Apple Upside-Down Cake

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Ingredients

• Topping
  
  
  
  • 1/2 stick unsalted butter
    
  • 4 apples
    
  • 2/3c brown sugar
    
  • 2tsp juice from a lemon
    
  • possibly some corn starch
    
  
  
• Cake
  
  
  
  • 1c unbleached all-purpose flour
    
  • 1tbsp cornmeal
    
  • 1tsp baking powder
    
  • 1/2tsp salt
    
  • 3/4c granulated sugar
    
  • 1/4c brown sugar
    
  • 2 eggs
    
  • 3/4 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled
    
  • 1/2c sour cream
    
  • 1tsp vanilla extract
    
  
  

Cut the apples in half and cut out the core area. Cut two of the apples into 1/2" slices, and two of the apples into 1/4" slices (keep separate). Heat the 1/2 stick of butter in a sauce pan until the foaming subsides (takes a few minutes). Then add the 1/2" slices of apple. Let those cook until they start to caramelize, 4-6 minutes. Only stir a few times during those 4-6 minutes to turn the apples - they'll caramelize a lot more easily if you leave them alone. Now add the remaining topping ingredients (the brown sugar, lemon juice, and other apples). Stir until the sugar dissolves and apples are coated - about a minute. Transfer the apples into a 9" round cake pan. We used a HEAVILY GREASED springform with a layer of parchment paper on the bottom. I would also recommend putting a layer of foil around the bottom of the springform to catch leaks. In our try, the apples gave off a lot of water. So we spooned JUST the apples into the pan, then put the brown-sugar, butter, and lemon-juice mixture back on the stove and added corn starch (dissolved in some cold water first) and cooked until it thickened considerably. Then we spooned this over the top of the apples in the cake pan.

Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl, mix together the sugars and eggs until homogenized. Slowly whisk in the butter, then the sour cream and vanilla until just combined. Add the flour and whisk until combined. Then pour the batter over the apples. Bake at 350* for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cool for 10-20 minutes. Run a paring knife around the edge to loosen it, then invert onto a plate (good luck - use oven mitts or let it cool more if you can't do it). Cool a little longer - 20 more minutes? Then serve.

Thoughts: Claire and I were surprised by how relatively un-seasoned this cake is, but it was really delicious. We made it for breakfast, but it's probably more of a desert. In the future, Claire says she could use more seasoning, but I disagree. Some of the apples were a little crisper than either of us thought they would be, so maybe next time I will cook the apples a little longer before we add them to the cake pan. The original recipe has us peeling the apples, but I didn't notice it and my cake turned out delicious so I don't think I would peel them in the future.

Disaster Index: 1/10