Best Apple Upside-Down Cake Recipe
Apple cardamom upside-down cake with buckwheat honey caramel, browned butter, and rye flour. A rustic fall cake with deep, nutty flavor.
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Equipment
- 9-inch round metal cake pan, at least 2 inches deep
- Parchment paper circle (9-inch)
- Light-colored saucepan (for browning butter and making the topping
- Heatproof bowl
- large mixing bowl
- Medium mixing bowl
- Whisk and spatula
- sharp knife and cutting board
- kitchen scale
- wire cooling rack
- Rimmed serving plate, wider than the pan
- oven mitts
Ingredients
Buckwheat honey topping
- 60 grams unsalted butter
- 60 grams orange blossom honey
- 40 grams mild honey such as clover
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of fine sea salt
Apple layer
- 450 grams Pink Lady apples weighed after coring, before slicing
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Cake batter
- 150 grams unsalted butter for browning; use 115 g finished browned butter in the batter
- 145 grams all-purpose flour
- 45 grams light rye flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder approximately 8 g
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 110 grams coconut sugar
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 130 grams full-fat sour cream approximately 18% fat, at room temperature
For preparing the pan
- softened butter
- A 9-inch parchment paper circle
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C), with a rack in the center.
- Lightly butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch round, 2-inch-deep metal cake pan. Line the bottom with a parchment circle, then lightly butter the parchment.
- Place 150 grams unsalted butter in a light-colored saucepan over medium heat.
- Cook, stirring and scraping the bottom regularly, until the butter foams, the milk solids turn golden brown, and the butter smells nutty.
- Immediately pour the butter and all the browned bits into a heatproof bowl.
- Let it cool until lukewarm, not hot. Stir to distribute the browned bits, then weigh 115 g into a large mixing bowl. Reserve any excess for another use.
- If your yield is slightly below 115 g, add enough melted butter to reach that weight
- Core enough apples to yield 450 grams Pink Lady apples. Leave the skins on for this test.
- Slice the apples approximately 5 mm thick. Toss with 1 teaspoon lemon juice and set aside.
- In a small saucepan, combine: 60 grams unsalted butter, 60 grams orange blossom honey, 40 grams mild honey.
- Heat over medium-low, stirring until the butter melts and the mixture combines.
- Once it begins bubbling gently, cook for 1–2 minutes, stirring frequently. Do not reduce it to a thick caramel.
- Remove from the heat and carefully stir in: ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract and Pinch of fine sea salt.
- Stir well immediately before pouring. The topping should remain fluid.
- Pour the warm honey topping into the prepared pan and spread it across the bottom.
- Arrange the apple slices in snug, overlapping circles, starting at the outside edge and working toward the center.
- Use all 450 g apples, distributing any remaining slices evenly rather than building a thick mound in the center. Set the pan aside while you mix the batter.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together: 145 grams all-purpose flour, 45 grams light rye flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon ground cardamom, ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Whisk thoroughly so the baking powder and spices are evenly distributed.
- To the large bowl containing 115 g lukewarm browned butter, add 110 grams coconut sugar. Whisk until thoroughly combined; the sugar does not need to dissolve completely.
- Add 2 large eggs, one at a time, whisking well after each addition.
- Whisk in: 11 teaspoon vanilla extract, 130 grams full-fat sour cream .
- Mix until reasonably uniform.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.
- Fold gently with a spatula, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl, just until no dry flour remains.
- Spoon the batter in small dollops over the apples. Gently spread it into an even layer without disturbing the arrangement underneath.
- Tap the pan lightly on the counter once or twice to settle the batter.
- Bake on the center rack for approximately 45–50 minutes, beginning your checks at 40 minutes.
- The cake is ready when the center is set and springs back lightly when touched, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, not wet batter.
- Do not push the toothpick all the way into the apple-and-honey layer, which will remain moist.
- If the top is browning before the center is done, loosely cover it with foil and continue baking.
- Place the pan on a wire rack and let the cake rest for 15 minutes.
- Run a thin knife around the sides to loosen the cake.
- Place a rimmed serving plate, wider than the pan, upside down over it. Wearing oven mitts, hold the plate and pan securely together and carefully invert.
- Lift the pan slowly, then gently peel away the parchment. Reposition any displaced apple slices while the topping is still warm.
- Allow the cake to cool on the serving plate for at least 15 minutes before slicing.
Notes
Let the browned butter cool to lukewarm before mixing.
Spread the batter gently. Dollop it over the apples in small spoonfuls, then use a spatula to spread it into an even layer.
Rest for a full 15 minutes before flipping, no less. The topping needs time to set; otherwise, it'll pour off the cake.
Nutrition
Serving: 1sliceCalories: 350kcalCarbohydrates: 40gProtein: 4gFat: 21gSaturated Fat: 12gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 86mgSodium: 243mgPotassium: 122mgFiber: 2gSugar: 21gVitamin A: 678IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 77mgIron: 1mg
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