Caramel Apple Upside-Down Cake

By Chef Stacy Maple

Caramel Apple Upside-Down Cake

This Caramel Apple Upside-Down Cake is the perfect dessert to celebrate the fall.  The recipe calls for 3 pounds of fresh apples that will hold their shape when they are cooked.   This begs the question: Which apple is right for the recipe?  The following guide examines 20 of the most common apples and the best way to enjoy them this season.

Picking the Right Apple for Your Recipe

With more than 7,000 varieties of apples grown today it is often a challenge to pick the right apple variety for your recipe.  The following is a guide to 20 of the most common apples found at local markets and the best way to enjoy them.

 

20 Common Apples and their Best Uses

When it comes to apples for snacking the choice is subjective. You like what you like.  But when it comes to cooking apples it is important to be more objective.  Taking into consideration the apple’s flavor, texture and they way it will react to heat will help you pick the right apple for your recipe.  For example, my Caramel Apple Upside-Down Cake needs an apple that can hold its shape when baked and remains flavorful (see below).

 

Apples Best Enjoyed Raw: 

Cortland, Fuji, Gala, Red Delicious

Because these apples lose their flavor when cooked or their texture becomes undesirable, these apples are best enjoyed in their raw state as a snack or in a salad.

 

Apples that Hold Their Shape:   

Brae burn, Cameo, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Jazz, Jonagold, Pink Lady, Rome

These apples soften when cooked but retain their shape and are great choices for pies, cobblers and tarts, as well as, braised dishes, stuffings and baked apples.

 

Apples that Breakdown Easily: 

Empire, Jonathan, Lady Apple, Lodi, McIntosh, Pomme Grise, and Sunrise

These apples breakdown easily when cooked, making them good choices for apple sauces and pureed soups.   Try adding a few of these soft apples to apples that hold their shape when cooked to add body to pies, tarts and turnovers.

 

 

Caramel Apple Upside-Down Cake

 

Ingredients:

For the Apples

3# Apples that Hold Their Shape, cut into 1/4 " wedges

3 TB Fresh Juice

6 TB Unsalted Butter, cut in pieces

 

For the Topping

Unsalted Butter, softened

1 C Sugar

1 tsp Cinnamon

 

For the Cake

1 1/2 C All Purpose Flour

1 1/2 tsp Nutmeg, ground

1/2 tsp Salt

9 TB Unsalted Butter, softened and cut in  pieces

1 1/4 C Sugar, granulated

1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

2 TB Orange Zest

2 Eggs

3 Egg Yolks

3/4 C Whole Milk

 

Directions:

Prepare the Apples

In a large bowl, toss apple wedges in lemon juice.

In heavy duty skillet, cook butter over medium until brown in color and has nutty fragrance, about 4 minutes.  Be careful not to burn. Remove from heat. Immediately add apples (without lemon juice) and sprinkle in salt.  Gently toss apples in brown butter.  Pour apples on sheet pan in a single layer to cool and set aside.

 Prepare the Topping

Butter a 10 inch spring form cake pan and line with parchment paper.  Butter the parchment paper.

In a medium sauce pan, add sugar, cinnamon, and water.  Place over medium heat and stir until sugar dissolves.  Once sugar dissolves, stop stirring and continue cooking for 3 minutes and is a dark amber color. Immediately pour the caramel in the cake pan swirling to evenly coat the bottom.  Let cool.

 

Once cool, artfully arrange the buttered apple slices in the caramel in a tightly packed circular pattern.  Set aside.

 Prepare the Cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and position rack in the lower third of the oven.

In medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.

In stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream together butter and ¼ cup of sugar until smooth and fluffy, about 1 minute.  Scrape bowl.

Add remaining sugar, orange zest and vanilla.  Beat until well combined and pale in color, about 4 minutes.  Scrape bowl. 

With mixer on low speed, gradually add the eggs and yolks and beat on medium speed until well incorporated.

With the mixer on low speed, gradually add remaining ingredients by alternating the dry ingredients and milk.  Scrape the bowl as necessary and continue to combine until well incorporated.

Using rubber spatula, gently spread batter evenly over apples.  Lightly tap pan down on counter once or twice to settle batter

Bake 40-45 minutes until cake springs back when gently pressed and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Transfer cake to cooling rack and run a sharp knife around edge of pan to release.  Cool the cake in the pan for 20 minutes. Release spring form.

Invert the cake onto a cake plate and slowly remove the pan and parchment.  If any apples have shifted, reposition them.  Let the cake cool for at least 1 hour before serving. 

Serves 8-10