Upside Down Apple Cake

I've never been one to reach into the fruit drawer and grab an apple. If it's peeled and cored, I'll give it a good home. But, an apple on it's own - not my favourite. This, however, didn't stop my mom from putting an apple in my lunch every day during elementary school. We affectionately named him (and his descendents) "Mr. Apple". By the end of the week, Mr. Apple would be bruised to high heaven from being lugged to and from school every day.

Although I still don't like apples, I buy them regularly and look for new recipes in which to use them. Still to this day, I rarely if ever grab a whole apple for a snack.

Luckily, I found a great recipe that worked well with this month's Taste & Create. This event randomly pairs two food bloggers so that they can try a recipe from each other's "repetoire". I was paired with Finger Licking Food and decided to make her Apple Cake Tatin

Upside Down Apple Cake

1 3/4 cups granulated sugar, divided
1/3 cup of water
6 tbsp (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for greasing the dish
1 1/4 Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced into 12 pieces (I used 2 apples)
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1/3 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
Confectioners' sugar (I didn't use any)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Generously butter a 9-inch glass pie dish and arrange the apples in the dish, cut side down.



Combine 1 cup of the granulated sugar and 1/3 cup water in a small saucepan and cook over high heat. Swirl the pan, but don't stir, until it turns a warm amber color (I wasn't sure how long this would be...but once it got to be thick enough and a bit browny, I turned off the stove).



Pour evenly over the apple slices.



Meanwhile, cream the butter and the remaining 3/4 cup of granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Lower the speed and beat in the eggs 1 at a time. Add the sour cream, zest, and vanilla and mix until combined. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt and, with the mixer on low speed, add it to the butter mixture. I also added raisins. Mix only until combined. Pour the cake batter evenly over the apple slices



Bake for 30-40 minutes, until a cake tester or a tooth pick comes out clean.



Cool for 15 minutes, then invert the cake onto a flat plate. If an apple slice sticks, ease it out and replace it in the design on top of the cake. Serve warm or at room temperature, dusted with confectioner's sugar and a scoop of vanilla ice cream (I just ate it on it's own).

I am very pleased with how the cake turned out. It tastes great and looks really good. I was worried about the cake sticking to the cake pan and falling apart when I flipped it, but it didn't.