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A caramel apple upside down cake with a sliced removed on a blue plate. Two apples are in the upper right hand corner.

Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: caramel apple upside down cake
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Cooling time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 464kcal
This easy caramel apple upside down cake is made in a cast iron skillet, which ensures that it flips out of the pan flawlessly every time!
Print Recipe

Ingredients

Caramel Apple Topping

  • 2-3 red apples pink lady, fuji, or other
  • 6 tablespoon unsalted butter softened
  • ½ cup dark brown sugar
  • pinch kosher salt

Upside Down Cake Batter

  • cups all-purpose flour
  • teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
  • teaspoon cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon cardamom
  • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
  • ½ cup melted unsalted butter
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup dark brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 eggs
  • ½ cup greek yogurt

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Generously butter the sides of a 10-inch cast iron skillet.
  • Mix together the softened butter, ½ cup of brown sugar, and a pinch of kosher salt. Spread the mixture evenly on the bottom of the skillet.
  • In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg and ¾ teaspoon kosher salt.
  • In another bowl, whisk together the melted butter, vanilla, brown sugar and granulated sugar. Then whisk the eggs into the sugar mixture one at a time.
  • Add the yogurt to the wet ingredients and whisk until smooth.
  • Place the apples in the skillet in an overlapping circular pattern with the peel side touching the butter/brown sugar mixture. (So it looks pretty when you flip it!)
  • Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in two batches. Use a silicone spatula to fold them together, smoothing out any lumps of flour as you go. Transfer the batter to the skillet, smoothing it out evenly with an offset spatula or silicone spatula. (See note below.)
  • Bake on the center rack for 40-45 minutes, until it is a deep golden brown, it springs back to the touch, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
  • As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, run a knife or offset spatula around the outside edge. Let it cool in the skillet for 10 minutes. Then carefully flip it out onto a plate and let cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Notes

  • Cram as many apple slices into the topping as you can. As they release their juices while cooking, you'll get more gooey caramel topping!
  • Make sure to gently spread the batter evenly in the pan on top of the apples. You don't want any air pockets to form between the two.
  • The cake will be very deeply golden when finished. This is due to a combination of the long baking time and the spices in the batter.
  • Upside down cakes have a dense texture. It's just the nature of the batter, it has to stand up to the caramelization going on in the pan and then be sturdy enough to support the weight of the fruit without it sinking down into the cake. It's still a wonderful moist cake with a delicious crumb, it's just not going to puff up as much as other cakes that you might be used to making.
 
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Nutrition

Calories: 464kcal | Carbohydrates: 64g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 95mg | Sodium: 372mg | Potassium: 219mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 44g | Vitamin A: 703IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 86mg | Iron: 2mg