Apple Upside-Down Cake -- The Sweetness You Carry Into October

The week after the conversation with Gloria about Tyler and I am still carrying it. That man looks at you like you are the only person in the room. She has been watching people for seventy years. She knows what she is looking at.

I made apple butter this week, same as last October, the slow cooker version that goes all day and fills the apartment with cinnamon and clove. Six jars again. One for Gloria. One for Debbie, which I brought to Sunday dinner at the Clarkes with a note on the lid that said thank you for the pimento cheese recipe. Debbie read the note, looked at me, and said: you are something else, girl. In the tone that means exactly what you want it to mean.

Tyler and I drove through the fall foliage on Sunday after dinner at his parents house. Alabama does not have the dramatic leaf color of more northern states but we have the golden oaks and the sweet gums going orange-red and the occasional sourwood that turns a spectacular crimson, and we drove with the windows down in the October afternoon and talked about nothing in particular and I kept thinking: I am in a car with someone I love on a Sunday afternoon in October and this is my life. This ordinary beautiful specific life is mine. I built it and I am in it and it is enough.

After a week of slow-cooker apple butter — the apartment smelling of cinnamon and clove from morning to evening — I wasn’t quite ready to let go of that feeling. Sunday dinner at the Clarkes, the drive through the golden oaks and sweet gums, Debbie’s voice saying you are something else, girl — all of it called for something that honored the apples a little further. This apple upside-down cake is exactly that: simple, unhurried, and deeply satisfying, the kind of thing you make when the season is good and you want to hold it just a little longer.

Apple Upside-Down Cake

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 40 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour | Servings: 8

Ingredients

• For the apple topping:
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 medium apples (such as Honeycrisp or Granny Smith), peeled, cored, and sliced 1/4 inch thick
• For the cake batter:
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup whole milk

Instructions

1. Preheat and prepare. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9-inch round cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
2. Make the apple topping. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 3 tablespoons butter. Stir in the brown sugar and cinnamon until the mixture is smooth and bubbling, about 2 minutes. Pour evenly into the prepared cake pan.
3. Arrange the apples. Lay the apple slices over the brown sugar mixture in a single, slightly overlapping layer, working from the outside in. Set aside.
4. Mix the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
5. Cream butter and sugar. In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar with a hand mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
6. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then mix in the vanilla extract until fully combined.
7. Combine wet and dry. With the mixer on low, alternate adding the flour mixture and the milk to the butter mixture, beginning and ending with the flour. Mix just until no dry streaks remain — do not overmix.
8. Bake. Spoon the batter gently over the apple layer and spread to the edges with a spatula. Bake for 38 to 42 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the top is golden brown.
9. Invert and cool. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edge, then place a serving plate over the pan and carefully invert. Remove the parchment paper. Allow to cool at least 15 minutes before slicing.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 370 | Protein: 4g | Fat: 16g | Carbs: 54g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 180mg