This caramel apple upside down cake is a fall must-make. Combining a soft cinnamon-spiced cake with buttery caramelized apples, we’re essentially getting two desserts in one. After inverting, the topping’s juices seep down into the cake and add unbeatable flavor and moisture. What you’ll love most, besides the flavors, is that there’s no fancy decoration required—the lovely garnish is literally baked into the cake!
I originally published this recipe in 2013 and have since added new photos, a video tutorial, and more success tips. I’ve also made a few small changes to the recipe which are reflected in the printable recipe below.
One of the first dessert recipes I published was caramel apple upside down cake. It’s a forever favorite and totally deserving of that early spot in my archives. I bake this recipe at least once every fall season and have made a couple minor updates to the recipe over the years. The cake is better than ever. I figured you’d appreciate seeing what I’ve done!
One reader, Hannah, commented: “This was so easy! I love that it only used two apples but made such an impressive dessert and really infused the cake with their flavor. A hit for my family 🙂 ★★★★★”
One reader, Kathy, commented: “This cake is easy and absolutely delicious! I’ve made it 4 or 5 times now, and I’m thinking of making another right now! Definitely becoming my go-to dessert recipe! ★★★★★”
One reader, Sasha, commented: “This recipe is SO GOOD! It will absolutely be a fall classic for years to come. Thanks for this recipe! I followed it as is and it came out perfect. ★★★★★”
This Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake Is:
- Melt-in-your-mouth soft & moist, like this apple cake but remixed a bit!
- Extra flavorful like my beloved apple cinnamon bread
- Easy—no crazy ingredients or techniques required
- Perfectly sized for a small family or gathering
- The best destination for your freshly picked apples 😉
Try it at least once. I guarantee it will be a repeat recipe in your kitchen. And if you are looking for even more inspiration, here is a list of 30+ fall cake recipes.
Apple Upside Down Cake Topping
The topping is baked underneath the cake. After the cake slightly cools we’ll invert it onto a serving plate, the same way we flip pear tarte tatin before serving. The caramel flavor comes from the butter and brown sugar. Combined with vanilla and apples, the topping alone makes this a recipe worth repeating. It’s downright GOOD.
I know you’ll appreciate this: I mention this above, but it’s worth repeating. Apple upside down cake is basically already frosted—once you invert the cake, the garnish is already there! Use apple slices, not chunks, just like I recommend for apple cobbler.
A few preliminary notes on the topping:
- The topping in my original recipe had a little too much butter. I also reduced the cinnamon and put more in the cake itself.
- Melt the butter and brown sugar together on the stove, then cook for 1 minute. The mixture will slightly thicken and take on a caramel-like flavor that intensifies as the cake bakes. Not a lot of recipes do this, but it makes a big flavor difference. In my pineapple upside down cake recipe, we simply add melted butter to the cake pan and sprinkle the brown sugar on top. As a result, you don’t really get the same caramel flavor. Perfectly fine for that recipe, but why not take an extra minute here?
- Arrange the apple slices on top of the butter/brown sugar mixture. Try to squeeze as many apple slices in the pan as you can. No one has ever complained about extra caramel-y apples!
Let’s Make the Cake Batter
The cake batter is pretty straightforward and similar to the original recipe. Like most cakes, the base is creamed butter and sugar. Regular sugar lightens up the crumb, while brown sugar adds flavor. We use both in this cake. The cake is super soft and cinnamon-spiced—similar in taste and texture to apple cupcakes.
The batter differs from my pineapple upside down cake. Pineapple rings are heavier than apple slices, so we use cake flour, egg whites, and sour cream in that recipe to help keep the crumb light. Here we can use whole eggs and all-purpose flour.
Two Baking Tips:
- You can bake this cake in a cake pan or pie dish, but make sure it’s at least 2 inches deep. I recommend this pie dish, which is 1.8 inches deep but I never have an overflow issue.
- Because of the wet bottom layer (which is the topping), the cake takes much longer than a typical 1 layer cake. Its juices will bubble up the sides, creating these incredible caramelized edges. (See the edges below? They’re so good!) With upside down cakes, it’s always good practice to place a baking pan or sheet on a lower rack to catch any juices should they splatter over the edges.
Expect a Dense Cake
I’ve made hundreds of upside down cakes, or so it seems, and I say with 100% certainty that this style of cake will always be on the denser side. (Unless you are using store-bought cake mix.) The cake is served upside down. The weight of the topping, which is the bottom of the cake as it bakes, weighs down the crumb beneath it. Upside down cake will never be as light and airy as white cake. If you were to make this exact cake batter and serve it right-side-up, the cake would taste much airier. Does that make sense?
While this apple upside down cake is mega soft and not nearly as dense as, say, pound cake, it’s not overly light either. I know you’ll love its unique texture, especially paired with the caramel apple topping. Let me know how you like it!
Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
- Yield: serves 8-10
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This stunning apple upside down cake combines a soft cinnamon-spiced cake with a delicious buttery caramel topping. Pack those apples into the pan—this cake can hold a lot and you won’t regret those extra slices!
Ingredients
Topping
- 6 Tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 medium apples, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch slices (1.5–2 cups, or 188–250g, apple slices)*
Cake
- 1 and 1/2 cups (188g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 6 Tablespoons (90ml) whole milk, at room temperature*
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C).
- Prepare topping first: Combine butter and brown sugar together in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk occasionally until butter has melted. Cook, whisking constantly, for 1 minute as mixture thickens. Remove from heat and whisk in the cinnamon and vanilla extract. Pour into an ungreased 9×2 inch pie dish or round cake pan. (Make sure the pan is 2 inches deep. I recommend this pie dish, which is 1.8 inches deep but I never have an overflow issue.) Arrange the apple slices neatly on top, overlapping where necessary. See photo above. Place pan in the refrigerator for a few minutes as you prepare the cake batter. This helps solidify or “set” the topping’s arrangement.
- Make the cake batter: Whisk the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt together. Set aside.
- Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Add both sugars and beat on high speed until creamed together, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. On high speed, beat in the eggs and vanilla extract until combined. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Turn the mixer onto low speed and as the mixer runs, slowly pour in the milk. Beat on low speed just until all of the ingredients are combined. Do not over-mix. You may need to whisk it all by hand to make sure there are no lumps at the bottom of the bowl. The batter will be slightly thick.
- Remove topping from the refrigerator. Pour and spread cake batter evenly over topping.
- Bake for 40–46 minutes, tenting foil on top of the cake halfway through bake time to prevent the top from over-browning before the center has a chance to fully cook. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out mostly clean—a couple moist crumbs are OK. Don’t be alarmed if your cake takes longer or if the cake rises up and sticks to the foil. (We serve the cake upside down anyway!)
- Remove cake from the oven and cool on a wire rack for just 15 minutes. Invert the slightly cooled cake onto a cake stand or serving plate. Some of the juices from the topping will seep over the sides—that’s ok. You can slice and serve the cake warm, but the slices will be messy. I find it’s best to cool the cake completely at room temperature before slicing and serving. Do not refrigerate the cake to speed up the cooling process because it could end up tasting overly dense.
- Cover leftover slices and store for up to 3 days in the refrigerator or 3 months in the freezer. Thaw at room temperature. I don’t recommend freezing the cake as a whole because the topping arrangement doesn’t thaw very nicely. See make ahead instructions below.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: You can refrigerate the topping in step 2 for up to 1 day. If refrigerating for longer than 1 hour, cover it tightly. Other than that, this isn’t the best cake to make ahead of time or freeze because the apples will settle down into the cake—while still tasty, the presentation won’t be as pleasing. You can, however, prepare the cake batter’s wet ingredients (cover and refrigerate) and dry ingredients (cover at room temperature) separately up to 1 day ahead of time, then continue with the recipe the next day. Let the wet ingredients come to room temperature before mixing.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Saucepan | Whisk | 9-inch Pie Dish | Glass Mixing Bowl | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Cooling Rack
- Old Recipe: The current cake recipe was updated in 2020. If you loved the old cake recipe, originally published in 2012, here it is: increase the topping’s butter to 1/2 cup (1 stick; 115g) and add 1/4 teaspoon each of ground cloves and ground nutmeg when you stir in the cinnamon. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of walnuts on top of the apples before pouring/spreading on the cake batter. In the cake batter, reduce the milk to 1/4 cup (60ml).
- Apples: Use your favorite variety of apple. I typically use Granny Smith, Fuji, or Honeycrisp. Here’s more on the best apples to use for baking.
- Milk: Whole milk is best, but you can use lower fat or nondairy milk if needed.
- Why is everything at room temperature? All refrigerated items should be at room temperature so the batter mixes together easily and evenly. Read more about the importance of room temperature ingredients.
Reader Comments and Reviews
I made this for a family welcoming their new baby. It was as pretty as it was tasty! I didn’t make any adjustments to the recipe. I appreciate that your recipes turn out perfectly every time!
Am I able to make this in a springform pan?
Hi Sara, That should be fine, though you risk the caramel topping seeping through the springform pan.
I used a springform and it DEFINITELY is leaking
Will buttermilk work in place of whole milk?
Hi Rebecca, whole milk is best here, but buttermilk should work just fine in a pinch.
Debated whether to give a 3 or 4 star rating. a three star may be a bit unfair. I have had so much confidence in Sally’s recipes that I have been making them for guests on the first try. This time I was embarrassed by the appearance of the cake which was about 1 1/4” in height. Cake was completely done. The lack of color was not a bother if the flavor was knock your socks off good as I had expected from reviews. Flavor was fine but did not live up to the sales pitch.
Sorry Sally! I have been one of you fans for a long time and hate to post a negative review. But I do appreciate your fans reviews so I felt I must share.
Hello!! I am excited to make this recipe, but I was wondering if I could omit the nutmeg?
Hi Violet, you can leave out the nutmeg if you wish.
I do find it takes wayyyyy longer to bake than it says! So be prepared, it’s not quick to cook. Aslo, ensure you aren’t using a cake tin with a removable bottom as the caramel will leak. Amazing recipe, just take these into account!
Absolutely delicious – it was the first time I made an upside-down cake and it was a hit with everyone who ate it. The only things I would change is more caramel topping and another apple! Also I probably wouldn’t put it in the fridge after it’s cooled – I found the slice I ate before putting it in the fridge was fluffier (whereas the refrigerated slice was denser). I think it would be fine to put in tupperware and placed in a cupboard instead.
You have out done yourself! This is a fabulous recipe. Because cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom are one of my favorite combinations, I did add 1/4 tsp.cardamom to the topping. Also, I used the last of my brown sugar in the topping, so I subbed turbinado sugar in the cake. Those are the only changes that I made. One for preference, the other out of necessity. Thank you for this wonderful recipe.
Does the apple type matter? Should I use granny Smith or something else?
Hi Veronica! Here’s a post about the best apples for baking.
Super super super delicious! I don’t ever leave reviews but if anyone out there is looking to try the best apple upside down cake recipe, this is it! If I paid for a slice of this at a restaurant, I would no doubt order another. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
Delicious and so easy !!
I made this for the first time yesterday and it was amazing – the only thing that I will do different next time is to make a larger one!
We’re so happy to read this, Steve!
This was so easy and one of the most delicious cakes I’ve ever made! I added more cinnamon than the recipe called for and I only had brown sugar which also deepened the flavour and made the colour darker. I’ll be making this often!
I just made this with figs instead of apples because, summer, and it’s so flippin’ good I could die of happiness right now. The crumb is delicate and fragrant with spices and the caramelized figs are just from beyond.
Just made it using plums instead of apples, it was so so good!
The cake came out super soft and fluffy, and most importantly not too sweet.
Thank you so much for the recipe 🙂
“Remove cake from the oven and cool on a wire rack for just 15 minutes. Invert the slightly cooled cake onto a cake stand or serving plate.”
When placing the cake on the wire rack to cool, should I be inverting it out of the pan? Or, should the cake continue to cool whilst in the tin?
Sorry! I’m very new to baking.
Hi Christina, happy to help! Place the cake still in the tin, right side up, on the cooling rack. After 15 minutes, then you will flip the tin upside down over your serving plate and remove the cake from the tin.
Made without eggs- substituted 2 eggs with 1/2 cup of applesauce and its honestly even better without eggs! I also made it with margarine (I know, I know, but my daughter has a dairy allergy) and subbed oatmilk – still absolutely amazing!
Hi Sally,
I love upside down cakes. I’ve made peach and blueberry, as well as the traditional pineapple. I can’t wait to try this one. Could it be made in 10” cast iron skillet?
Hi Diane, yes, sure can!
That’s how I made one of mine.
I made this recipe once and the cake was devoured within a day! I was wondering what you think of making it in a heart shaped pan. I appreciate your advice.
Hi Michelle, we’re so glad it was a hit! We haven’t tested it in a heart-shaped pan, but as long as the volume is similar, that shouldn’t be a problem. Let us know how it goes!
Can this cake be made in a 12 inch lodge cast iron dutch oven at a campsite? Have dessert cook off soon just checking to see if it could work.
Thanks
Hi Tim, we haven’t tested it so we can’t be sure. Let us know if you do decide to try it.
Well it took close to an extra 20 minutes to cook! And I use a digital scale for all my baking. So that was a bit disappointing! I use so many of your recipes and rarely have issues like that. However, it was a huge hit with my guests and there is only one slice left, I think my husband is eyeing it!! Thanks Sally
I loved this recipe so much, I subbed the additional half cup of flour and the milk for a cup of my sourdough discard and used a couple more apples and it was wonderful! Thank you for the recipe!
Hi Sally-Sending a heartfelt thank you for this recipe. It was the hit of our Christmas dinner with some homemade vanilla whipped cream. The caramely, apple goodness over the cinnamony cake. We were full from dinner and started with small servings but everyone went back for seconds. Cheers from Seattle!
Yummy. Especially the crispy caramel edges. So easy but great flavour
Made exactly as written although I forgot to tent it. That was fine. The flavors were great, and the cake a hit. The only issue is that the sides of the cake stuck to the side of my glass pie plate. I understand not to grease the bottom of the pan, but when I make this again, I will grease the sides of the pie dish.
Update: My husband loves this cake so made it again. I lightly buttered the top of the pie dish, just above the cake fill. This solved the sticking problem , as the cake came out of pan perfectly!
Great recipe. I made it in 2023 for Thanksgiving and it was a hit. This year for Thanksgiving, I made it GF so my wife could enjoy it (King Arthur 1 for 1) and it was equally fantastic! Nobody knew it was GF until I told them. Sadly, I only got half a bite! It vanished quickly.
This was an awesome recipe, came out just as described. Thank you for the excellent directions!
Have you tried this as cupcakes? Thought of an apple slice or 2 on the bottom of each cup, with batter on top. A 9 inch round recipe usually makes about 12 cupcakes.
Hi Anthony, these should work well as cupcakes, but we’re unsure of the exact bake time so keep a close eye on them and use a toothpick to test for doneness.
Do we tent foil the cake the first half, the second half, or the complete 40-46 minutes?
Hi Karla, Add the foil at 20 minutes.
I want to make this for thanksgiving but plan on baking it in my pyrex and not being able to invert to serve for about 1.5-2 hours. Do you think that will be ok as it cools in the dish?
Hi Kathleen! We would invert the cake as instructed, after 15 minutes. The cake can sit at room temperature, or be transported, once inverted. If you wait too long the cake could stick.
I’m trying to recreate a recipe I made a few years ago. Would this cake recipe work with a bundt cake pan perhaps? Thanks!
Hi Nellie, a Bundt pan could work, but arranging the apples may be tricky. We’re unsure of the best bake time. Let us know if you try anything!
Would it be easier to turn the cake out if I line the pan with parchment paper
Hi Joanne! We don’t recommend lining the pan.
This recipe was one I followed to the letter, it turned out beautiful… Apart from the fact the top with my apples came off the cake when I turned it out on to the plate!
I reread the recipe multiple times and saw you mentioned putting the caramel topping in an UNGREASED pie dish or cake pan, would that have effected the results of my bake?
Maybe next time I might grease up my dish to try and avoid the top from coming away!
Still, very good recipe and still a very tasty cake!
Hi Kai! Yes, the pan should be not greased. If the cake stuck to the pan, it sounds like it may have been slightly over baked. An easy fix for next time! Try decreasing the bake time just a bit. Use a toothpick to test for doneness – a mostly clean toothpick means the cake is ready. You can also run a knife along the edges of the pan before inverting – that should help loosen it up a bit. Thank you again for giving this one a go!