Salted Caramel Apple Upside-Down Cake Recipe

While pineapple may be the best-known of the upside-down cakes, there are numerous other recipes for flipped fruit toppings. Among our favorites are upside-down banana cake, plum upside-down cake, fig upside-down cake with bay leaf caramel, and summery strawberry-basil upside-down cake. But, we now have a new one to add to the list: developer Jessica Morone's salted caramel upside-down cake.

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Morone is a fall flavors superfan. "Now that it's September, I feel like everything should be apple- or pumpkin-flavored," she says. "Apples and caramel are a perfect combination all year but are especially great during the fall." The secret ingredient in her cake topping is salted butter, since salt is a flavor enhancer that makes the caramel sweeter and the apple tarter, and it also ties everything together. While this cake contains no pumpkin, it would pair perfectly with a pumpkin spice latte for the ultimate autumnal indulgence. (That's not to say that we wouldn't say no to a slice or three at any other time of the year, though!)

Collect the ingredients for the salted caramel apple upside-down cake

The cake batter is made from vegetable oil, granulated sugar, milk, egg, vanilla extract, flour, baking powder, salt, and apple pie spice. The upside-down topping consists of brown sugar, salted butter, and sliced apples (Granny Smiths would be best).

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Step 1: Turn on the oven

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Step 2: Prepare a pan

Place a piece of parchment paper in the bottom of a 9-inch round cake pan and spray the pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Step 3: Melt the butter

Add the butter to a medium saucepan and melt over medium heat.

Step 4: Stir in the brown sugar

Add in the brown sugar and stir until it is combined with the butter.

Step 5: Boil the caramel sauce

Bring the mixture to a boil and boil for about 1 minute, until bubbly.

Step 6: Pour the caramel in the pan

Pour the mixture into the prepared cake pan and spread it out evenly.

Step 7: Top it with apple slices

Arrange the cut apple slices on top of the caramel sauce.

Step 8: Mix the oil and granulated sugar

In a large bowl, whisk together the vegetable oil and granulated sugar until smooth.

Step 9: Stir in the egg and vanilla

Add the egg and vanilla extract and whisk until combined. Set aside.

Step 10: Mix the dry ingredients

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and apple pie spice.

Step 11: Combine the wet and dry ingredients with the milk

Add about half of the flour mixture and half of the milk into the bowl with the wet ingredients and whisk until combined. Repeat with the rest of the flour and milk.

Step 12: Pour the batter in the pan

Pour the cake batter over the apple slices in the cake pan.

Step 13: Bake the cake

Bake in the preheated oven for 40–45 minutes, until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Step 14: Flip the cake

Let the cake sit for 20 minutes in the pan to cool, then run a butter knife around the inner edge of the cake pan and invert the cake onto a serving plate.

Step 15: Cool the cake, then serve

Cool completely before serving.

Salted Caramel Apple Upside-Down Cake Recipe

4.9 (19 ratings)

You can use a variety of fruits as the base of an upside-down cake. Here, we merge homemade salted caramel with apples for a autumnal treat.

Prep Time
10
minutes
Cook Time
45
minutes
servings
9
Slices
apple upside-down cake
Total time: 55 minutes

Ingredients

  • ‌6 tablespoons salted butter
  • ½ cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and cut into ½-inch slices
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon apple pie spice
  • ½ cup milk

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
  2. Place a piece of parchment paper in the bottom of a 9-inch round cake pan and spray the pan with nonstick cooking spray.
  3. Add the butter to a medium saucepan and melt over medium heat.
  4. Add in the brown sugar and stir until it is combined with the butter.
  5. Bring the mixture to a boil and boil for about 1 minute, until bubbly.
  6. Pour the mixture into the prepared cake pan and spread it out evenly.
  7. Arrange the cut apple slices on top of the caramel sauce.
  8. In a large bowl, whisk together the vegetable oil and granulated sugar until smooth.
  9. Add the egg and vanilla extract and whisk until combined. Set aside.
  10. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and apple pie spice.
  11. Add about half of the flour mixture and half of the milk into the bowl with the wet ingredients and whisk until combined. Repeat with the rest of the flour and milk.
  12. Pour the cake batter over the apple slices in the cake pan.
  13. Bake in the preheated oven for 40–45 minutes, until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
  14. Let the cake sit for 20 minutes in the pan to cool, then run a butter knife around the inner edge of the cake pan and invert the cake onto a serving plate.
  15. Cool completely before serving.

Nutrition

Calories per Serving 374
Total Fat 21.3 g
Saturated Fat 6.1 g
Trans Fat 0.4 g
Cholesterol 39.5 mg
Total Carbohydrates 43.6 g
Dietary Fiber 1.8 g
Total Sugars 28.2 g
Sodium 287.9 mg
Protein 3.1 g
The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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What is in apple pie spice, and how can I make my own?

Apple pie spice, while commercially available, doesn't seem to be quite as ubiquitous as pumpkin pie spice, but you could actually substitute one for the other, if need be. The two are pretty similar since both contain allspice, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. But, pumpkin pie spice also has cloves, while apple pie spice is made with cardamon. Instead of using a substitute spice blend, however, you can easily mix up a batch of your own apple pie spice.

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For a DIY apple pie spice blend, combine ¼ cup ground cinnamon, 1 ½ teaspoons ground nutmeg, ½ teaspoon ground allspice, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, and 1 teaspoon ground cardamom. This recipe makes about 5 tablespoons of spice. You'll only need ½ teaspoon for the salted caramel upside-down cake, but there's plenty you can do with the leftovers. You could use it to flavor an apple pie — of course — apple sauce, baked apples, or anything else made with apples. It's not just for apples, though, and it can be used in just about anything that you'd make with pumpkin pie spice or even plain cinnamon. You can swap in apple pie seasoning for both seasonings on a 1:1 basis.

How can I make sure that the top of my upside-down cake doesn't stick to the pan?

An upside-down cake's appeal lies in how pretty it looks, so you'll want to take every precaution to make sure that it doesn't stick to the pan. This starts with not only greasing the pan but lining it with paper and greasing that, too. (Because the pan liner is entirely covered with batter, it's okay to use wax paper instead of parchment, although this material can't be exposed to direct heat.) It's also important to flip it at just the right time — the pan needs to be cool enough to handle, but the cake must still be warm. When you flip, do so as quickly as possible, since this will help to keep the cake intact.

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What can you do if the cake still gets stuck? If you've left it too long and the cake has cooled down, try applying a little warmth to the bottom of the pan by wrapping it in a towel soaked in hot water and leaving it there for 15 minutes. If that doesn't work, you can always go the opposite route and place a bowl of ice cubes atop the upside-down pan. Even if worst comes to worst and you wind up having to pry the cake out of the pan, there's one more way to save the day: whipped cream, and plenty of it. Whipped cream hides all flaws and tastes great, too.

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