Apfelkuchen

When I tell people that I’ve been cooking for 10 years it’s shocking. I was 12 when I was shown how to make an apple pie with crumb topping by my Grandmother. At 13 I took Home Economics, by 15 I won my first pie-baking contest with a Chocolate Banana Pie.

Today everyone knows me as a cake baker. For my boyfriend’s 26^th birthday I made a large Carolina Panther’s cake and every year I feel I need to out do my previous cake. What I felt I needed to accomplish was creating my two favorite baking activities in one single serving.

Apple Upside Down Cake

2 Tablespoons Flour

2 Tablespoons Sugar

1/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda

Pinch of Nutmeg

Pinch of Cinnamon

Pinch of Salt

2 Tablespoons Buttermilk

1 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil

1/8 Teaspoon Vanilla

1/2 Cup Granny Smith Apples (about one small apple)

1 Teaspoon Brown Sugar

1 Teaspoon White Sugar

1/2 Teaspoon Lemon Juice

Pinch of Cinnamon

Pinch of Nutmeg

Mix dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt in one bowl. Mix wet ingredients in another bowl: buttermilk, vegetable oil, and vanilla. Combine the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and set aside.

Cut apples in to a thin slice and toss to coat with brown sugar, white sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon and nutmeg. In a small sprayed ovenproof dish (I used my small soup bowl from the brownie recipe) place the apples in a flat layer. This layer doesn’t have to be a single one just as long as not apple pieces are sticking up. Then cover with cake batter to make sure all the apples are covered. Place in a preheated 350° oven for 25-30 minutes until the top is golden brown and when a toothpick is inserted it comes out clean.

Let cool on a rack for 10 to 15 minutes. Turn upside down on to dish and dust with powder sugar or drizzle with caramel sauce.