Eggless Upside-Down Apple Cake

Simple and rustic upside-down apple cake with fragrant underlying flavors of cinnamon and ginger. 

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October has to be one of my favorite months. The slight chill in the air and the onset of festivities are truly uplifiting for the mind and spirit. It’s also a great month for baking. Well! I think all months are, but fall baking has its own charm. Oh! And did you know October is also the National Apple month! While we’re lucky to get great quality apples year-round, the fresh harvest of crisp juicy apples from winter regions, makes it almost mandatory to bake something with apples at this time of the year. For me, my go-to apple dessert is this upside down cinnamon apple cake.

The upside-down apple cake ticks all the right boxes. It’s mildly sweet with subtle underlying flavors of ginger and cinnamon coming together to create a beautiful tea-time accompaniment. Or the perfect midnight snack!

Upside-Down Layer

To make the upside down apple layer, you need to first prepare your cake pan by spreading some butter and brown sugar. This will not only caramelize the apples but also hold the layer together. Don’t skimp on the butter or sugar in this step as too little of either would mean that the layer will simply fall apart while turning over the pan.

Melt the butter and pour it into your pan, swirling it to ensure it’s coated evenly and on the sides as well.

Next sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over the butter. Do not press or use a spoon or anything else to spread. Lightly sprinkle all over and try to reach the corners.

Next, peel and thinly slice the apples, and toss it with lemon juice and cinnamon powder. Remember, apples tend to get black quickly after cutting, so do this only when your pan is ready. Tossing them with lemon juice will also slow the oxidation process.

You could arrange the apples in circles or just toss them in. However, going in a circular pattern helps arrange and take it out also more neatly. Usually the pan size allows for 2-3 concentric circles.

Set this aside while you make the batter by mixing together milk, water, oil, vanilla, and sugar. And folding in the dry ingredients – flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, some grated ginger and lemon juice.

I have also added extra chopped apples to the batter. You could skip that but I feel it really ups the apple flavor in the recipe. Even other chopped nuts like walnuts or dried fruits like raisins will go well here.

Once the batter is ready, pour it over the apple layer, trying to not move the apples in the process. Do not tap the pan, the batter will settle itself over the sides and corners.

Bake this at 180 degree C for 35-40 minutes. Let the cake cool for 15-20 minutes before removing from the pan. Ensure you remove it on a plate and gently coaxing it out to not disturb the apple layer.

Apples

Any variety of red apples would be great for this cake, Just that the apples should be fresh and ripe. Green apples would be too tart for this recipe, so I do not recommend using them.

Spices

This cake is loaded with cinnamon and ginger. The mild flavors of these spices is what makes this cake so irresistible and fall-perfect. You could also add a pinch of nutmeg powder to the batter.

This cake makes for the perfect accompaniment with a cup of tea or coffee. You can also serve it with a drizzle of honey or maple syrup. Do leave your comments if you try this recipe and follow me on Instagram for more exciting recipes.

While this is a beautiful cake and totally worth the effort, if you’re looking to make something quicker with apples, try my super easy and amazingly delicious apple crumble.

Some more recipes you must try this fall

Orange and Almond Cake

Date and Walnut cake

Coffee Cinnamon Cake

Cinnamon rolls