Caramel Apple Upside-Down Cake

There's something very Betty Draper about an Upside-Down Cake, don't you think?  I've got some cookbooks from the 1950's and upside-down cakes feature quite a lot.  They're right up there on the list of "how to impress your guests" along with salmon in aspic, oysters Rockefeller and baked ham with pineapple rings and maraschino cherries toothpicked all over.  I can imagine an Upside-Down cake might be something Betty would offer the Ladies if she was having them over for afternoon coffee... and cigarettes.  After the Ladies left, she'd kick off her slingbacks, pour herself a gimlet, light another cigarette, berate Sally and have a nap before Dan came home from the office.  In my house, in 2016, everything old is new again.  My kids thought I'd invented the Upside-Down Cake.  I'm good, but I'm not that good.  Now, can someone pour me a gimlet?


Caramel Apple Upside-Down Cake

For the Caramel Apple Topping:
100g unsalted butter
4 apples, peeled, cored and sliced into 1cm thick rounds
1 cup golden caster sugar
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
1/4 teaspoon sea salt flakes

For the Cake:
100g unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup golden caster sugar
4 eggs, separated
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups plain flour, sifted
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch ground nutmeg

Make the Caramel Apple Topping:
Grease and line a 23cm round springform cake pan with baking paper and set aside.

Put the butter in a saucepan and melt over medium heat.  Add the apples and lemon juice and zest.
Reduce the heat to low and gently cook the apples for 2 - 3 minutes.  Add the sugar and salt and cook until the apples have softened.  Remove from the heat and use a slotted spoon to remove the apples and arrange them on the base of the prepared pan.

Return the pan to the heat and boil the contents of the pan until it turns a deep golden caramel.  It should only take 3 - 4 minutes.  Pour the caramel over the apples.

Make the Cake:
Preheat the oven to 180C.

Put the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium-high speed for about 5 minutes until light and fluffy.  Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add the vanilla and mix.  Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour, baking powder and spices.  Mix until just incorporated.

In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form.  Add them to the the batter in two batches.

Spoon the batter over the apples and caramel and bake for 35 - 40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Leave the cake in the pan to cool for 5 mintues before removing the sides and inverting onto a serving plate.  Remove the base and paper to reveal this retro beauty.

Serve warm with cream.