Upside-Down Apple Cake
Incredibly delicious, made from simple ingredients, and original! This upside-down apple cake is wonderfully juicy and fragrant thanks to caramelized apples soaked with honey and cinnamon. You won’t bake it every day, but put it on the table - and it feels like a celebration!
Updated : 07 January, 2026
Easy
About 30 min.
Ingredients
Dough
2
Eggs
75 grams
Sugar
160 grams
Butter
2 tablespoon
Milk
10 grams
Vanilla sugar
1 teaspoon
Baking powder
200 grams
Wheat flour
Filling
3
Apple
60 grams
Sugar
2 tablespoon
Honey
40 grams
Butter
0.5 teaspoon
Ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon
Lemon juice
Table
Table of volume measurements:
- teaspoon - 5 ml
- dessert spoon - 10 ml
- tablespoon - 20 ml
- glass - 200 ml
Preparation
Step 1
How to bake an upside-down apple cake? Start with the filling. Prepare the ingredients. Use large apples; sweet-tart varieties work best. Add cinnamon to taste.
Step 2
Wash and pat the apples dry. Peel and core them, then slice to medium thickness. Don’t slice too thin so they keep their shape. While slicing, drizzle with lemon juice so they don’t darken too much.
Step 3
Melt the butter in a skillet, add the sugar, and stir.
Step 4
Over medium heat, stirring constantly, bring the mixture to the point where the sugar fully dissolves. Cook for about 5 minutes.
Step 5
Add the honey and stir.
Step 6
Cook for another 3-4 minutes until caramel-colored. Stay by the stove and keep stirring so it doesn’t burn.
Step 7
Add the prepared apples to the skillet and stir.
Step 8
Cook the filling over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the apples are half-cooked. Sprinkle with cinnamon and mix. Remove from the heat and let the filling cool. To speed this up, transfer it to a separate plate.
Step 9
Measure out the ingredients for the batter. Take the butter out of the fridge in advance so it softens. Use large eggs. Vanilla sugar can be replaced with vanillin.
Step 10
Mix the flour with baking powder and sift. Sifting aerates the flour so the cake rises better.
Step 11
Beat the softened butter with sugar and vanilla sugar until light and fluffy.
Step 12
Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each.
Step 13
Pour in the milk and mix.
Step 14
Add the sifted flour with baking powder. Mix thoroughly until smooth.
Step 15
The batter will be fairly thick, smooth, and creamy.
Step 16
Spread the apple filling with the caramel syrup over the bottom of the baking pan. You don’t need to grease the pan: the filling is moist and the batter has enough butter. I used a 22 cm (8.7 in) springform pan. But if your springform doesn’t seal tightly, bake in a ceramic, silicone, or heatproof glass pan so the filling won’t leak.
Step 17
Spread the batter evenly over the filling, smoothing with a spoon or spatula.
Step 18
Bake immediately in a preheated oven at 180°C (356°F) for 35-40 minutes, until nicely browned. When the top is lightly golden, check doneness: insert a wooden skewer in several places - if it comes out dry, the cake is ready. Let the cake cool a bit in the pan.
Step 19
Then invert the cake onto a plate so the apples are on top.
Step 20
Once cooled, you can dust the top with powdered sugar. Slice and serve. Enjoy!
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