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
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I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
Many times I’ve thought about adapting this recipe to making a fruit-flavored cheesecake swirl, like strawberry or raspberry. You beat me to it! They look lovely and I’m sure tasted amazing!
Thank you so much for sharing this great recipe! I tried and my family loved it!!!
beantownbaker — January 27th, 2013 @ 4:13 pm
So glad you guys enjoyed them!
This is amazing. Baked this last night using frozen blackberries and it turned out great. Thanks for sharing <3
beantownbaker — August 30th, 2013 @ 7:23 am
So glad you enjoyed them!
I’m so excited to try these! I have stacks of blackberries and felt sure they would go brilliantly with chocolate cake. I’d thought of making chic brownies served with fresh berries but these look even better! Thanks.
beantownbaker — September 2nd, 2014 @ 7:28 pm
Hope you enjoyed these.