Upside Down Apple Cake

A slice of caramel apple upside down cake topped with a scoop of melting vanilla ice cream.

5 from 1 vote

Tender apples, rich caramel, and warm spices come together in this soft, moist, and luxurious apple upside down cake recipe that's a great fall dessert to try!

Prep Time20

Cook Time40

Total Time1

Servings: servings

Calories: 498kcal

Author: Karin and Ken

Ingredients

Apple Topping

6 apples, granny smith,peeled, cored, sliced
½ cup butter
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon cinnamon, ground to taste

Cake

1 cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup sugar
¼ cup brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup sour cream
2 large eggs
6 tablespoons butter, unsalted, room temperature or ¾ of a stick
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
butter or cooking spray for pan

Instructions

Apple Topping

Prepare your 8-9 inch round or square pan with butter or cooking spray. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Peel, core and cut apples into ¼ - ½ inch slices.
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add brown sugar and combine with a wooden spoon. When foaming subsides, add apple slices and cinnamon. Stir regularly for 8-10 minutes.
Empty apple mixture in to prepared pan and lightly press into a level layer. Set aside.

Cake Batter

Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl. Set aside.
In a large bowl combine sugar, brown sugar, butter, sour cream, vanilla and eggs. Add flour mixture and mix until combined.
Pour batter into pan on top of the apples and spread evenly. Bake until cake is golden brown and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Let pan cool for 30 minutes.
Take a butter knife and push in around edges to loosen the cake. Place wire rack on top of the cake pan. Holding rack tightly, flip the pan over.
I usually do this over the sink. The cake usually drips a little. Then place the wire rack over a baking sheet or large plate. If any fruit sticks to the bottom of the pan just remove it and put it back on the top of cake. Place cake on serving plate and serve warm with whipped cream on top.

Video

Notes

Choose the right apples: While you can use almost any kind of apple for this recipe, I would recommend using tart apples like Granny Smith for best results. Honeycrisp, Golden Delicious, Gala, and Fuji are other options for the best apples for apple cakes and other fall desserts with apples.
Slice them right: Slice the apples into pieces of equal thickness. I would recommend keeping them around ¼-⅛ inch thick for best results.
Use a deep pan: Make sure the pan or skillet that you’re choosing for this recipe is at least 2 inches deep. This will keep the cake from overflowing in the pan.
Add mix-ins: To bring more texture and a bit of variation to the cake, you can also add mix-ins like chopped nuts (think pecans and walnuts).

Nutrition