Fall is here!! Apple season is here!!! Just went for apple picking to a nearby orchard a few days ago and came back with a huge basket of these goodies! Lots of this nature’s gift to eat fresh; make cookies or cakes, desserts, halwas etc. I recently made a family favorite of my sons which I have been making for decades; scrumptious apple pockets, which came out divine and delicious! Now, time to make some cake. How about a luscious Caramelized Apple Cake? Sounds wonderful, doesn’t it?
WHAT IS CARAMELIZED APPLES? “Caramelization” is just a process of melting the sugar to make a nutty, brown, gooey liquid (looks like honey or syrup) which tastes like jaggery! To make these caramelized apples, you need to add a stick or about ½ cup of butter to chopped apples along with a bit of brown sugar. Butter is added for richness and gloss! This is then cooked on medium high to high heat for about 10 minutes to get a brown, sticky apple mixture. This then forms the topping for our cake (or base of the cake before baking). You have to layer it at the bottom of the cake pan before pouring in the cake batter. MOIST AND FLUFFY EGG-LESS CAKE: All of you must have heard about a ‘crazy chocolate cake’ or “wacky chocolate cake”! It is an easy, one bowl eggless cake using no beaters or blenders! Just mix dry ingredients (flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt) and wet ingredients (water/milk, oil, vanilla extract and vinegar) and bake! Of course, for this apple cake, chocolate cake does not sound like a good combination. So, I decided to just omit the cocoa powder and increase the flour (more of whole wheat) to make an eggless version of yellow cake! The result was so good, this is going to be my go-to cake for a yellow eggless cake from now on!
CARAMELIZED APPLE CAKE: Pour the cake batter over the caramelized apples in the pan and bake until cake tester comes out clean! Cool, cut and enjoy this nature’s bounty apples in a new avatar!
Enjoy and Happy Baking!
Step-by-Step Instructions to make Egg-less Caramelized Apple Cake:
(PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD BELOW) PREPARE THE PAN: Preheat oven to 350 degrees Centigrade or 180 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease an 8-inch square pan or 9-inch round pan thoroughly and line with parchment paper or Aluminum foil. Grease the paper or foil again.
MAKE THE CARAMELIZED APPLES: In a saucepan, add chopped apples, brown sugar, butter and cinnamon powder. I have not peeled the apples, but if your apples have a tough skin, then it is better to peel the apples before chopping them. Heat the pan on medium high and keep mixing until the sugar and butter have melted completely. Keep stirring and cooking on medium high until the apples have caramelized and turned brown and gooey with butter glistening on the sides; this could take about 7 to 10 minutes, depending upon the heat of the stove.
Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Once slightly warm/cool, layer over the prepared parchment paper and spread with a spoon or spatula evenly over the base of the pan. Set aside until the cake batter is ready.
MAKE THE CAKE BATTER: In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredient; flours, sugar, baking soda and salt with a whisk or spoon to combine. In another small bowl or large measuring cup, add milk, oil, vanilla essence and vinegar; the wet ingredients.
Give it a gentle mix and immediately pour into the dry mixture. Gently fold the wet and dry ingredients with a silicone spatula or spoon to combine thoroughly. Try not to over mix; you want the mixture to be just combined to avoid a dense cake. Pour or spoon the cake batter over the layered caramelized apples evenly. Smoothen the top and give a couple of taps of the pan over the counter to remove any air bubbles.
BAKE THE CARAMELIZED APPLE CAKE: Place in preheated oven and bake for 30 to 40 minutes until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. I used a knife (as I was out of toothpick), hence the deep gash in the center! If you do not have a toothpick, you can use a dry spaghetti stick as a cake tester too!
When fully baked, remove from oven and place on cooling rack for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, invert onto a plate and remove the parchment paper. Invert again onto a cooling rack to cool thoroughly.
Serve decadent, eggless, super delicious, scrumptious and moist Caramelized Apple Cake with a tall glass of milk, hot chai/coffee or with a large scoop of vanilla ice cream for a divine and decadent dessert! Enjoy and Happy Baking/Fall! MORE APPLE RECIPES FROM THE BLOG:
Apple Kesari Bhaat/Sweet Saffron Rice with Apples Apple Pie Tart Apple Pockets Spinach, Apples and Walnuts Salad Apple Pakodas Carrot and Apple Cake
Print or Save this easy recipe for Upside Down Caramelized Apple Cake:
PIN or SHARE FOR LATER: Cook Time: 45 minutes
FOR THE CARAMELIZED APPLES: 2 cups cored and chopped apples (you can peel the apples if you prefer not to get the tough skin) 1/3 cup brown sugar ½ cup unsalted butter 1 tsp cinnamon powder FOR THE CAKE: 1 cup whole wheat flour ½ cup maida 1 cup sugar 1 tsp baking soda ½ tsp salt 1 cup milk 5 tbsp oil 1 tsp vanilla essence 1 tbsp vinegar EQUIPMENT: Mixing bowls Spatula/spoon Square 8-inch pan/Round 9-inch pan
Instructions Notes Peeling apples is optional, but if you do not want to take chances of any tough skin getting in the way of you enjoying apple cake, then peel before chopping them. Store leftover cake in an airtight container for a day or two at room temperature and if you have leftovers, store the rest in the fridge!
Linking this to: Angie’s FiestaFriday along with cohosts Liz and Deb. If you like my posts and recipes; don’t forget to follow me on: Facebook @ curryandvanilla Pinterest @ curryandvanilla Instagram @ curryandvanilla16 Twitter @ curryandvanilla Google Plus @ Vanitha Bhat Have fun cooking, eating and sharing!!!!
