Upside-Down Apple-Cardamom Cake
You’ve heard, “It’s better the next day…”? Well, it’s true here, if it lasts that long. This is a moist, full of spice and flavor cake that’s perfect after dinner, a snack, or breakfast with a cup of coffee.
Equipment
- 9" round cake pan
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups cake flour, spooned and leveled
- 2 tablespoons ground cardamom
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 4 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/3 cup buttermilk, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 tablespoons neutral oil, such as avocado, canola, etc.
For the topping:
- 6 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 4 ounces unsalted butter
- 3-4 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced 1/4" thick
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Place the apple slices in a medium bowl and sprinkle with the lemon juice and toss. Set aside.
- In another medium bowl, melt the butter in the microwave. Add the brown sugar and stir to combine. Scrape the butter-sugar mixture into the bottom of the pan and spread into an even layer.
- Lay the apples evenly over the butter-sugar mixture. Set the pan aside.
- In a 1-cup measuring cup, mix the buttermilk, vanilla, and oil. Set aside.
- In another medium bowl, blend your dry ingredients (flour through salt) and set aside.
- In a mixer bowl, add the 4 ounces of room temperature butter. Mix on medium for 2 minutes to lighten. Slowly add the sugar and mix for another minute.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, blending well after each addition.
- Turn the mixer to low and slowly add about a third of the dry ingredients. Before fully incorporated, add half the buttermilk mixture. Again, just before the mixture is completely blended, add another third of the flour mixture. Alternating like this, add the last half of the buttermilk, then the last third of the flour mixture. Keeping the mixer on low, combine thoroughly, only a few seconds.
- Using a silicone spatula, scrape all the batter into the prepared pan. (See notes – I like to use the baking strips that wrap around the exterior of the pan to help with evenly distributing the heat while the cake is in the oven.)
- Bake the cake for about 50 minutes. Begin checking the cake at 45 minutes, in case your oven bakes on the hotter side. Keep checking every 4 to 5 minutes until done. Once a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean, pull from the oven (remove the baking strips if using) and allow to cool for 20 minutes.
- Here’s the magic…. Place your cake plate/stand on top of the warm cake and flip over so that cake comes out onto the cake plate/stand with the gorgeous apples on top and the syrupy, brown sugar oozing down the sides. It’s best to allow the cake to cool slightly, but you can (and I sure have!) eat a slice while still warm. It’s also good at room temperature. This cake is so lovely and aromatic!
Notes
I had so much fun (four times over) developing this cake. It’s not your typical apple cake nor is itkk a regular spice cake. There’s a lot of cardamom in this cake! I love the aromatics and the flavor. I would even encourage you to grind your own cardamom and nutmeg! A spice grinder is great if you’d like to do this.
I have found that more tart than sweet apples do really well in this cake. I’ve tried Macintosh, Honeycrisp, and a few others, but any apple with a lot of flavor will be delicious.
This cake has lots of steps, so be sure to read over the ingredients and instructions before you begin.
Nutrition Facts
Upside-Down Apple-Cardamom Cake
Amount per Serving
Calories
382
% Daily Value*
Fat
21.3
g
33
%
Saturated Fat
10.5
g
66
%
Polyunsaturated Fat
1.5
g
Cholesterol
72.4
mg
24
%
Sodium
128
mg
6
%
Potassium
104.7
mg
3
%
Carbohydrates
46.6
g
16
%
Fiber
1.8
g
8
%
Sugar
30.4
g
34
%
Protein
3.1
g
6
%
Vitamin C
2.16
mg
3
%
Calcium
56.58
mg
6
%
Iron
1.56
mg
9
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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