Name: Upside-down maple and apple cake
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 h 20 min
Yield: Serves 8
Ingredients: 50g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing; 75ml maple syrup; 30g light soft brown sugar; Pinch of flaky sea salt; 4 firm eating apples, such as Cox (about 600g), peeled, cored and each cut into 8 wedges; 175g unsalted butter, softened; 125g light soft brown sugar; 50ml maple syrup; 3 large eggs; 200g self-raising flour; ½ tsp baking powder; 1 tsp ground cinnamon; 3 tbsp whole milk; 2 tbsp maple syrup; Crème fraîche or custard; 23cm round cake tin, at least 5cm deep (not loose-bottomed)

Upside-down maple and apple cake

This maple apple upside-down cake recipe bakes British eating apples in a sticky maple caramel beneath a soft cinnamon sponge, just right for Apple Day.

Vegetarian

Serves8

Hands-on30 min

Oven50 min

DifficultyEasy

When the tin is flipped and lifted away, the apple wedges sit glossy and amber in neat rings, their edges caught dark where the maple butter bubbled against the base. It is a cake for the weeks when the orchards are heavy and Cox apples are back in the shops.

Why it’s so good: The fruit softens in the syrup but keeps its shape, and its juices seep into the crumb just below, so every slice is part pudding, part teatime cake.

Make it easy: Leave the apples unpeeled for extra colour and a few minutes less prep.

Method

Heat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas 4. Grease the sides of the 23cm cake tin with a little butter and line the base with baking paper.

For the topping, put the 50g butter, 75ml maple syrup and 30g sugar in a small pan over a medium heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves, then bubble for 2-3 minutes until slightly thickened and glossy. Stir in the salt and pour into the lined tin, tilting it to cover the base.

Arrange the apple wedges tightly over the maple caramel in overlapping rings, rounded sides down, working from the outside in. Pack them close, as they shrink a little in the oven.

For the sponge, beat the softened butter and 125g sugar with an electric hand whisk for 3-4 minutes until pale and fluffy. Beat in the 50ml maple syrup, then add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each and adding a spoonful of the flour with the last egg if the mixture starts to curdle.

Sift in the remaining flour, the baking powder and cinnamon, add the milk and fold together with a large metal spoon until just combined. Spoon the mixture over the apples and gently spread it level, taking care not to move the fruit.

Bake for 45-50 minutes until risen and deep golden, and a skewer pushed into the centre comes out clean. If the top is browning too quickly after 35 minutes, cover loosely with foil.

Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edge. Put a large serving plate over the tin and, holding both firmly, turn it over. Lift off the tin and peel away the paper, pressing back any apple that has stuck.

Brush the warm apples with the 2 tbsp maple syrup to glaze. Serve warm, in slices, with crème fraîche or custard.

Per serving (Serves 8)

Calories

495kcals

Fat

25g (15g saturated)

Protein

5.3g

Carbohydrates

62g (43g sugars)

Fibre

2.0g

Salt

0.4g

Quick wins, tips & make ahead

Choose a firm British eating apple that holds its shape, such as Cox or Egremont Russet. Bramleys collapse to a purée in the oven and will not give neat rings.

The cake is at its freshest on the day it is made but keeps, covered, at cool room temperature for up to 2 days. Warm slices in a low oven for 10 minutes before serving to loosen the glaze.

For a change, swap half the apples for firm Conference pears, or use 1 tsp ground ginger in place of the cinnamon.