Caramel and Apple Upside Down Cake

By sarah_carroll

Ingredients

• 5 royal gala apples, cored and cut into 6 wedges
• 495 g caster sugar
• 300 g unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 t vanilla extract
• 300 g plain flour
• 1 T baking powder
• 75 g ground almonds
• 1 t ground cardamom
• 7 eggs, at room temp
• 80 ml milk

Details

Servings 12

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 170C. Grease and line the base of a round, loose bottomed 25 cm cake pan. Starting from the edge of the pan, tightly pack apple wedges, skin side down, in a ring, then pack remaining wedges into the centre. Remove wedges from pan, re creating the formation on a work surface.
Place 220 g sugar and 180 ml water in a small, heavy based sauce pan and stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil, then simmer to a dark caramel. Pour dark caramel into the the prepared pan, pouring around the edge first, then in the centre. Working quickly, carefully arrange the apple wedges over caramel.
Using an electric mixer, beat butter, vanilla and remaining 275g sugar until pale and fluffy. Sift flour baking powder, ground alsmonds, cardamom and 1/2 tsp salt into butter mixture. Add eggs and milk, cand beat on low speed until smooth and combined.
Spoon batter over apple wedges, and level with the back of a spoon. Bake cake on the botton shelf of the oven for 30 minutes, then coverw ith baking paper to prevent over-browning and bake for a further 45 minutes or unil cake comes away from the side of the pan or a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool in the pan 15 minutes, then run a knife around the cake and turn out onto a plate.
Serve cake warm or room temp with cream