I found a really pretty recipe for an Apple Upside Down Cake the other day on Looks Really Good. It did look really good. I bookmarked it and decided to bake it for the weekend.
I was well pleased with how it turned out. She had cut apples into thin slices and used them in the center of the cake. Mine didn't look as nice as hers did when it came out of the oven and so I popped it under the grill for a few minutes, to sort of candy them. It did the trick perfectly.
In all honesty, I probably wouldn't do that again though. They weren't as soft as I would have liked them to be, no matter how nice they looked, and it's not all that nice having to pick out skin and seeds, etc. when you are eating it.
They were really pretty though. I think what I might do the next time is to cook a few slices separately and then just lay them on the finished cake for effect once the cake is done, for looks and then remove them prior to cutting the cake to serve. I think that would work perfectly fine.
In any case it's a perfectly lovely cake, with a nice moist and lightly spiced batter. I added nutmeg because nutmeg goes so well with apples. I also added some lemon extract because I like that in an apple cake as well. It also helps to enhance the flavor of the vanilla believe it or not! This is the perfect cake for the weekend!
*Apple Upside Down Cake*Makes one 9 inch round cakePrintable RecipeSweetly caramelized apples, atop a deliciously moist and lightly spiced cake. Fabulous.
For the apples:3 medium crisp eating apples150g of soft light brown sugar (3/4 cup packed)1 tsp ground cinnamon4 TBS butter melted
For the Cake:245g of plain flour (1 3/4 cup)
pinch salt2 tsp baking powder1 tsp ground cinnamon1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg115g of butter, softened145g of caster sugar (3/4 cup_2 large free range eggs1 tsp pure vanilla1/2 tsp vanilla extract156 ml milk (2/3 cup)
Preheat the oven to 165*C/325*F/ gas mark 3. Butter a nine inch round cake tin well. Peel and core the apples. Cut into very thin slices. Combine the apple sliced with the brown sugar, cinnamon and melted butter. Arrange in the bottom of the cake tin. (I sliced one thinly down the middle, without coring and peeling, which I lay down first in circles around the tin, for asthetics purpose. It did look nice, but is not necessary.)
Whisk together the salt, flour, baking powder and cinnamon. Cream together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Beat in the vanilla and lemon. Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk, just until blended. You don't want to overbeat it. Spoon over the apple slices evenly, spreading to cover completely. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes until the cake is risen, golden brown and a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Invert the hot cake onto a large plate. Leave to stand for 5 minutes and then remove the pan. Scrape up any fruit slices clinging to the pan and arrange them over the cake. Eat warm or cold.
Vanilla Ice Cream or a dollop of creme fraiche go awfully nice with this.
