Krysta’s Kitchen: Whiskey Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake

Welcome back to Krysta’s Kitchen, I’m happy you’re here! Fall is in full swing and I wanted to feature a delicious dessert that would impress at any holiday party, a whiskey caramel apple upside-down cake! Before we get started, I want to let you know that while this dessert may seem technical, I want to remind you that if I can do it, you can do it! I am not the baker of the family, in fact, all of my recipes are done without an electric mixer because I don’t own one. So before you write this one off, I encourage you to give it a chance. Now, let’s grab a nice cold Coors Light, and let’s get baking! 

What You’re Going to Need

• A pie or cake dish (it’s important that it’s at least 1 ½ – 2 inches deep, the diameter should be at 7 ½ inches across)
• Ice cream for topping

Ingredients

Whiskey Caramel Apple Topping

• 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter
• ½  cup packed brown sugar
• ¼  teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼  teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 medium apples (I used Honeycrisp Apples but any kind will work), peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch slices
• A tablespoon (or so) of your favorite whiskey

Cake

• 1½  cups all-purpose flour (leveled)
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ¼  teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ½  teaspoon salt
• ½  cup softened unsalted butter (1 stick)
• ½  cup white granulated sugar
• ½  cup packed brown sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 6 tablespoons whole milk, at room temperature

1. Preheat oven to 350°F
2. Prepare your topping first: Combine the butter and brown sugar together in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk occasionally until butter and sugar have melted. Important: Add your whiskey only once your sugar and butter look like they are starting to melt together. Cook, whisking constantly, for 1 minute as the mixture thickens. Remove from heat and whisk in the cinnamon and vanilla. Pour into your ungreased pie or round cake pan.

Note: If it takes longer for your caramel to come together, don’t fret. Mine took longer than a minute, just be careful to keep it at a low temperature so you don’t burn it. 

3. Now it’s time to arrange your apple slices. Feel free to get creative here, the goal is to make sure the entire bottom of your dish is covered in apples. Remember this is going to the top of your cake when we are done. Set aside when finished.
4. Make the cake batter: Whisk the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt together. Set aside.
5. In a separate bow, whip your butter until smooth and creamy then add both your brown and white sugar and whip until creamed together, about 1 minute. Once fully incorporated, mix in your eggs and vanilla extract until combined.
6. Pour your flour mixture into your wet ingredients, give it a couple of gentle mixes and start to slowly pour in the milk. You will want to mix the batter until it is just combined, making sure there are no lumps but you also do not want to over-mix. The batter will be slightly thick but still pourable.
7. Grab your prepared pie or cake dish with your apples already set in it and pour the cake batter evenly over the topping, spreading it out as needed.
8. Bake for 40-46 minutes. You may need to tent the top of the cake halfway through bake time to prevent the top from over-browning. You can do this with a sheet of tinfoil.
9. The cake is done when a toothpick can be inserted into the center of the cake and it comes out mostly clean.
10. Remove the cake from the oven and cool for just 15 minutes before flipping the cake onto your serving platter of choice. I recommend setting your serving platter on top of your cake and grabbing the whole thing, then flipping it.
11. Once flipped, your apples and whiskey caramel apple topping should be on top. I let my cake cool for about 10-15 minutes before adding extra caramel to the top and slicing it. Make sure to pair it with your favorite vanilla ice cream, and enjoy!