Gingerbread Apple Upside Down Cake

Friday, January 22, 2010

Gingerbread Apple Upside Down Cake

Hubby and I have been hosting quite a few dinner parties since our kitchen is finished. It’s nice to not be embarrassed to have people over because of our kitchen. For one of these dinner parties, I let Hubby choose the dessert. I gave him a few to choose from and he said he was in the mood for gingerbread. Hubby even offered to help by peeling and cutting the apples for me.

I didn’t have a 10″ pan, so I used a 9″ pan. The cake didn’t overflow, but you can see that I have a nice little foot on the bottom of my cake due to using a smaller pan and not adjusting the recipe. That’s ok it was still amazing.

I must have cooked my caramel too long because it was not as gooey and flowy as the original pictures show on Smitten Kitchen. I served this at room temperature with some fresh whipped cream on top. Everyone really enjoyed it.

Gingerbread Apple Upside Down Cake

Yield: 12

Ingredients:

For the Topping
4 tablespoons butter, plus extra for greasing pan
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
Pinch of salt
4 apples (about 1 3/4 pounds), peeled, cored and cut into 1/4-inch wedges

For the Batter
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/3 cup dark molasses
1/3 cup honey
1 cup buttermilk
2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Very softly whipped cream

Directions:

Make the Topping
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease a 10-inch cake pan. Melt butter in a small saucepan. Add brown sugar and simmer over moderate heat, stirring, four minutes, then swirl in salt. Remove from heat and pour into the bottom of your cake pan. Make circles of overlapping apple slices on top of the caramel. Chop any remaining slices and place them in the gaps.

Make the Batter
Using a mixer, blend 1/2 cup butter and the sugar on medium-low speed. Increase the speed to high and cream until light and fluffy.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg, molasses, honey and buttermilk. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger and cinnamon. Alternate mixing the flour and molasses mixtures into the butter mixture, adding the next once the last has been incorporated.

Pour the batter into the pan. Bake at least 45 to 50 minutes or until a wooden tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool on a rack for 10 to 15 minutes, then turn out onto a platter.

Recipe from Smitten Kitchen

Don’t forget – I’m offering a chance to win a cute tote if you donate $5 or more to my Avon Walk by the end of January. See details here.

Cakes, Dessert

6 comments »

11 Responses to “Spice Apple Bars”

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1

Amanda — January 28, 2009 at 2:36 pm

I wish I could run home & bake these right now! They look so delicious & how could you go wrong with apples & cinnamon? I can’t wait to try these soon.
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2

Katie — January 28, 2009 at 2:45 pm

They look so good! I LOOOVE the cute apple backround too! 🙂 🙂
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3

Joelen — January 28, 2009 at 4:52 pm

These look great!
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4

bensbaby116 — January 28, 2009 at 4:57 pm

I made these from Katie’s blog in the fall and took them to a school function. One of my student’s dads ate several of them. A few weeks later I made chocolate chip cookies because they’re usually a hit with everyone there, and the same dad was like “awww. where are those apple bars? I was hoping for those again.” 🙂 They are truly wonderful!
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Jen — January 28, 2009 at 5:52 pm

I agree! These are amazing. I send baked goods with hubby about once a week and these got so many more comments than usual. I’m actually making them again this weekend.
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Megan — January 29, 2009 at 4:15 am

I saw that recipe last year, and I wish I had made them. They look so good.
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Julie — January 29, 2009 at 10:35 pm

Free manual labor in exchange for apple bars? Sounds like a deal to me. I’ll have to offer that up next time I have to call a plumber 🙂
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8

Stephanie Wagner — February 17, 2009 at 12:22 am

Scott made these tonight and they were AMAZING! Seriously, AMAZING!
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Amanda — February 23, 2009 at 4:59 pm

I made these this weekend….they were fantastic! At 10 last night Sam had to ask me “are you still eating that apple cake?” Yes. I was. I saved one more piece for after work today!
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creativecarryout — February 26, 2009 at 10:55 pm

Oh, my dad would love these. I have an apple bread recipe that he always requests. I’ll bookmark this one to try too. Thanks.
Michelle
http://oneordinaryday.wordpress.com/
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Carly — April 28, 2010 at 10:37 pm

I made these yesterday and think they are fabulous! So gooey, but so much better the next day! Thankyou for sharing! =)

Gingerbread Apple Upside Down Cake