This caramel apple upside down cake is a fall must-make. We effectively get two desserts in one when we combine a soft cinnamon-spiced cake with buttery caramelized apples. The juices from the topping seep into the cake after inversion, adding unrivaled flavor and moisture. The lovely garnish is actually baked right into the cake, which is what you’ll love most about it in addition to the flavors.
I first published a caramel apple upside-down cake recipe. It deserves its early position in my archives because it is one of my all-time favorites. Every fall, I bake this recipe at least once, and over the years, I’ve made a few small adjustments. The cake is better than ever. I figured you’d appreciate seeing what I’ve done!.
Here is 4 recipe(s):
Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake
In this gorgeous apple upside-down cake, a tender cinnamon-spiced cake is combined with a delectable buttery caramel topping. You won’t regret the extra slices, so cram those apples into the pan because this cake can hold a lot!
Prep: 25min
Total: 1h30min
Yield: 8
Ingredients:
- 6 Tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 medium apples, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch slices (1. 5–2 cups, or 188–250g, apple slices)*.
- 1 and 1/2 cups (188g) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 stick (115g) of room temperature, half a cup of unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 6 Tablespoons (90ml) whole milk, at room temperature*
Instruction:
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C).
- Over medium heat, combine butter and brown sugar in a small saucepan. Whisk occasionally until butter has melted. Cook, whisking constantly, for 1 minute as mixture thickens. Whisk in the cinnamon and vanilla extract after taking the pan off the heat. Pour into a round cake pan or 9-inch pie dish without grease. (Make sure the pan is 2 inches deep. I recommend this pie dish, which is 1. 8 inches deep but I never have an overflow issue. The apple slices should be neatly arranged on top, overlapping as necessary. See photo above. While preparing the cake batter, place the pan in the refrigerator for a short while. This helps solidify or “set” the topping’s arrangement.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt together. Set aside.
- Beat the butter on high speed for about a minute, using a hand-held or stand mixer with a paddle or whisk attachment, until it is smooth and creamy. Beat the two sugars together for about a minute on high speed after adding them both. As necessary, use a rubber spatula to scrape the bowl’s sides and bottom. Beat the eggs and vanilla extract together at high speed until well-combined. As necessary, scrape the bowl’s sides and bottom. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Set the mixer to low speed, then slowly pour the milk into it as it runs. Just until all of the ingredients are combined, beat on low speed. Do not over-mix. To make sure there are no lumps at the bottom of the bowl, you might need to whisk everything by hand. The batter will be slightly thick.
- Remove topping from the refrigerator. Pour and spread cake batter evenly over topping.
- To prevent the top from over-browning before the center of the cake has a chance to fully cook, bake the cake for 40–46 minutes while tenting it with foil halfway through the baking process. A toothpick inserted into the center of the cake should come out mostly clean; a few moist crumbs are acceptable. If your cake takes longer to bake or if it rises and sticks to the foil, don’t be alarmed. (We serve the cake upside down anyway!).
- Take cake out of the oven and let it cool for only 15 minutes on a wire rack. The cake should be turned upside down and placed on a serving dish or cake stand. It’s okay if some of the topping’s juices leak over the sides. The cake can be cut into slices and served warm, but the slices will be a mess. Before slicing and serving, I find it best to let the cake cool to room temperature completely. Do not put the cake in the refrigerator to hasten the cooling process because it might taste too dense.
- Slices that are leftover should be covered and kept for up to 3 days in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer. Thaw at room temperature. The cake shouldn’t be frozen as a whole because the topping arrangement doesn’t thaw out very well. See make ahead instructions below.
Old Fashioned Apple Upside Down Cake
Old Fashioned Apple Upside Down Cake is a comfort food dessert that everyone will enjoy made from an old family recipe using just a few basic ingredients. It is a traditional autumnal treat that is only made better by a generous serving of vanilla ice cream.
Prep: 25min
Total: 1h5min
Serving Size: 12 Servings
277 calories, 37 grams of carbohydrates, 63 milligrams of cholesterol, 2 grams of fiber, 1 gram of protein, 8 grams of saturated fat, 12 servings, 133 grams of sodium, and 34 grams of sugar are the nutritional values.
Ingredients:
- ½ cup butter
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1-2 tsp vanilla extract (I use 2)
- 2 cups flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup milk
- 6 apples peeled, cored and cut into thick wedges
- 1/3 cup butter
- 1/3 cup white sugar; if you’d like, you can substitute light brown sugar.
- 3 tbsp water
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
Instruction:
- In a sizable nonstick sauté pan, melt the 1/3 cup butter.
- Add the sugar, water and cinnamon. Add the apples after cooking the mixture over medium heat until it foams.
- The apples should only be cooked in the cinnamon and sugar syrup until they start to soften.
- Place the apple slices in the prepared pan and cover them with the pan’s syrup.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Ideally, grease a 10 inch round cake pan or a 9×9 inch baking pan.
- Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- One at a time, beat well after each addition before adding the eggs.
- Beat in the vanilla extract.
- Sift together the flour and baking powder.
- Beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, add the milk in alternating batches. Typically, I add the milk in two additions and the dry ingredients in three portions.
- Spread the batter evenly to the pan’s edges after heaping tablespoonfuls of the batter are spooned onto the apple layer’s surface.
- Bake for 40 to 45 minutes at 350 degrees F, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- The best way to determine whether this cake is fully baked is with the toothpick test.
Caramel-Apple Upside-Down Cake
The gooey fruit topping is the best part of the traditional pineapple upside-down cake, and this new version of the classic dessert is no different. Fresh apple slices, which have a tart flavor that is the ideal counterbalance to a sticky-sweet caramel sauce, were used in place of canned pineapple. We don’t like to take sides, but this topping combined with the tender vanilla scratch cake makes for a simple modern treat that might even surpass the original.
Prep: 25min
Total: 1h45min
Yield: 8
Serving Size: 1 Serving
Nutritional information per serving: 550 calories, 68 grams of carbohydrate, 135 mg of cholesterol, 5 1/2 grams of fat, 1 gram of fiber, 5 grams of protein, 17 grams of saturated fat, 50 grams of sugar, and 1 gram of trans fat.
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup butter or margarine
- 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 medium apples, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch wedges
- 1 1/3 cups Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
Instruction:
- Heat oven to 325°F. Spray cooking spray on the bottom and sides of an 8- or 9-inch square pan.
- Melt 1/4 cup butter in a 1-quart saucepan over medium heat while stirring occasionally. Stir in brown sugar. Heat to boiling; remove from heat. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Pour into pan; spread evenly. Place apple wedges on top of the brown sugar mixture, tightly overlapping them and, if necessary, forming two layers.
- Mix the salt, baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon in a medium bowl. Beat 1 cup granulated sugar and 1/2 cup butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until smooth. Add vanilla. Beat milk alternately into the flour mixture gradually, beating well after each addition. Spread batter over apple wedges in brown sugar mixture.
- 55 to 65 minutes of baking time, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on cooling rack 15 minutes. Whipping cream is simultaneously being vigorously beaten in a medium bowl until it starts to thicken. Add 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar gradually while beating until soft peaks form.
- Run knife around sides of pan to loosen cake. Place a heatproof serving plate on top of the pan and flip it over. Remove pan. Serve warm cake with whipped cream. Store cake loosely covered.
Apple Upside-Down Cake
Tangy, sweet, spicy, gooey, and super-duper scrumptious. Spend more money on the boiled cider for the best results; this delicious syrup is the essence of apples. It keeps for ever in the fridge, so use it in all of your apple desserts, on top of oatmeal or ice cream, or in yogurt or smoothies.
Prep: 25min
Total: 1h25min
Yield: 8
Serving Size: 199g
Nutritional information per serving: 199g, 670 calories, 92g of carbohydrates, 3g of fiber, 6g of protein, 350mg of sodium, 71g of sugar, 34g of fat, 6g of saturated fat, and 0g of trans fat. 5g.
Ingredients:
- 2 medium (220g) apples
- 4 tablespoons (57g) butter cold
- 3/4 cup (159g) light brown sugar packed
- Boiling 2 tablespoons (43g) of cider or using 2 tablespoons (36g) of concentrated apple juice
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 cup (156g) light corn syrup
- 3/4 cup (149g) vegetable oil
- 1 cup (213g) of packed light or dark brown sugar
- Boiling 2 tablespoons (43g) of cider or using 2 tablespoons (36g) of concentrated apple juice
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 cups (180g) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- 1 large (170g) apple peeled and finely chopped
- 3/4 cup (85g) chopped pecans or walnuts optional
Instruction:
To make the topping: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Using at least 2″ of depth, lightly grease a 9″ round cake pan. Line the bottom with parchment, and grease the parchment. Slice off one apple’s top, including the stem, and set it aside before peeling and cutting the remaining apples into 1/4″ thick wedges. , Arrange the remaining apple wedges in a ring around the apple top, stem side down, in the center of the pan. Butter, sugar, boiled cider, cinnamon, and corn syrup are combined to make the topping by heating them over low heat while stirring until the sugar dissolves. 1/2 cup of the syrup mixture should be added to the prepared pan; the remainder should be set aside. To make the cake, combine the oil, brown sugar, eggs, boiled cider, spices, and salt and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Next, combine the flour and baking soda and stir it into the batter. Mix in the chopped apple and nuts until just combined. Spread the batter gently over the apples in the pan after dropping scoops of batter on top of them. A cake tester inserted near the center of the cake should come out clean after baking it for 50 to 55 minutes. , After removing the cake from the oven, loosen the edges with a thin spatula. Turn the cake out onto a serving plate with the bottom side up after letting it cool in the pan for five minutes. Spread the remaining sauce over the cake after scraping the pan clean. , Reheat the reserved topping. When you reheat butter, if it begins to separate, add water by the teaspoon and stir until the butter reunites with the rest of the sauce. , Pour the sauce over the cake. If desired, top the cake with whipped cream and serve it warm or at room temperature.
Caramel Apple Upside-Down Cake
FAQ
What is the point of an upside-down cake?
A Brief History of Pineapple Upside Down Cake The pineapple upside down cake’s origins can be traced back hundreds of years, to a time when people cooked over open fires in cast-iron skillets. They would line the bottom of the pans with fruit when they wanted a sweet treat, and then pour batter on top.
Does apple upside-down cake have to be refrigerated?
The cake can be refrigerated with a tight cover for up to five days after it has been baked and cooled. Additionally, the cake may be frozen for three months. Bring to room temperature before serving.
How do you make a Mary Berry apple cake?
- 225g self-raising flour.
- 1 level tsp baking powder.
- 225g caster sugar.
- 2 large eggs.
- ½ tsp almond extract.
- 150g butter, melted.
- 250g cooking apples, peeled and cored.
- 25g flaked almonds.
Why was pineapple upside down cake popular?
After the Dole Pineapple Company sponsored a competition for pineapple recipes, pineapple upside-down cakes gained popularity in the United States in the mid-1920s. They ran an advertisement about the inverted pineapple cake, which increased its popularity, and received over 2,500 submissions from a variety of people.