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
This is delicious–perfectly spiced and moist! I made it in a 10 inch cast iron skillet, and it gave me no trouble at all coming out of the pan after 15 minutes of cooling. I will definitely make this again, with no changes!
Oh my goodness this cake recipe is so good and easy to follow and it tastes amazing!!
Hi Sally,
I am temporarily in a location without a mixer — but we have lots of apples. Would melting the butter work for easier mixing.
Hi Lisa, we don’t recommend it. Using creamed butter and sugar is key for this cake’s texture. You can certainly try creaming by hand—it will just take a bit of arm muscle!
Could I make smaller caramel apple upside down cakes in a muffin tin? I don’t want apple muffins, but mini versions of this exact recipe.
Hi Amanda, we haven’t tested anything, but that should work. Bake time will likely be a bit shorter. Let us know what you try!
Great recipe. Followed it exactly. Awesome cake. Perfect for a fall recipe.
I made this cake this morning. It released from my pan with no issue.
However, here are a two things I would change with this recipe:
1) Too sweet. I will either use 1/4 cup of both sugars, or I only use the brown sugar, 1/2 cup, per the recipe.
2) Adjust cooking time to 35-38 minutes, per my oven.
I will make this again!
Hi Sally,
I want to provide an update my review above regarding the caramel apple upside down cake. I said that it was too sweet. However, as it cooled down, the taste was fantastic! The sweetness became balanced. It was so good that my husband bragged about it to his mother. Oh, and we devoured it in two days. Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe.
Can I use box cake mix instead?
Hi Anthony, we haven’t tested this cake with a box mix so aren’t sure what to recommend, but let us know how it goes if you try it.
Maybe I’ll just stick to the recipe and not be lazy for my first go.
I love to make my pineapple upside down cakes in cast iron. Will this bake the same in a cast iron as well?
Hi Eren, A cast iron skillet should be great. We recommend at least a 10 inch size. Hope you enjoy it!
I made mine in a cast iron and it was perfect!
Hi would this work with diced apples in a muffin pan?
Hi Shelby, if you’re looking for a recipe with diced apples, we’d recommend these apple muffins instead! You could always top with salted caramel for the same flavors from this cake.
I’m not a baker and it turned out beautifully! I used a silicone 9 inch cake pan and it came right out! Took only 35 mins in the oven. Would attach a picture if I could!
I’m gluten free and the flour I use doesn’t make a good cake – so I used my favourite gf golden cake mix, added the cinnamon and nutmeg to it, and made the topping as the recipe indicates. It turned out incredible!!
Oh No. I made this on Sunday to serve on Tuesday. I didn’t turn it over yet. I think if I refrigerate it once cooled and invert it later it’ll be fine. My apples (grannys) were on the dry side so it isn’t swimming. I also mandolined my apples to a 1/8 inch and added toasted pecans. I’ll let ya know if you want to know.
I’d really like to know how that worked out! I prefer to make things in advance as well.
Yes..it looked exactly like the video when assembling, except when I released it from pan. It was very dark. It took a hour and 20 minutes. It looks dark, almost burnt, but tastes good.
This was so good. I used an 8×8 and had to bake for around 1hr10min but again… SO GOOD!
Honestly, such a nice recipe. Never made an upside down cake and was a bit unsure but it turned out so perfect.
I made this cake, using my convection oven, which I always use without issue when baking. The cake took well over an hour. At 45 minutes, it was soupy! The only thing I can think of is with the dense base layer, it messed up the airflow somehow. Sally, have you ever had an issue with convection in cooking something like this. Any ideas? I am happy to report, once it finally WAS cooked, it turned out beautifully, and just as delicious as promised!
Hi Linda, We are glad you enjoyed the cake when it was finished! Your oven settings could certainly have been the issue with your bake time. We always recommend conventional settings for baking (not convection/fan). The flow of air from convection heat can cause baked goods to rise and bake unevenly and it also pulls moisture out of the oven.
Thank you Stephanie. I learned something new today! No more convection settings. I can’t wait to make it again, as this is truly a ‘keeper’ recipe!!
Would I be able to double the recipe and bake in a 13×9 pan?
Hi Lyndsey, We have not tested this cake as a sheet cake, but you can try doubling it and baking in a 9×13 inch pan. We are unsure of the bake time needed but let us know if you give it a try!
hi could I leave this at room temperature for 1 day? I want to make for Thanksgiving but I don’t usually have a lot of space in the fridge. thanks!
Hi T! This isn’t the best cake to make ahead of time 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. Hope this helps!
thanks but just to clarify, could i leave this at room tempurture for a day?
The cake just cooled and I had a bite. I highly recommend this cake with some vanilla bean ice cream!
The cake is delicious but it totally fell apart when I tried to get it out of the pan. I followed the directions exactly. Any ideas?
Same! I let it cool on wired rack and then after 15 min, I inverted (I was using a springform cake pan). I noticed immediately part of it sunk in so I just removed the base and then kept the springform back on to keep it together. A few hours later, I removed that and it was still a bit sunken in.
If made in a 6” cake pan would there be enough batter for two 6” cakes?
Hi Kelley! We haven’t tested it, but it should work. The cakes may be a little thinner.
Does it matter if the cake is baked on the middle or lowere oven rack?
Will it make a difference in baking time or overcooking as the lower rack is always the hottest?
Hi Carol, we usually recommend baking in the lower third of the oven, but you know your oven best! Somewhere around the middle is usually good.
Hi I am wondering about adding some diced apple into the cake as I really like a packed apple cake with a lot of moisture. Do you think this would work in this cake? Thanks
Hi Wendy! Since this cake is already on the denser side, we’re unsure if adding more apples would work here or if it would simply be too much moisture. If you’re looking for an alternative, you might enjoy this apple cake instead.
The perfect fall dessert! It turned out delicious.
Delicious and very appropriate to the season. I served it to family with salted caramel ice cream, a dab of whipped cream and toasted pecan pralines for a special touch. Everyone raved about it.
OMG! I am not very into apple desserts, but since it’s fall, I decided to give it a shot. Absolutely fantastic. I didn’t make any substitutions.
I will note, I chaos baked and had to force everything to room temp. Baked for 40 minutes and covered with kitchen towel the 15 minutes it rested. Perfection. Served it with vanilla ice cream and it was a hit.
Thank you!
I just made this without any substitutions. Came out perfect. It is out of this world good!
Can I swap the apples for peaches?
Hi River! We haven’t tested it but you could. You may also want to consider using the recipe for Pineapple Upside Down Cake and use peaches instead of pineapples and cherries. Slice the peaches thin and blot dry as you do with the pineapple. Here are even more peach recipes to try!
Can i use 1/2 cup of oil instead of butter?
Hi Malak, butter is key to this cake’s intended taste and texture, so we don’t recommend swapping it. If needed, you could try swapping with solid coconut oil, as you’ll need a solid to cream together with the sugars. Hope you enjoy!
Can I make this is in a bundt cake pan?
Hi Karissa, 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!
Do you think I could dice the apples and make cupcakes with this recipe?
Hi Amber, here is our apple cupcakes recipe instead!