Brown Butter Apple Upside Down Cake

4.84 from 6 votes

Brown Butter Apple Upside Down Cake

Incredible apple flavor with a caramelized apple topping, brown butter batter & crispy edges. This apple upside down cake tastes like fall.

Prep Time30

Cook Time30

chill time30

Servings: servings

Equipment

9 inch Cake Pan should be at least 2 inches deep

Ingredients

Cake Batter

8 tbs unsalted butter 4oz, 1 stick
1.5-2 lbs granny smith apples peeled & sliced into 1/4 inch pieces
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup + 1 tbs all purpose flour spooned & leveled
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup dark brown sugar packed
3/4 cup white sugar
2 large eggs room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup sour cream room temperature

Apple Caramel Topping

4 tbs unsalted butter
3/4 cup dark brown sugar packed

Instructions

Brown Butter & Cook Apples: Brown 8tbs of butter for the batter. In a medium skillet, cook butter on medium-low heat. Stir often until butter begins to separate & foam. The butter will start to get golden & brown. Stir until there are lots of golden flecks and it smells like butterscotch! Pour in a bowl to stop cooking. Butter should be melted, but not hot.
Wipe out or clean the skillet. Next, add apple slices & cinnamon. Cook on medium heat 7-10 minutes until apples are softened but not cooked through and still have some texture. Set apples aside.
Preheat Oven to 350°: While butter cools, preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 9-inch cake pan very well with butter or non stick spray.
Make Batter: In a bowl, whisk together dry ingredients: flour, baking powder & salt.
In the bowl of your stand mixer or a large bowl with a hand mixer mix wet ingredients: add melted brown butter, 1/4 cup of brown sugar & 3/4 cup of white sugar. Beat on high until combined. Switch speed to low, add eggs one at a time, then sour cream & vanilla. Mix until just combined. Scrape sides & bottom.
Next, add dry ingredients. Mix on low until just combined. Scrape sides and bottom.
Make Topping: In a medium skillet, add 4tbs of butter & 3/4 cup brown sugar. Whisk often until butter and sugar are melted, combined & lighter in color. If it starts to bubble remove immediately.
Pour caramel into the greased cake pan and spread evenly across. It's okay if it starts to cool a little*. Arrange apple slices with little overlap over the caramel.
Bake Cake: Pour cake batter over top of the apples. Gently spread the batter evenly over the apples and to the edges. Try not to move the apples with your spatula. Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Let the cake cool for at least 30 minutes, until the cake pan is not too hot to touch, but still warm, before flipping. Carefully flip your cake onto a plate and let cool completely. Cut & serve with ice cream!

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