Garys Apple Upside Down Cake Recipes

GARY'S APPLE UPSIDE DOWN CAKE

Steps:

• This recipe calls for cinnamon sugar. I keep this on hand for toast. I make mine by adding a half a teaspoon of good quality cinnamon to granulated sugar. I keep it in a shake jar for convenience. These proportions will work well for this cake.
• You will need a cake pan with a removable bottom or a springform pan. It needs to be at least 9 inches in diameter and at least 2 1/2 inches tall. To prevent leakage of the butter or batter from spilling on the bottom of oven, wrap the pan with heavy foil....and crimp down the sides to not exceed the height of the pan. Generously grease the pan with unsalted butter. For a better release, you can opt to then line the bottom of pan with parchment paper, and the grease the parchment paper with additional butter.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees or 325 degrees for a convection oven. I prefer the convection oven.
• Sprinkle cinnamon sugar evenly to coat the bottom of cake pan.
• Arrange apple slices to completely cover bottom of the pan. Make a pretty concentric pattern. The apples should cover the cinnamon sugar.
• Measure the flour with baking soda and baking powder. Mix well and set aside. Measure the buttermilk and set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter, sugar, and salt until nice and light. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
• Alternately, using a slower speed on mixer, add the flour mix and buttermilk. Stir in extracts.
• Turn out batter from bowl into the cake pan. Be careful to not disturb the apples that you have so nicely arranged. Spread batter to be evenly distributed with the back of a spoon. Gently tap the pan on the counter to further settle the batter into the pan.
• Bake on the center rack in oven for about 1 hour. The batter will test with a pick....and also spring back when pressed with finger.
• Remove cake from oven and cool on rack for 20-25 minutes, then remove from pan by inverting onto a cake plate. You may need to bang the cake on the counter first to assist in the release. Remove the bottom of the pan. If you have used parchment paper, it should remain in the pan....but if not, carefully remove it from the cake.
• Completely cool before covering. Serve room temperature with fresh whipped cream.

CARAMEL APPLE UPSIDE DOWN CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C).
• Combine butter and brown sugar together in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk occasionally until butter has melted. Cook, whisking constantly, for 1 minute as mixture thickens. Remove from heat and whisk in the cinnamon and vanilla extract. Pour into an ungreased 9×2 inch pie dish or round cake pan. (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.) Arrange the apple slices neatly on top, overlapping where necessary. See photo above. Place pan in the refrigerator for a few minutes as you prepare the cake batter. This helps solidify or "set" the topping's arrangement.
• Whisk the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt together. Set aside.
• Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Add both sugars and beat on high speed until creamed together, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. On high speed, beat in the eggs and vanilla extract until combined. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Turn the mixer onto low speed and as the mixer runs, slowly pour in the milk. Beat on low speed just until all of the ingredients are combined. Do not over-mix. You may need to whisk it all by hand to make sure there are no lumps at the bottom of the bowl. The batter will be slightly thick.
• Remove topping from the refrigerator. Pour and spread cake batter evenly over topping.
• Bake for 40-46 minutes, tenting foil on top of the cake halfway through bake time to prevent the top from over-browning before the center has a chance to fully cook. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out mostly clean- a couple moist crumbs are OK. Don't be alarmed if your cake takes longer or if the cake rises up and sticks to the foil. (We serve the cake upside down anyway!)
• Remove cake from the oven and cool on a wire rack for just 15 minutes. Invert the slightly cooled cake onto a cake stand or serving plate. Some of the juices from the topping will seep over the sides- that's ok. You can slice and serve the cake warm, but the slices will be messy. I find it's best to cool the cake completely at room temperature before slicing and serving. Do not refrigerate the cake to speed up the cooling process because it could end up tasting overly dense.
• Cover leftover slices and store for up to 3 days in the refrigerator or 3 months in the freezer. Thaw at room temperature. I don't recommend freezing the cake as a whole because the topping arrangement doesn't thaw very nicely. See make ahead instructions below.

CARAMEL APPLE UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

Steps:

• Spray an 8- or 9-inch round cake pan with nonstick spray.
• Combine butter and brown sugar for topping in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until butter has melted and mixture begins to simmer gently, 3 to 4 minutes. Don't let the caramel mixture come to a boil; just allow it to bubble gently for a couple of minutes so it can thicken slightly.
• Pour into the prepared cake pan, then arrange apple slices all around the pan as desired. Place in the refrigerator so the topping can set while you prepare the cake.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Whisk flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl.
• Beat butter, sugar, and brown sugar in a separate bowl with an electric mixer until light in color and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down the bottom and sides as needed. Blend in eggs, incorporating slowly and scraping down the sides again, as needed. Mix in vanilla. Add in dry ingredients on low speed, blending just until combined; batter will be thick.
• Remove the cake pan from the refrigerator. Gently spread the thick batter over the topping, trying not to disturb the apples too much.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and set on a cooling rack for 15 minutes.
• Place a plate over the top of the pan, then carefully invert it, allowing the cake to release from the pan onto the plate. Let cake cool completely to room temperature, 45 minutes to an hour; the top can be fairly soft and may not cut cleanly while it is still warm.

APPLE UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Cover the bottom of a 10x15-inch baking pan with brown sugar and 2 tablespoons cinnamon. Layer apple slices on top.
• Place flour, apple juice, white sugar, butter, eggs, milk, remaining 1 tablespoon cinnamon, vanilla extract, baking powder, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix until completely smooth, 5 to 10 minutes; the longer you mix, the fluffier the cake will be.
• Pour batter over apples in the baking pan, making sure they are evenly covered.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 45 to 55 minutes. Cool for 20 to 30 minutes. Place a large serving dish over the cake and carefully flip over.

APPLE UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

Steps:

• Pour butter into an ungreased 9-in. round baking pan; sprinkle with 1/2 cup brown sugar. Arrange apples in a single layer over brown sugar; layer with walnuts and remaining brown sugar., In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; add to the creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk and sour cream, beating well after each addition. Beat in brandy if desired., Spoon batter over brown sugar layer. Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before inverting onto a serving plate. Serve warm.

APPLE UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Melt 1/4 cup butter in 8-inch square baking pan. Add dark brown sugar and spices, mix well.
• Arrange apple rings over brown sugar mixture on bottom of pan, then sprinkle with lemon juice. Set pan aside.
• In a large bowl, combine flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in remaining 3 Tbs butter with pastry blender or fork until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
• Add milk and vanilla to the mixture, and then beat at a low speed with mixer until dry ingredients are moistened. Continue beating 2 minutes at medium speed. Blend in egg yolk.
• In a small bowl, beat egg white at high speed until stiff peaks form; gently fold into batter, then pour over apples in pan.
• Bake 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack 5 minutes. Loosen edges and invert onto serving plate. Let stand 1 minute before removing pan. Serve warm.