This Apple Upside Down Cake is Fall on a plate! The apples, spices, and cider caramel will have you feeling like it's October no matter what time of year it is!
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This Apple Upside Down Cake is a spiced cake that starts with sliced apples and cider caramel on the bottom, but once the cake it inverted, they're on top! Fantastic served warm or at room temperature, as-is or with a scoop of ice cream and salted caramel sauce!
If you enjoy this recipe, check out the posts for my Caramel Apple Marshmallows, Apple Shortcake, and Chocolate Ganache Cake!
Ingredients
Here's everything you need to make this delicious cake, and a little about why each ingredient is included. Measurements for each ingredient are listed in the recipe card, below.
Apple Cider Caramel Ingredients
- Apple Cider - For lovely apple flavor for your caramel! I boiled apple cider down to a syrup consistency. If you'd like, you can purchase boiled cider instead.
- Butter - For flavor, richness, and to help make the caramel pourable. You can use salted or unsalted butter as you prefer.
- Granulated Sugar and Brown Sugar - For sweetness, and the main flavor once they caramelize.
- Agave Syrup - Helps to keep the sugar from crystallizing. You can substitute with light corn syrup if you'd like.
- Ground Cinnamon and Cardamom - For flavor.
- Vanilla Bean Paste - For flavor and lovely black specks of vanilla bean throughout your caramel. If you'd prefer to substitute, you can use an equal measure of vanilla extract instead.
- Salt - To help balance and enhance the flavors of the caramel. If you'd like it to be a salted caramel, you can increase the amount of salt to your preference.
Apple Cake Ingredients
- Apples - For flavor. I used Gala apples for a sweeter flavor, but you can use whatever variety of apple you prefer. You will want to stick with a variety that will keep its shape through baking, so you have a lovely presentation on top of the cake once it's inverted.
- Flour - Provides structure and moisture for the cake. I used all-purpose flour.
- Baking Soda and Baking Powder - Provide leavening for the cake.
- Ground Cinnamon, Cardamom, and Nutmeg - For flavor.
- Salt - Helps to balance and enhance the flavor of the cake.
- Unsalted Butter - For moisture and richness. Unsalted butter so that you control the amount of salt in the recipe. You want your butter to be at room temperature before you start the recipe.
- Granulated Sugar and Brown Sugar - For sweetness and keeping the cake soft and moist. The brown sugar also lends a subtle molasses flavor.
- Eggs - To provide structure, additional leavening, and a little richness. I used large eggs. You want your eggs to be at room temperature.
- Vanilla Bean Paste - For flavor. If you'd prefer to substitute, you can use an equal measure of vanilla extract instead.
- Buttermilk - For flavor, richness, and moisture. Cakes with buttermilk will always be sooo soft and moist! You want your buttermilk to be at room temperature.
Hint: No buttermilk? You can pour ½ teaspoon vinegar OR lemon juice in a liquid measuring cup, then add enough milk (I find that 2% milkfat or greater works best) to come up to the ⅓ cup line. Let sit for 5 minutes, then it's ready for use!
Instructions
Here I'll show you how to make this beautiful cake, step by step! More detailed instructions are included in the recipe card, below.
Making the Apple Cider Caramel
- Combine the butter, sugar, brown sugar, and agave syrup. Warm over medium-high heat until the sugar dissolves.
- Remove from the heat and add vanilla bean paste, cinnamon, cardamom, and salt.
- Pour the caramel into an ungreased 8-inch round cake pan.
- Arrange sliced apples in the caramel as you'd like them to look on top of the cake. Place the pan in the refrigerator to set while you prepare the cake batter.
Making the Apple Cake
- Combine the dry ingredients and set aside.
- Cream the butter, sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs and vanilla bean paste and mix to combine.
- Gradually add half the dry ingredients, followed by the buttermilk, then the remaining dry ingredients. Spread the batter over the caramel-apple topping and bake.
Hint: If you'd like to serve the cake with salted caramel sauce, there's a recipe included in my Apple Shortcake recipe!
Variations
Here are a few flavor variations you can make to this cake:
- Pear Upside Down Cake - Swap the apples for pears! You can still use the apple cider in the caramel, or you can choose to leave it out for an apple-free pear treat!
- Chai Spiced Apple Upside Down Cake - Use Chai Sugar in place of the granulated sugar in the cake! You may want to scale back the other spices unless you want the cake to be heavily spiced!
- Boozy Upside Down Cake - Add a splash of spiced rum or caramel vodka to the caramel and/or the cake!
Equipment
Here are a few things I used when making this cake:
- 8-inch Cake Pan - I used an 8-inch round cake pan for this recipe. The pan should be at least 3 inches tall to ensure it doesn't overflow in the oven. If you want to risk it with a shorter pan, definitely place a sheet pan on the rack beneath the cake to catch any potential overflow.
- Offset Spatula - Not a necessity, but it makes spreading the cake batter in the pan much easier and keeps your hands out of the batter!
Storage
Store any leftover cake, covered, in the refrigerator for up to three days. I don't recommend freezing the cake.
FAQ
What kind of apples should I use?
My personal favorite apple varieties for baking are Cortland, Fuji, Gala, Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, and Jonathan. These varieties will hold up well for all your Fall bakes! Keep in mind that some varieties are sweeter than others. I used sweet Gala apples for this recipe, but it would be fantastic with tart Granny Smiths as well!
Other Recipes You May Like
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Apple Upside Down Cake
This Apple Upside Down Cake is a spiced cake that starts with sliced apples and cider caramel on the bottom, but once the cake it inverted, they're on top! Fantastic served warm or at room temperature, as-is or with a scoop of ice cream and salted caramel sauce!
Equipment
- 8 inch cake pan (3-inch tall)
Ingredients
Apple Cider Caramel
- 1 cup apple cider
- 6 Tablespoons butter, diced (salted your unsalted to your preference)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 Tablespoons agave syrup (or light corn syrup)
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste (see note)
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- pinch salt
Apple Cake
- 2 medium apples, peeled, cored, and sliced (I used Gala apples)
- 1 ½ cups flour (I used all-purpose flour)
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 eggs, at room temperature (I used large eggs)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (see note)
- ⅓ cup buttermilk, at room temperature (see note)
Instructions
For Apple Cider Reduction
- Boil apple cider in a small saucepan over medium heat until reduced to about ¼ cup in volume, 10-15 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
For Caramel
- In a medium saucepan, combine the diced butter, sugar, brown sugar, and agave syrup. Warm over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves.
- Remove from the heat and add reduced apple cider, vanilla bean paste (see note), cinnamon, cardamom, and salt. Stir to combine.
- Pour the caramel into an *ungreased* 8-inch round cake pan. The pan should be at least 3 inches tall to ensure it doesn't overflow in the oven. If you want to risk it with a shorter pan, definitely place a sheet pan on the rack beneath the cake to catch any potential overflow.
- Peel, core, and slice apples about ¼ inch thick. Arrange the apples in the caramel as you'd like them to look on top of the cake. I started in the center and worked my way out. Place the pan in the refrigerator to set while you prepare the cake batter.
For Cake
- Preheat oven to 350° F. In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, cardamom, nutmeg, and salt). Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter, sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add the eggs one at a time, allowing the first egg to incorporate before adding the second. Add vanilla bean paste (see note) and mix to combine.
- Gradually add half the dry ingredients, followed by the buttermilk, then the remaining dry ingredients. Mix until just incorporated.
- Remove the pan with the chilled apple-caramel topping from the refrigerator and spread the cake batter evenly over top. A offset spatula works well for this.
- Bake 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs attached. I turn the pan around in the oven halfway through baking to help ensure an even bake. The cake will get quite dark. You can tent the cake with foil to keep it from overbrowning.
- Cool the cake 10-15 minutes in the pan, then invert onto a serving plate. **The cake must be inverted while still warm to release!** Serve warm or at room temperature. Fantastic with a scoop of ice cream and/or some salted caramel sauce! (There is a recipe for salted caramel sauce included in my Apple Shortcake recipe!)
- Store any leftover cake, covered, in the refrigerator for up to three days. I don't recommend freezing the cake.Enjoy!
Notes
Note on vanilla bean paste - I love using vanilla bean paste both for the fantastic flavor and the lovely black flecks of vanilla beans. If you prefer to substitute, you can use an equal measure of vanilla extract.
Note on buttermilk - No buttermilk? You can pour ½ teaspoon vinegar OR lemon juice in a liquid measuring cup, then add enough milk (I find that 2% milkfat or greater works best) to come up to the ⅓ cup line. Let sit for 5 minutes, then it's ready for use!
Nutrition Estimate
Serving: 1 sliceCalories: 396kcalCarbohydrates: 58gProtein: 4gFat: 17gSaturated Fat: 11gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 76mgSodium: 384mgPotassium: 137mgFiber: 2gSugar: 41gVitamin A: 576IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 57mgIron: 1mg
Nutrition information is provided as a courtesy and is only an estimate.
Tried this recipe?I'd love to hear all about it! Leave a review below, then snap a pic and tag me on Instagram!
Dj
Why am I not seeing where to add the reduced apple cider..I’m assuming you add to the caramel but?
Amee
So sorry about that! Yes, you add to the caramel with the vanilla bean paste and spices. I've fixed that in the recipe card--thank so much for bringing it to my attention!