Caramel Apple Upside-Down Cake. A buttery one-layer cake inverted over brown-sugar apples, with time to cool before turning out. The formula and timing below are working estimates for a future kitchen trial, not a claim that a batch has been made.
Jump to ingredients · Jump to method
A cake with its fruit on display
The apples begin at the bottom of the pan in butter and brown sugar; after baking, the warm cake turns over to reveal the fruit as its topping. A simple butter cake holds the caramelized layer.
This is not yet a tested recipe. Apple size, juice and pan shape affect whether the proposed topping releases cleanly.
Pick apples that keep their shape
Two medium, firm apples are sliced thin enough to overlap in the solid-bottom nine-inch pan. Softer varieties may collapse more during a fifty-minute bake; record the variety in the kitchen test.
A springform pan could leak topping, so use a solid-bottom cake pan for the working draft. The butter and brown sugar are measured topping ingredients separate from cake butter and white sugar.
Ingredients for 8 slices
| Ingredient | Amount | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Unsalted butter, melted, for topping | 4 tablespoons | Coat pan bottom. |
| Packed light brown sugar, for topping | 1/2 cup | Spread over butter. |
| Firm apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced | 2 medium | Overlap on brown sugar. |
| Ground cinnamon | 1/2 teaspoon | Dust apples. |
| All-purpose flour | 1 1/2 cups | Spoon and level. |
| Baking powder | 1 1/2 teaspoons | Whisk into flour. |
| Fine salt | 1/2 teaspoon | Whisk into flour. |
| Unsalted butter, softened, for cake | 1/2 cup | Cream with sugar. |
| Granulated sugar | 3/4 cup | Cake batter. |
| Large eggs | 2 eggs | Cake batter. |
| Vanilla extract | 1 teaspoon | Cake batter. |
| Whole milk | 1/2 cup | Alternate with dry ingredients. |
Step-by-step method
- Heat oven to 350°F. Pour 4 tbsp melted butter into a solid-bottom 9-inch cake pan and spread 1/2 cup packed brown sugar evenly over it. Arrange two peeled, thinly sliced apples in overlapping rings; dust with 1/2 tsp cinnamon.
- Whisk 1 1/2 cups flour, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt. Cream 1/2 cup softened butter with 3/4 cup granulated sugar, then beat in two eggs one at a time and 1 tsp vanilla. Add dry mix in alternating additions with 1/2 cup milk, mixing only until smooth.
- Gently spread batter over the apples without shifting their pattern. Bake approximately 45–50 minutes until a skewer inserted into the cake portion comes out without wet batter. Do not probe through the caramel layer as if it were raw cake.
- Rest in the pan about fifteen minutes. Loosen the cake's edge, place a serving plate over the pan and invert carefully while warm. Lift pan and let the cake cool another forty-five minutes before cutting eight provisional slices; check pan release, apple moisture and cake set in a trial.
Mix the cake gently
Cream softened butter and granulated sugar, add eggs one at a time, then alternate whisked flour mixture and milk. Stop mixing once the flour is incorporated to avoid a tough crumb.
Spread batter gently so the apple pattern stays in place. Cinnamon is on the apples; there is no caramel sauce poured on afterward.
The warm inversion
A skewer should check the cake portion, not the sugary fruit layer. Let the pan rest about fifteen minutes, loosen the edge and turn it onto a plate while still warm enough for the topping to release.
If fruit sticks to the pan, record the pan material, sugar distribution and rest time in the trial. Sally's Baking provides an apple-caramel reference, not proof this version releases perfectly.
Serving and storage
Cut eight slices after an additional cooling interval. Serve as it stands or pair with a separately specified topping; ice cream is not in the recipe card.
No validated room-temperature holding period or frozen texture has been established. The local pear upside-down cake shares a technique but not the apple-and-caramel search intent; the two need final editorial comparison.
Apple cake questions
Can I use a springform pan?
A solid-bottom pan is specified because buttery sugar may leak from a springform seam.
When should I invert it?
After approximately fifteen minutes in the pan, while the topping is still warm.
Is it the pear upside-down cake?
No. This proposal has apples and a brown-sugar topping, but overlapping cake-format intent needs review.
Further reading and related Chefly recipes: Sally's Baking caramel apple upside-down cake. These are relevant references and other dishes, not evidence that this proposed formula was tested.
Recipe-card handoff — preview, not a native plugin card
Caramel Apple Upside-Down Cake. Category: Cakes. 8 slices. Prep approximately 25 minutes; cooking approximately 50 minutes; additional cooling/chilling approximately 60 minutes; total approximately 135 minutes excluding preheat. Not kitchen-tested; nutrition not calculated.
Ingredients: 4 tablespoons Unsalted butter, melted, for topping; 1/2 cup Packed light brown sugar, for topping; 2 medium Firm apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced; 1/2 teaspoon Ground cinnamon; 1 1/2 cups All-purpose flour; 1 1/2 teaspoons Baking powder; 1/2 teaspoon Fine salt; 1/2 cup Unsalted butter, softened, for cake; 3/4 cup Granulated sugar; 2 eggs Large eggs; 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract; 1/2 cup Whole milk.
Instructions: Heat oven to 350°F. Pour 4 tbsp melted butter into a solid-bottom 9-inch cake pan and spread 1/2 cup packed brown sugar evenly over it. Arrange two peeled, thinly sliced apples in overlapping rings; dust with 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Whisk 1 1/2 cups flour, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt. Cream 1/2 cup softened butter with 3/4 cup granulated sugar, then beat in two eggs one at a time and 1 tsp vanilla. Add dry mix in alternating additions with 1/2 cup milk, mixing only until smooth. Gently spread batter over the apples without shifting their pattern. Bake approximately 45–50 minutes until a skewer inserted into the cake portion comes out without wet batter. Do not probe through the caramel layer as if it were raw cake. Rest in the pan about fifteen minutes. Loosen the cake's edge, place a serving plate over the pan and invert carefully while warm. Lift pan and let the cake cool another forty-five minutes before cutting eight provisional slices; check pan release, apple moisture and cake set in a trial.
Allergens: Wheat; Egg; Milk. Review packaged ingredients and cross-contact before serving.
Print
Caramel Apple Upside-Down Cake
- Total Time: 135 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Description
A nine-inch brown-sugar apple-topped butter cake cut into eight slices.
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons Unsalted butter, melted, for topping
- 1/2 cup Packed light brown sugar, for topping
- 2 medium Firm apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon Ground cinnamon
- 1 1/2 cups All-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Fine salt
- 1/2 cup Unsalted butter, softened, for cake
- 3/4 cup Granulated sugar
- 2 eggs Large eggs
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup Whole milk
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350°F. Pour 4 tbsp melted butter into a solid-bottom 9-inch cake pan and spread 1/2 cup packed brown sugar evenly over it. Arrange two peeled, thinly sliced apples in overlapping rings; dust with 1/2 tsp cinnamon.
- Whisk 1 1/2 cups flour, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt. Cream 1/2 cup softened butter with 3/4 cup granulated sugar, then beat in two eggs one at a time and 1 tsp vanilla. Add dry mix in alternating additions with 1/2 cup milk, mixing only until smooth.
- Gently spread batter over the apples without shifting their pattern. Bake approximately 45–50 minutes until a skewer inserted into the cake portion comes out without wet batter. Do not probe through the caramel layer as if it were raw cake.
- Rest in the pan about fifteen minutes. Loosen the cake's edge, place a serving plate over the pan and invert carefully while warm. Lift pan and let the cake cool another forty-five minutes before cutting eight provisional slices; check pan release, apple moisture and cake set in a trial.
Notes
Recipe-development draft; not kitchen-tested. Timing and yield are estimates. Nutrition has not been calculated.
Additional chilling, resting or cooling time: 60 minutes, included in the total.
Untested estimate: about 45–50 minutes baking, 15 minutes pan rest and 45 minutes cooling after inversion; preheat excluded.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Chilling, resting or cooling: 60 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Category: Cakes
Nutrition
- Serving Size: One eighth of a 9-inch cake