UPSIDE-DOWN APPLE CAKE
SERVES 8-10 PREP 30 MINS COOK 55 MINS
• 200g unsalted butter, chopped, at room temperature
• ¾ cup brown sugar,
firmly packed
• 2 tsps vanilla bean paste
• 2 tsps finely grated
lemon rind
• 3 free-range eggs, at room
temperature
• ⅓ cup milk
• 1⅔ cups self-raising flour
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon APPLE TOPPING
• 50g unsalted butter, melted • ½ cup brown sugar,
firmly packed
• 2 large Granny Smith apples
(160g each), peeled, cored
1 Grease a 22cm round cake pan. Line base and side with baking paper, extending paper 2cm above pan edge. 2 Beat butter, sugar, vanilla and lemon rind in a small bowl of an electric mixer until fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until combined. Transfer to a large bowl.
3 Stir in milk, then combined sifted flour and cinnamon, in two batches, until combined.
4 To make apple topping, pour butter over base of pan. Sprinkle with sugar. Thinly slice apples. Arrange slices over sugar in base of the pan in a single layer, slightly overlapping.
5 Spoon the cake mixture over the apples. Smooth top. 6 Cook in a moderately slow oven (160°C) for about 50 to 55 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Stand in pan for 20 minutes. Invert onto a serving plate. Cool to room temperature.
7 Serve cake with double cream, if desired.