Make This Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake To Spread the Public Good

Every time you bake with open-source Ontario apples, you stand for the public good.

Familiar favourites like McIntosh, Cortland, and Northern Spy were supported by public research orchards like Niagara’s Vineland Station and developed to be shared freely among growers, like a recipe passed hand to hand.

Today, many new apples are “club” varieties — grown under license and marketed like brands. But those freely shared Ontario apples still connect us to something bigger: the idea that good things are meant to be enjoyed by everyone.

Activist Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake (from Sally Bakes)

This Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake recipe was passed hand-to-hand (ok via WhatsApp) by my friend Meredith, who bakes. I, on the other hand, do not bake.

But, I swear this is an easy-to-bake, knock-it-out-of-the-park recipe ideal for non-bakers who want to impress. It’s moist, buttery and gorgeous.

I’m only sharing it with you to spread the public good. Here goes:

Hot Tip

Bake this cake in a cake pan or pie dish, but make sure it’s at least 2 inches deep to avoid overflow.

Ingredients

For the proliferation of the public good, we highly recommend using McIntosh, Cortland, Northern Spy, and Ida Red apples.

Topping

• 6 Tbsp unsalted butter

• ½ cup packed light or dark brown sugar

• ¼ tsp ground cinnamon

• ¼ tsp pure vanilla extract

• 2 medium apples, peeled, sliced into ¼-in (1.5-2 cups)

Cake

• 1½ cup all-purpose flour

• 1½ tsp baking powder

• 1½ tsp ground cinnamon

• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg

• ½ tsp salt

• ½ cup (8 Tbsp) unsalted butter (room temperature)

• ½ cup granulated sugar

• ½ cup packed light or dark brown sugar

• 2 large eggs (room temperature)

• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

• 6 Tbsp (90 ml) whole milk (room temperature)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350 °F (177 °C).

2. Make the topping: In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter + brown sugar. Whisk until melted and cook for about 1 minute to deepen the flavour. Remove from heat, whisk in cinnamon + vanilla. Pour mixture into an ungreased 9×2-inch pie dish or round cake pan (make sure it’s at least 2″ deep). Arrange your apple slices neatly, overlapping so you get full coverage. Chill the batter in the fridge while you make it.

3. For the cake batter: In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg & salt. In a stand mixer or with hand-beaters, cream the butter for about 1 minute until smooth, then add both sugars and beat until light and well-blended. Add eggs + vanilla, scraping sides as needed. On low speed, mix in the flour mixture. Slowly pour in the milk while mixing just until combined—don’t over-mix.

4. Retrieve the pan from the fridge, pour the batter evenly over the apple/topping layer.

5. Bake for about 40–46 minutes. Halfway through, tent with foil to prevent over-browning if needed (especially since the topping is wet and the apples are heavy). Cake is done when a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out mostly clean (a few moist crumbs are fine).

6. Remove from oven, cool on a wire rack for about 15 minutes, then invert the pan onto a serving plate (the caramel-apple layer becomes the top). Some juices will seep out—this is expected. For the best slices, let the cake cool fully at room temperature (refrigerating will make it dense).

7. Store leftovers (covered) in fridge up to 3 days, or freeze slices up to 3 months (but note: topping arrangement may suffer).