Upside Down Apple Cake

·         Butter 9 inch cake pan with 2 inch sides. Heat oven to 350. This recipe is from Cooks Illustrated

TOPPING
4 Granny Smith or Golden Delicious apples cored and peeled
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 T lemon juice
1/2 stick butter(4 T)

Cut up 2 apples into 1/2 inch slices and 2 into 1/4 inch slices.  Heat butter in skillet over med-high heat. When foaming subsides, add the 1/2 inch slices and cook until they begin to caramelize about 4-6 minutes. Then add the rest of the slices, brown sugar and the lemon juice. Looks inviting. When the sugar is dissolved and apples coated about a minute later, pour this into the cake pan and spread it evenly.

CAKE
1 cup Flour
1 T cornmeal
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup sour cream
6 T butter, melted and slightly cooled

Mix the flour, corn meal, baking powder and salt in one bowl. In the other, whisk the eggs and sugars until well blended. Then add butter and whisk it together, then the sour cream and vanilla. Add the dry mixture to this and whisk until combined. Spread the batter over the apple mixture in the pan. I found putting dollops of it in the pan and then gently spreading it worked the best.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until cake is done. Cool it for 30 minutes then use a knife to loosen edges from pan. Take a wire rack and hold it firmly over the pan and turn it upside down onto the rack. Put a plate underneath to catch the drippings. Instead, you can turn the cake onto a plate and not use the wire rack. Then let it cool as much as you like, transfer to a serving tray, cut and serve. Enjoy!