Inverted apple pie with caramel sauce and apple wedges in a cornmeal batter.
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Last year my dad got it into his head to make an upside down apple pie.
Well, he tried three different recipes, and each one turned out with the same problem — they appeared to be cooked, had cooked the correct time as the recipe called for, the tester came out clean, but when he went to cut in the cake, the inside was sticky.
The last time that happened, Dad cursed like a sailor, threw the whole pie down the sink, and vowed never to try an upside-down apple pie again. (Have you ever had days like this?)
I don’t know what made him want to try again.
Perhaps the past year has eased the pain of remembering three failed cakes?
Or maybe he’s just tempted by cake recipes, and the combination of that recipe he found in an old Bon Appetit and apples, available at Whole Foods for 99 cents a pound, was just too tempting to try to ignore them.
Or maybe he (us) had finally realized that the Granny Smiths we tried trying similar cakes with gave off too much liquid for the recipes to work properly.
In any case, his perseverance paid off with this cake. It is great! We can’t wait to make it again.
For more information on which apple varieties are best for baking, check out our guide to apples.
Apple pie turned upside down
Special equipment required: 1-9 inch pie pan with 1 1/2 inch high sides
ingredients
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8 tablespoons (1 Floor) unsalted buttersoftened
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1 1/4 cups white granulated sugar, divided (1/2 cup and 3/4 cup)
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1 1/2 pounds Braeburn, Jonagold or Golden Delicious apples (Above 4 Middle), peeled, quartered, cored, each quarter cut into 2 wedges
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3/4 Cup flour
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1/2 teaspoon Salt
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2 teaspoon baking powder
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1/3 Cup meal with cereals
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1/2 Cup boiling water
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1 teaspoon vanilla extract
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2 big eggs
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1/3 Cup whole milk
method
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Preheat the oven and prepare the cake pan:
Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease the sides of the cake pan with butter. Line the pan with a 10-inch round of parchment paper. The paper will come up 1/2 inch up the sides of the pan. Butter the parchment paper.
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Make the base of the caramel sauce:
Melt 2 tbsp butter in a non-stick pan over medium heat. Add 1/2 cup sugar and cook until sugar dissolves and mixture turns golden brown, stirring occasionally (use a wooden spoon), about 6 minutes.
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Add the apple slices and cook in the caramel sauce:
Place the apple slices in the pan and stir gently to distribute the caramel evenly over the apples. Cover the pan and cook until the apples release their juice, about 5 minutes. Uncover and cook until apples are tender and caramel thickens and coats apples, stirring occasionally, about 13 minutes longer.
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Remove apples and caramel sauce and spread evenly in prepared cake pan
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Make the dough:
Whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder in a small bowl and set aside. Place cornmeal in a large mixing bowl. Pour 1/2 cup of boiling water over the cornmeal and stir to combine.
Add 3/4 cup sugar and 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter to the cornmeal mixture. Beat until well mixed. Beat in the vanilla and eggs.
Stir in the flour-salt-baking powder mixture alternately with the milk. Pour the batter over the apples in the cake pan.
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Bake:
Bake at 350°F until the top is golden and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes.
Let the cake cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Then run a knife around the edges of the cake to loosen it from the sides of the pan. Carefully turn the cake onto a serving platter or plate and remove the parchment paper. Cool down for 15 minutes.
Serve with vanilla ice cream.
Recipe by Bon Appetit, February 2003.
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 357 | calories |
| 13g | Fat |
| 57g | carbohydrates |
| 4g | protein |
