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Brown Butter Apple Upside Down Cake

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A decadent upside-down cake where caramelized apples sit atop a moist brown-butter cake—rich, buttery, and perfectly spiced.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 4 Tbsp (½ stick) unsalted butter
  • ½ cup packed brown sugar
  • 2–3 apples (such as Honeycrisp or Granny Smith), peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
  • 1½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp ground nutmeg (optional)
  • 6 Tbsp unsalted butter (for cake batter), browned and cooled
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract
  • ½ cup buttermilk (or plain yogurt)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). In a 9-inch skillet or round cake pan, melt 4 Tbsp butter over medium heat until nutty brown; remove from heat and sprinkle evenly with brown sugar. Arrange apple slices over sugar in a single layer.
  2. In a bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
  3. To brown butter: melt 6 Tbsp butter in a saucepan over medium heat until golden and aromatic. Pour into a bowl and let cool slightly.
  4. In a mixing bowl, beat browned butter with granulated sugar until well combined. Beat in eggs one at a time, then vanilla.
  5. Add dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with dry, mixing until just combined.
  6. Carefully spoon batter over apples and smooth the top.
  7. Bake 35–40 minutes until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.
  8. Allow cake to cool in pan for 10–15 minutes, then invert onto a serving plate so caramelized apples are on top.
  9. Slice and serve warm or at room temperature, optionally with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Notes

  • Watch the butter while browning—it can go from golden to burnt quickly.
  • Arrange apples neatly—they look beautiful once inverted.
  • Let the cake rest before flipping to avoid breaking.
  • Use tart-sweet apples for best flavor balance.
  • Leftovers store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days; reheat gently.

Nutrition

Find it online: https://ukfinda.com/brown-butter-apple-upside-down-cake/