Apple Cinnamon Upside-Down Cake

Hello! My name is Eileen and I am usual suspect #2! While Beth enjoys Disney she asked me to do a guest blog! Please be kind, this is my first time EVER with blogging!

It’s Beth’s fault, and by Beth’s “fault” I mean, it’s thanks to Beth that there have been so many apple-ish-ous baking experiments this month and last. You see she purchased a bushel of apples at the farmer’s market the other week, PLUS the apples she got from her mom’s coworker and we’ve been trying to bake through them before they go bad. As Beth has mentioned though: ugly fruit does make yummy dessert! She offered apples, and I took what I thought was enough for just one pie, however, these apples were quite large, so I had leftovers! I Googled “apple cakes” and found one called “Apple Cinnamon Upside-Down Cake” and the picture looked great, so I went with that one. I’m not choosy like Beth, I’ll just use the first recipe I come across! (Beth is probably wiser to search out the BEST recipe, with the BEST ingredients, but I’m lazy!)

So the hardest part about working with apples is always prepping the apples themselves. It’s not really hard, but it takes forever! That does give the butter time to soften, though, so I suppose it all works out! While getting the apples ready, I didn’t pull out all the ingredients like I normally do before I start baking something, and came to find out in the middle of the process, that I didn’t have enough granulated sugar!! I barely had enough brown sugar to toss with the apples!! Since Beth was at the U2 concert I couldn’t call my neighbor to borrow a cup of sugar, so I made do with what I had in the house which was a tablespoon of granulated sugar, a tablespoon (left) of brown sugar, and the rest powdered sugar!! I was really nervous to make this substitution because it specifically said granulated, and I know how nice and fluffy the butter / sugar / egg combo can be. Well I went ahead and did it, and immediately was concerned because the sugar wasn’t creaming when I added the eggs!! It was all clumpy looking, and not fluffy looking at all! Something else I did slightly different was the cinnamon. When my husband and I make pancakes we grind fresh cinnamon sticks with cloves and nutmeg. There was this freshly ground combo in the spice grinder, so I went ahead and used that instead of just ground cinnamon.

I continued with the recipe and added the flour mixture, and was glad to see that it mixed in and started looking normal again! Once I got all the milk and flour mixed in, I had to taste it to make sure, and it was just as tasty as regular cake batter! I spooned it over the apples and put it in the oven. Because it was in a square dish, I used my awesome Cuisinart toaster oven. The only thing I have to watch when baking in the smaller oven, is that usually it cooks faster. So I always set the timer for 10 minutes less than it calls for, and check it periodically. After only 45 minutes my cake was very close to being done and my house smelled wonderful!

I decided to put it on the cake stand that I got for my wedding, so when I flipped it over, the pan was not flush with the cake stand because of the slight lip on the edge of the stand. This caused the cake and all its yummy juices to slide right out. I still let it sit so that the fruit on top could set a little and not slide off the side of the cake. And voila! Yummy cake that I had to call Beth and Noel over to share!!

http://southernfood.about.com/od/applecakes/r/r71005b.htm

Ingredients:

• 3 large golden delicious apples
• 2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1 scant teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 4 tablespoons melted butter

• Cake
• 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, stirred before measuring
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup milk

Preparation:

Heat oven to 325°. Butter a 9-inch square cake pan or spray with baking spray. Core the apples and cut into wedges; peel and slice thinly. Combine apple slices with the brown sugar, 1 scant teaspoon of cinnamon, and 4 tablespoons of melted butter. Arrange the apple mixture in the prepared baking pan.

Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon in a bowl. In a large mixing bowl with electric mixer, beat butter with the sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture to the first mixture, alternating with the milk, beating just until blended. Spoon the batter evenly over the apple slices; gently spreading to cover. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Invert the hot cake onto a platter or cake plate and let stand for about 5 minutes. Remove the pan and scrape up any fruit slices clinging to the pan and arrange them over the cake.

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