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Thank you for sharing this recipe! I made it for my mum and sister tonight and we all love it šš I’ll definitely make this again š
Madi
I’m not even going to say anything today, because, whew.
Today I’m back at work after a delicious weekend at an apple orchard in Washington, and I think it’s pretty obvious that I’d really rather be sleeping on a pillow of this cake than putting on the ol’ black dress pants and hanging a five-point scale on a lanyard around my neck and saying things like “show five” in my pretend calm voice all day.
Personal cake day, I think that’s what they call it, and I need it ASAP.
It’s only appropriate that this recipe would come after an apple-palooza weekend and it’s only appropriate that it is an original recipe from the queen of all desserts SBA: Sally’s Baking Addiction.
If you have spent three seconds on Pinterest then I think you probably know this girlie. She’s a butt-kickin dessert baker who has worked her way out of her day job and into a job as a full time food blogger and cookbook writer because she loves you. YEAH SAL. It gives me chills. She’s amazing.
I made this cake to impress Steph when we had a dinner double date last week, and impress it did. I accidentally changed the recipe a leetle bit (distraction central) with things like salted butter, no nuts, a reversing of order of ingredients into the pan, and regular caramel turning into SALTED caramel with that sea salt on top. Sally, thanks for awesome recipe inspo. Steph, thanks for bonding over salted caramel apple upside down cake like food bloggies do. How do normal people bond again? I forget.
And friends, thanks for reading and showing Sally some love today, because we love salted caramel apple upside down cake, don’t we? ā„
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Salted Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 8–10 1x
Description
This Salted Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake is covered with a top layer of homemade salted caramel and loaded with thinly slices apples.
Ingredients
For the sauce and topping
- 2 cups very thinly sliced apples (3–4 apples)
- 1/2 cup salted butter
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the cake
- 1/2 cup salted butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- Sea salt for topping
Instructions
- Generously grease a round 9-inch cake pan. Slice the apples with a mandoline to get them super thin, like paper. Or if that’s not possible, as close to paper as possible. š
- Sauce: Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and vanilla. Keep over medium heat and cook for about 3 minutes until smooth and thickened slightly. Pour the caramel into the greased cake pan and top with the apple slices. Sally does this the other way around but I loved how it turned out with the caramel on the outside.
- Cake: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Beat the remaining butter and brown sugar until creamy. Add the eggs and milk and beat until incorporated. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and cinnamon. Pour the cake on top of the caramel and apple layer in the cake pan.
- Bake for 45 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes (Sally says 10 minutes is just right, and mine came out of the pan perfectly at 10). Invert onto a plate and tap the top until the cake comes out onto the plate. Sprinkle with sea salt and serve with vanilla ice cream. Die and go to caramel apple heaven. The end.
- Prep Time: 45 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: caramel apple upside down cake, apple upside down cake, caramel apple cake
My cake is in the oven and I’m on tender hooks as it’s the dessert for our Solstice dinner. I think the caramel sauce might be grainy…did I cook it too long? Well the cinnamon whipped cream will surely help. My apartment smells amazing, like Christmas. Cheers, Deb.
Is it possible to get the recipe in grams?
What type of apples do you recommend for this cake?
Honeycrisp would be our pick!
I plan on making this cake for a birthday celebration and I was wondering if I can make this in a Bundt pan and if I would have to double the recipe if I did. I canāt wait to make this, I might add some toasted pecans to the caramel layer too! Thanks for the recipe!!!
I tried the recipe with a batch. I made a second batch of brandy apply sauce to serve with. I went to heaved š
That does sound heavenly!
This is an awesome recipe. I’ve made it several times, and it always gets rave reviews. I’m a good pie maker but in the fall we get tired of only apple pie. To have a super moist cake recipe to go to is heavenly.
Glad to hear you enjoy the cake, Terri!
I canāt. Wait to try this recipe!!
Looks awesome. Did you use dark brown sugar or light?
Just light brown sugar here. š
I made this for my dad’s birthday, and everyone loved it! We are vegan so I subbed almond milk for milk, vegan butter for butter, and 1/2 cup of sparkling water for the eggs. It was perfect and delicious. Thanks for the great recipe!
Yay! Glad this was a hit, Rachel!
i made this cake (but halved the recipe and used one deep 6-inch pan, as it’s just my roommate and i) and we devoured it in one day. AMAZING! i’m now making it again for my mom’s birthday!
So happy to hear this, Adrianna!
Question: can I make ahead, refrigerate and reheat to serve a day or two later?
Oops-haha- got my answer in reply to Rebecca above!
This looks wonderful. Have you had any success making it a head of time, say a day in advance? I want to take it to my family Thanksgiving but I want to be sure it will work that way.
Hi, Rebecca! Sally says you can reheat this and leftovers keep well covered tightly at room temperature or in the refrigerator for a couple days.
This was awesome both times I’ve made it. The second time it was a little dryer, maybe will check cake after 35 minutes. But i put a simple honey butter glaze on it to moisten. Still delicious.
Honey butter glaze! YUMMY!
What type of apples did you use? I would like to make this for thanksgiving!! Very excited!!
May I bake and freeze this recipe?
Hi, do you use cooking apples or eating apples?
Baking apples!
Thank you for sharing this recipe! I made it for my mum and sister tonight and we all love it šš I’ll definitely make this again š
Simple & delicious way to impress the guests! Thank you, amazing recipe <3
Hello Lindsay, thank you for this recipe, I am a novice and just figured out that I overworked the batter so it was quite thick but, it turned out fantastic nonetheless and everyone loved it.
Come to my house and make it beotch
Come to my house and make it for me beotch
Come give it to me ahh
How much is 1 cup in grams ?
Depends on what you’re measuring! Here’s a handy guide for cups-to-grams conversions: https://www.allrecipes.com/article/cup-to-gram-conversions/
Hi Lindsay, this recipe looks delicious however when i was trying to make this for my wife the caramel kept hardening as soon as i put it in the tin…is that supposed to happen? Or am i doing something wrong? Thanks alot!
Good question! Caramel can be a bit tricky to get right. From what I gather, you may have cooked the caramel on the stovetop a little too long or at too high of a temperature. Ours didn’t solidify in the pan. If it’s starting to get too thick, you could also try adding in a Tbsp or so of heavy cream. That might help to keep it in a liquid state. Good luck!
Was wondering what to do with the apples we have hanging around in the kitchen – and stumbled upon this recipe. Guess what kids? Apple upside-down cake for dinner tonight!
Awesome! š
Hi
I am a student who just started baking and this cake was my first successful cake. š
I made this cake twice..the first time with apples and second time with pineapples.
Tasted yum..Everybody loved it.
Thanks a lot
So glad to hear that! š