apple cake

Name: Apple Upside-Down Cake
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 70 min
Yield: 8 - 10 slices
Ingredients: Topping; 2 lbs Granny Smith or Golden Delicious apples, peeled and cored; 4 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces; 2/3 C light brown sugar, packed; 2 tsp fresh lemon juice; Cake; 1 C (5 oz) all-purpose flour; 1 tsp baking powder; 1/2 tsp salt; 3/4 C (5 1/4 oz) granulated sugar; 1/4 C (1 3/4 oz) light brown sugar, packed; 2 large eggs, room temperature; 6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled; 1/2 C sour cream; 1 tsp vanilla extract

Apple Upside-Down Cake

July 29, 2017 by sblades 2 Comments

I’ve always wanted to make a pineapple upside-down cake, but I just received Cook’s Illustrated Baking cookbook and found a good-looking Apple Upside-Down Cake instead. Cook’s Illustrated (which is under the same umbrella as America’s Test Kitchen) has a stringent creation and testing routine and every recipe I’ve tried from them has turned out terrific, including this one!

I made the cake exactly by the instructions, including room temperature eggs and whisking the cake by hand. The apples are two different sizes – cut in 1/2″ slices and 1/4″ slices – and half of them are sauteed to draw out some of the moisture so that the cake doesn’t get soggy. The result was a tender, delicious cake topped with caramelized sliced apples. The juices from the apples sank down into the cake a little and made it very moist. *Adoring Sigh*

Bret loved it warmed up and topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. I liked it both warm and room temperature. I’m so excited to have found this recipe! It will go into the make-again recipe file and be made often.

5 from 1 vote

Apple Upside-Down Cake

Prep Time

30 mins

Cook Time

40 mins

Total Time

1 hrs 10 mins

****Outstanding tender cake topped with juicy, caramelized apple.

Servings: 8 - 10 slices

Author: Cook's Illustrated Baking Book

Ingredients

Topping
2 lbs Granny Smith or Golden Delicious apples, peeled and cored
4 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
2/3 C light brown sugar, packed
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
Cake
1 C (5 oz) all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 C (5 1/4 oz) granulated sugar
1/4 C (1 3/4 oz) light brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs, room temperature
6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/2 C sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Grease a 9" round nonstick cake pan, line with parchment paper, grease parchment, and flour entire pan. Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 350 °.
For the topping: Halve apples from stem to blossom end. Cut 2 apples into 1/4" thick slices; set aside. Cut remaining 2 apples into 1/2" thick slices. Melt butter in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1/2" thick apple slices and cook, stirring 2 or 3 times, until apples begin to caramelize, 4 to 5 minutes (do not fully cook apples). Add 1/4" thick apple slices, brown sugar, and lemon juice and continue cooking, stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves and apples are coated, about 1 minute longer. Transfer apple mixture to prepared pan and lightly press into even layer. Set aside.
For the cake: Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in medium bowl. Set aside. Whisk granulated sugar, brown sugar, and eggs together in large bowl until thick and thoroughly combined, about 45 seconds. Slowly whisk in melted butter until combined. Add sour cream and vanilla and whisk until combined. Add flour mixture and whisk until just combined. Pour batter into pan and spread evenly over fruit. Bake the cake until golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 35-45 minutes (check at 35 minutes), rotating pan halfway through baking.
Let cake cool in pan on wire rack for 20 minutes. Run thin knife around sides of cake to loosen. Place wire rack over pan and, holding rack tightly, invert cake pan and wire rack together. Lift off pan. Place wire rack with cake over baking sheet or large plate to catch any drips. If any fruit sticks to pan bottom, remove and reposition it on top of cake. Let cake cool completely, about 20 minutes, then transfer to serving platter and serve.

Recipe Notes

Tips and Stuff:

I used the weights for the ingredients that called for it because I have a really good little scale. The volume is a little different, but if you don't have a scale, it'll still work.

I used salted butter and decreased the salt by a pinch.

When you pick up the pan to put into the oven, remember the apple mixture is still very warm so use a pot holder or cloth to put the cake in.

Mine took the entire 45 minutes to bake.

Refrigerate leftovers if you have any.

Enjoy this wonderful cake!

Ligita’s Quick Apple Cake

March 13, 2017 by sblades 2 Comments

I don’t know who Ligita is, but I want to thank her from the bottom of my hungry little heart for this Quick Apple Cake recipe. When I read through it, I was a little puzzled because it’s made in a pie plate and the apple mixture is topped with a thick cake crust. So it’s a cake, baked in a pie plate that ends up rather like a cobbler!

The apples are thinly sliced and tossed in a lemon, sugar, cinnamon mixture, then topped with a lightly sweet cake batter. It ends up with a luscious apple filling and a tender cake layer, along with a slightly crunchy top. We had it warm with a scoop of Blue Bell Vanilla Bean Ice Cream and it was oh, so tasty.

This cake (pie, cobbler) has a familiar warm apple cake flavor with a different twist. The browned butter really adds a different dimension to the cake layer, so make sure and don’t skip that step. It was easy to throw together and, besides having to wait impatiently for it to cool, it was a quick dessert. Delicious.

Ligita's Quick Apple Cake

****Slightly adapted from Richard Sax - Classic Home Desserts

Servings: 8

Ingredients

3 C tart apples cored and thinly sliced
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
3/4 C plus 3 tbsp. granulated sugar
3/4 C butter cut into pieces
2 eggs lightly beaten
1 C sifted all-purposed flour
Vanilla Ice Cream (optional, but highly recommended!)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Generously butter the bottom and sides of a 9" pie plate.
Toss the sliced apples in a bowl with the cinnamon, lemon juice and 2 tbsp. of the sugar. Spread the apples evenly in the pie plate.
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat; cook until the foam is lightly golden brown, about 5 minutes. Watch carefully to avoid burning. Remove immediately from the stove top and pour into a bowl, leaving any sediment and as much foam as possible in the pan.*
Stir the 3/4 cup of sugar into the butter. Slowly stream the egg into the bowl while stirring. Gently stir in the flour until blended. Spoon the batter evenly over the apples and spread into a layer. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 tbsp. sugar.
Bake until lightly golden and crusty, about 40 minutes. Cool in the pan on a wire rack. Cut into wedges and serve from the pan warm or at room temperature, with vanilla ice cream.

Recipe Notes

Tips and Stuff
I used Fuji apples. Granny Smith would be another good apple – make sure it’s a firm cooking apple. (Takes 3 medium or 2 large)
*When pouring the browned butter into the bowl, pour through a sieve or use a pan lid to get just the liquid out. Some of the foam will come with it – that’s OK, but make sure the sediment from the browning remains in the pan so it won’t be bitter.
Cool at least 30 minutes to let the apple mixture firm up.

Irish Apple Cake with Custard Sauce

March 30, 2014 by sblades Leave a Comment

It’s almost the end of March and to celebrate, I made this Irish Apple Cake – Irish….St. Patrick’s Day… Well, it’s not green for the occasion, although bright green Granny Smith apples were used in it!

The picture on TheKitchenMcCabe.com was tall, beautiful and looked as light as a feather. I made it in a slightly larger springform pan and mine wasn’t so tall, but still came out pretty and very tasty. It’s a subtly sweet dense coffee-cake texture like no other cake I’ve ever had – maybe that’s what makes it Irish? Don’t know, but it sure was good. I took it to a church function (that’s why there’s no picture of a cut piece) and all but one little piece was eaten, so it seems to be a keeper.

I had a big fight with the custard, so there’s no picture of it here. It wanted to revert to scrambled eggs and it won. I’m including the ingredients for it because if you can make it correctly, it would be divine over this cake. I ended up taking whipped topping and a caramel sauce to put on top of the cake and that was quite good. Still, next time I will perfect the custard and use it. This would be a wonderful cake to have with coffee or a small slice after a substantial dinner, since it’s not overly sweet. I’ll definitely keep this in my recipe files!

Irish Apple Cake with Custard Sauce
***1/2 Adapted from TheKitchenMcCabe.com. Dense, lightly sweet, apple-filled cake.

Ingredients:
Cake:
3 C. flour
2 tsp. Baking Powder
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
6 oz. Butter (cold)
3/4 C. plus 1 tbsp. sugar
4 large Granny Smith apples (or other firm, tart apples)
2 eggs
3/4 C. milk
2 tbsp. sugar (for top of the cake)

Custard:
6 large Egg Yolks
6 tbsp. sugar
1 1/2 C. Whole Milk
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Grease and flour an 8″ or 9″ round spring form pan. Using an 8″ pan will give you a taller cake. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Peel the apples and slice them into uniform pieces (about 1/2″ square pieces). Place them in a medium bowl and add 1 tbsp. of sugar. Mix lightly to cover apples and set aside. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt, cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon into a large mixing bowl. Make sure the bowl is very large to allow room for the apples to be folded in. Cut the butter into the flour using your fingers or a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add the 3/4 C. sugar to the flour mixture and mix in. Toss the apples into the flour mixture and combine them thoroughly.
In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and milk together. Add to the apples and flour and mix in with a large spatula until just combined. Batter will be thick and dough-like. Transfer the dough into the prepared cake pan and flatten the top surface using the back of your spatula. Sprinkle the sugar over the top of the cake.
Bake for 45-50 minutes. Test the center for doneness. The top of the cake should be golden brown. Serve slices with custard sauce.

FOR THE CUSTARD SAUCE:
Place the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl and whisk until pale yellow, 2-3 minutes. Place the milk in a medium saucepan and bring just barely to a boil. Slowly whisk the hot milk into the egg/sugar mixture. Transfer the mixture back to the saucepan and stir over medium-low heat until custard thickens, about 3 1/2 minutes. Custard should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. Transfer to bowl or serving saucer.

Serve warm or cold over apple cake.

Tips and Stuff:
Do not over mix the batter or it will be tough.
Next time I would use parchment paper around the inside walls (not bottom) of the pan (still greasing and flouring the bottom). As you can see from the second photo above, the apples on the sides of the cake darkened – didn’t burn, but darkened and caramelized a bit.
Mine was perfectly done at 45 minutes.
Keep the custard on medium-low heat while it thickens or it will begin to curdle at about 3 to 3 1/2 minutes. Remove immediately from the heat so it will stay creamy and smooth.
Pecans and raisins or currants would be a wonderful addition in this cake.

Fresh Apple Cake with Maple Glaze

November 4, 2013 by sblades 2 Comments

Although we can get pretty good apples all year long, Fall is definitely the season for great apples. I grew up with Red Delicious apples, not ever knowing there were actually other kinds available! I finally discovered Fuji apples – crispy, sweet with just the right amount of tartness – and haven’t looked back. Besides the taste and texture, I love Fuji apples because they last forever in the refrigerator. Well, maybe not forever, but a lot longer than other apples – 3 to 4 months if properly refrigerated!

Fuji’s were developed in Japan and are a cross between two American apples – the Red Delicious and the Virginia Ralls Janet (OK, I’ve never heard of the second one). They’re known for their crisp texture and long shelf-life and are good for cooking, baking, freezing and just plain apple-eating. They’re not the ruby red color of Red Delicious – most are red with yellowish stripes and they’re a rounder apple. Washington state harvests them in October and they’re best then, but I buy them all year long.

To get to the point (too late), I make this apple cake with Fuji apples, although any sweet-tart apple would be good – definitely not red delicious, though – it wouldn’t hold up in the baking phase. A friend gave me this in the late 80’s when I was but a toddler…..um, anyway this is my favorite apple cake. This time I put a simple maple glaze on it and it was still my favorite apple cake after all these years.

Fresh Apple Cake
****From Krista B. Love the light cinnamon flavor. Get your arm muscles ready for stirring the ingredients by hand! Tastes best the next day.

Ingredients:
1 C. oil
2 C. sugar
2 eggs
3 C. flour
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. vanilla
3 C. peeled and diced apples
1 C. chopped pecans (optional)

Glaze: (optional)
3 tbsp. powdered sugar
milk
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. maple extract

Preheat oven to 325. Put diced apples into a large bowl, then add the sugar and let them sit for about 5 minutes to make some juice so the batter won’t be so stiff. In a smaller bowl, sift together the flour, soda, salt and cinnamon. Add the 2 eggs into the apple mixture and then pour the flour mixture (about a cup at a time – stirring between cups) into apple mixture and stir batter well. Stir in vanilla and then add pecans (pecans optional). Pour into a greased/floured bundt pan. Bake 1 hour, 15-20 minutes at 325, checking after 1 hour. Cool in pan for about 10 minutes, then turn out on rack. Place wax paper under the rack, mix together glaze ingredients to the texture you like, then pour over the cake. Let cool before serving.

Tips and Stuff:
Next time I’m adding about 1/2 Cup of golden raisins – I think that would make it even better!
I use Pam and flour to prepare the pan. Make sure the flour/Pam also coats the inside tube of the pan so it won’t stick, and tap the pan upside down to make sure there are no flour clumps that will transfer to the baked cake.
I sprinkle a little powdered sugar after it’s baked just to make it pretty, but that’s completely optional.
I kind of like chopped apples rather than diced – just my preference.
Great in the morning, nuked for about 15 seconds and enjoyed with a cup of coffee for breakfast!!

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apple cake