Today my world shifted slightly when my husband, who can’t quite master the art of making toast, said he wanted to learn how to cook a dessert. I made him say it twice. Then he announced that he wanted it to be an apple dessert. Whew – a sigh of relief. We have that apple-slicing gadget and he could buy a piecrust – how hard could that be? But wait – he was remembering that once long ago I had made an upside down apple cake and that was what he wanted to learn to prepare. This was not going to be a walk in the park.
It’s no secret that fall makes everyone crave favorite cool weather foods. We are all through with lovely little summer berry creations. Apples, on the other hand, are the most perfect ingredient for any fall dessert. Maybe Sammy was on to something. A search of my recipe files did turn up a sort of upside down apple cake, but it used canned apple pie filing and bottled caramel sauce. This may have been the one he remembered, but if so, it was well due an update. Neither of these ingredients are the biggest of sins in the culinary world, but with beautiful fresh Granny Smith apples in every market, it seemed a shame to use apples in a can. Now caramel sauce is a different story. I might be willing to show my husband how to put together a cake, but teaching him to make a homemade caramel sauce would not be good for the marriage. I stood in the kitchen staring into the fridge waiting for something to announce that it would work instead. Although a lot of time gets spent in that way, it rarely yields success – just a higher utility bill. But today was magic! There was front and center a bottle of maple syrup! That could be perfect! Apples and maple syrup seem like a match made in heaven. A tangy cake batter would be just delicious – maybe sour cream or buttermilk. Should we add nuts – no, possible overkill – let’s keep it simple.
The first step was to reduce some maple syrup. A man can do that –right? Heat down! Heat down! We’ve got it. Next peel and slice apples – the gadget does the trick. (in photo). I found it on Amazon and it was a perfect Father’s Day present.
Syrup in pie dish, apples on top – now on to batter. We didn’t quite have enough buttermilk so we mixed in milk and a few drops of lemon juice. We put the cake in the oven and (im)patiently waited for our creation. Here is the end of story. It was beautiful and delicious and worth the wait. Our marriage is still intact. It was more of a group effort than a teaching moment, but it sure was fun. Make this with a friend or quite easily by yourself and enjoy. It’s a beautiful way to celebrate fall.
Link to all Recipes in Sallie’s Kitchen Corner (Click Recipes Tab)
Ingredients
1 cup pure maple syrup
4 small Granny Smith (or other tart) apple, peeled, cored, and sliced – circles are pretty!
1 and ½ sticks butter
1 ½ cups sugar
3 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
Optional: Whipped cream or ice cream for serving.
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a small saucepan over low reduce maple syrup to about ½ cup, stirring occasionally. (about 15 minutes)
In a mixer combine butter and sugar until creamed together.
Mix buttermilk, eggs and vanilla.
Add 1 cup of flour and all of the baking powder, baking soda, and salt, plus half of the milk and egg to the butter and sugar. Combine.
Add remaining flour and milk and egg and combine, scraping down sides of the mixing bowl.
Spray a 10-inch pie pan with cooking spray.
Pour in maple syrup, distributing evenly.
Place apples on top (I only used 3 and a half and ate the rest).
Pour batter over the apples, spreading evenly.
Bake for 50 minutes to an hour, until cake is firm and lightly browned.
Cool for an hour.
Invert cake carefully on to a plate and serve with whipped cream or ice cream if desired.
