The best part of fall in England is the amazing variety of crisp and fresh apples. Apple pie, apple crumble, apple turnovers, apple cider, applesauce, apple butter, caramel apples, apple cake, and the list goes on. With maybe the exception of the caramel apples, I'm pretty sure I would add a little or a lot of cinnamon to each of these things. Cinnamon is hands down my absolute favorite spice - I sprinkle it on anything I can. As a self-professed cinnamon addict I decided my next apple experience would not include the stuff.
Enter, nutmeg.
My favorite cookbook of the moment - has been since June - didn't let me down. An upside-down apple cake cooked in an iron skillet and made with apple butter and topped with caramel-soaked apples. And no cinnamon.
The recipe even begins, "we decided not to resort to the overused combination of apples and cinnamon and opted instead for nutmeg and vanilla". This recipe, from the Big Sur Bakery, is multi-step, so read through before getting started. Here it goes...
APPLE UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE
For the Apple Butter:
- 1 vanilla bean
- 6 apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- juice of 1 lemon wedge
- 1/4 c apple juice
- 2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/4 c sugar
Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and preheat to 350F.
For the Caramel Apples:
- 1/4 c unsalted butter, room temp
- 1 1/4 c sugar
- 5 apples, peeled, cored, and each cut into 8 wedges
For the Cake:
- 1/2 c unsalted butter, room temp
- 1 c dark brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 cup of apple butter
- 1 3/4 c all-purpose flour
Using a pair of kitchen towels or mitts, invert the cake onto a plate that is slightly larger than the skillet. Do this assertively. Slowly lift off the skillet. If any apples stick to the skillet, remove them gently with a spatula and place back on cake. Let cake sit for 20 min before serving.
Hot damn! The girl can cook. Perfect served warm with a bit of unsweetened whipped cream.
That just looks amazing!
Posted by: Mardi @eatlivetravelwrite | Monday, October 26, 2009 at 07:12 PM
No cinnamon?! A shame. :) This looks like an apple tatin cake we made recently. It's so good to see warm apples in any dessert.
Posted by: The Duo Dishes | Monday, October 26, 2009 at 07:54 PM
The Duo Dishes - Don't worry. I've got another apple recipe on deck with cinnamon in the batter and a cinnamon-sugar topping. Warm apples in a dessert is only second to biting into a fresh apple right off the tree.
Posted by: gastroanthropologist | Monday, October 26, 2009 at 08:10 PM
Hot damn is right, that just looks spectacular and is crying out to be eaten right now! What a treat.
Posted by: OysterCulture | Monday, October 26, 2009 at 09:09 PM
Oh! Apple up-side down cake? Looks fabulous...and of course with ice cream...I am totally in heaven :-)
Posted by: Juliana | Monday, October 26, 2009 at 10:08 PM
Mmm.. this apple cakes looks perfect, so nice with nutmeg. I like cinnamon, but I like nutmeg even better!
Posted by: Natasha - 5 Star Foodie | Tuesday, October 27, 2009 at 01:08 AM
Cinnamon? What cinnamon? This looks perfectly perfect. I think I've committed all the apples we picked from our tree but it's a great reason to go out and buy more!
Posted by: Tangled Noodle | Tuesday, October 27, 2009 at 03:21 AM
Oooh .... that came about beautifully. I love upside down cakes, made a plum upside down cake last month. With the markets abounding with apples lately, this would be divine.
Posted by: Maria | Tuesday, October 27, 2009 at 03:30 PM
I love apple and this upside down cake is my kind of cake ;)
Posted by: mycookinghut | Tuesday, October 27, 2009 at 08:52 PM
Beautiful tarte tatin! It's my favorite dessert to have.
Posted by: elra | Tuesday, October 27, 2009 at 10:44 PM
Apple desserts, how I love thee, apple upside-down cake most especially, with or without cinnamon.
I must say, though, that much as I adore cinnamon, the first spice I think of when I think of apples is/are cloves. That probably has a lot to do with growing up in a household where we always had an apple tree - apple tarts & crumbles were a regular feature and whole or ground cloves were always added. Things like that have a way of staying with you.
Posted by: Daily Spud | Sunday, November 01, 2009 at 12:31 AM
I love apple desserts!!
Your tarte tatin looks fab!!
MMMMMMMMM,...just lovely!!!
Posted by: Sophie | Sunday, November 01, 2009 at 12:08 PM
This looks fabulous! I so love apple desserts, especially apple cake. I'm bookmarking this one. Yum.
Posted by: Darina | Monday, November 02, 2009 at 12:55 AM
This looks so good. Think I'll have to try this.
On cinnamon... Have you tried the Vietnamese Cinnamon from Penzey's? OMG it's so good - really strong, hot/spicy.
Cheers!
Posted by: Native Food & Wine | Wednesday, November 11, 2009 at 09:53 PM
OH this recipe will definitely kill my diet but I have to try it anyway! Thanks!
Posted by: Sam | Friday, May 25, 2012 at 09:08 PM