I was trying to think what cake I should make my Dad to celebrate his birthday. I was toying with the idea of using the beautiful little daisy mandarins but decided on a moist, autumnal upside down cake using Batlow apples. I always worry when I make a cake from my own made up recipe but this turned out perfectly!!! The apple through the cake makes it lovely and moist and almond meal adds texture and gives it a large crumb. I used a little brown sugar for complexity and cinnamon and vanilla for extra flavour. For the topping, I sliced the apples crossways to show off that lovely star shape in the middle of the apple, and coated the slices with a honey butter mixture that was lovely and fragrant. I would highly commend this recipe to you. I’m pretty sure it got Dad’s approval. I think leftovers would be lovely just warmed through and served with a little custard or ice-cream.
Apple upside down cake
Topping
| 1 | tablespoon | butter |
| 1 | tablespoon | honey |
| 2 | pinches | cinnamon |
| 1 | apple |
For the cake
| 250 | grams | butter |
| 1/2 | cup | brown sugar |
| 1 | caster sugar | |
| 1/2 | teaspoon | vanilla paste |
| 1/2 | teaspoon | cinnamon |
| 4 | free range eggs | |
| 2 | apples, peeled and grated | |
| 1 | cup | almond meal |
| 2 | cups | self raising flour |
For the topping, melt the honey and butter with the cinnamon. Peel the apple and slice it horizontally, so you have stars in the middle of the slices. Coat the slices with the honey mixture.
Grease and line a 23cm cake tin. Choose the best looking apple slice and place it in the middle of the tin. Fan the remaining slices around it. Pour over the honey mixture and set the tin aside.
Preheat the oven to 170oC.
A slice of moist apple upside down cake
To make the cake cream the butter and sugars together till pale and fluffy. Beat in the cinnamon and vanilla. Crack in an egg and beat till combined. Repeat with the remaining eggs. Add the apple and almond meal, then fold through the flour. Pour the batter into the tin and bake for about 45 minutes, or till a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the tin before inverting onto a serving plate.
Serve warm or at room temperature with whipped cream or custard.
Susan's Sumptuous Suppers 
I’m from the States… could you describe a Batlow apple so that I can find an equivalent in what we have in the market? Thanks!
Hi Sharon!
Batlow is a place, a town in Australia where they grow lots of apples, not a type of apple. Sorry for any confusion. It’s what Batlow’s famous for, if you know what I mean.
The apples I had were not too sweet and not too tart, but somewhere in the middle. Any time I’ve seen someone write about apple varieties in the States, they’ve all been strange to me, so I think that will likely be the best advise to give. I wouldn’t choose one that really falls apart when you cook it though, you might not get such a pretty effect on top.
Is that helpful?
Cheers
Susan