Apple Upside-Down Cake

Welcome back! 

Today, we have a delicious and novel dish: an upside down cake, featuring apples! The concept of creating a cake that's flipped around really is quite strange, but it allows the caramel and apple topping to fit nice and evenly on the top of the cake once you're done. In the end, you get this wonderful combination of the soft cake, the rich caramel, and the flavorful apples!

Apple Upside-Down Cake

Makes a 9" cake

Ingredients:

Batter:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup milk, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Apples:

• 3-4 apples, peeled and sliced into 6-8 slices, depending on the size (preferably crisp and tart, like Granny Smith)

Caramel:

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons bourbon

Directions:

1. Prepare the batter:
1. In a bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Make sure the butter is softened!
2. Slowly add the eggs in. Beating the eggs beforehand will allow you to incorporate it easier into the mixture.
3. Add the vanilla extract in and mix.
4. Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl, and put the salt in. Alternate between adding about a third of the milk and a third of the flour while mixing to make the batter even and smooth.
2. Prepare the caramel:
1. Put the butter and brown sugar into a small saucepan. Put it on the stove on low heat.
2. Once the mixture starts bubbling, add the vanilla extract and bourbon. Continue cooking on low heat until the mixture thickens, and then take it off the stove.
3. Let it cool.
3. Take the cake pan and rub some butter on the bottom and the sides.
4. Put a piece of parchment paper on top of the buttered pan.
   
   
   
5. Pour the caramel into the pan.
   
   
   
6. Arrange the apple slices in the caramel. Try to make it nice and tight.
   
   
   
7. Pour the batter on top and smooth it out, as it will become the bottom of the cake once flipped around.
   
   
   
8. Bake in the oven at 350°F for 30-35 minutes.
   
   
   
9. Take it out and let it cool for an hour or two. Flip it over!
   
   
   

Of course, there are other types of upside down cakes, with pineapple being a very common topping. However, we thought it worked very well with apple, considering that caramel apple is a very common combination. Additionally, if you would prefer to not have the bourbon flavor in the caramel, you could remove it or substitute it with a teaspoon of cinnamon.

A final note: don't use a pan with a removable bottom! We tried this the first time and all the caramel just leaked out, so we had to make it again.

-Chefpo