upside down apple cake

upside down apple cake

• 16 Sept 2013

It's taken me a while but I finally made an upside down version of this cake. I decided to use whole meal flour for no other reason than I had a bag sitting on my kitchen ledge looking unloved. It's a pretty chunky cake so I thought no-one would notice a bit of extra fibre.



I haven't used my loaf tin for a while so I pulled it out from the pot drawer. I used a combination of apples in the cake - a thinly sliced pink lady apple for the topping and nice tart granny smith apples in the cake batter.



I just guessed the proportions of butter and brown sugar for the topping and they seemed to work out okay.



I added some sultanas as well as pecans to the cake mixture so the cake was moist, spicy and crunchy all at the same time.



I cut myself a generous slice and topped the slice with a dollop of double cream. This cake is best served the day it's made as the apples lose their sheen the next day.



Here's the recipe for you to try at home -
Upside Down Apple Cake (makes one 8 cm x 21.5 cm loaf)
Topping
20g (¾ oz) unsalted butter, melted
2-3 tbs light brown sugar
1 small apple, peeled cored and thinly sliced

Cake
1½ cups coarsely chopped, peeled cooking apples
1 (20 ml) tablespoon lemon juice
1¼ cups plain wholemeal flour
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
100 g (3½ oz) melted, unsalted butter
⅓ cup brown sugar
⅓ cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1 - 2 tbs milk
¼ cup pecan pieces
¼ cup sultanas (golden raisins)

Method:
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line a small loaf tin (8cm x 21.5 cm) with baking paper.

Combine the coarsely chopped apple and the lemon juice in a small bowl. Set to one side for 20 minutes.

Spoon the melted butter over the base of the tin and top with the brown sugar. Place the sliced apples decoratively over the brown sugar. Place the tin to one side whilst making the cake.

Sift the dry ingredients into a small bowl. Set to one side. In a medium size bowl combine the melted butter, the sugars and vanilla. Add the egg and beat until well combined. Add the flour and gently fold in the chopped apple and juice, the nuts and the sultanas. Add sufficient milk to make a soft batter.

Spoon the mixture carefully over the apple slices in the prepared cake tin and smooth the top. Place the cake tin on a baking sheet to catch any drips and place on the middle shelf in the oven and bake for 50 - 60 minutes at 180°C/350°F or until the cake is cooked when tested. 

If the cake is browning too quickly you may have to cover the top with a piece of greaseproof paper. Place the tin on a wire rack and allow the cake to cool. If you turn the cake out while it’s still warm it does tend to disintegrate so you’ve been warned!

When the cake is cool, remove it from the tin and carefully invert the cake discarding the lining paper. Serve the cake with a dollop of thick cream and a nice cup of tea.




I hope you get the chance to make this one. It was a real hit when I took it into work. I'm thinking of other fruit combinations so you'll be seeing another version of this cake on the blog some time soon.

Bye for now,

Jillian