer in a few spots, and if it comes out dry, the cake is ready to come out. Let it cool slightly in the pan.
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Step 19:
Then flip the cake onto a plate so the apples are on top.
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Step 20:
Once cooled, you can dust the cake with powdered sugar. Slice and serve. Enjoy!
- If you'd rather not use baking powder, you can substitute baking soda: 1 teaspoon baking powder = ½ teaspoon baking soda + ¼ teaspoon white vinegar. If the recipe uses more or less than 1 teaspoon of baking powder, scale the soda and vinegar to match.
- Baking times can vary from what's given here. Adjust the temperature and time to suit your own oven.
Caloric content of the products possible in the composition of the dish
- Whole cow's milk - 68 kcal/100g
- Milk 3.5% fat - 64 kcal/100g
- Milk 3.2% fat - 60 kcal/100g
- Milk 1.5% fat - 47 kcal/100g
- Concentrated milk 7.5% fat - 140 kcal/100g
- Milk 2.5% fat - 54 kcal/100g
- Chicken egg - 157 kcal/100g
- Egg white - 45 kcal/100g
- Egg powder - 542 kcal/100g
- Egg yolk - 352 kcal/100g
- Ostrich egg - 118 kcal/100g
- Apples - 47 kcal/100g
- Dried apples - 210 kcal/100g
- Canned apple mousse - 61 kcal/100g
- Honey - 400 kcal/100g
- Granulated sugar - 398 kcal/100g
- Sugar - 398 kcal/100g
- Butter 82% - 734 kcal/100g
- Unsalted table butter - 709 kcal/100g
- Unsalted farmhouse butter - 661 kcal/100g
- Salted farmhouse butter - 652 kcal/100g
- Clarified butter - 869 kcal/100g
- Lemon juice - 16 kcal/100g
- Wheat flour - 325 kcal/100g
- Baking powder - 79 kcal/100g
- Vanilla sugar - 379 kcal/100g
- Ground cinnamon - 247 kcal/100g
