Fall is coming! Fall is coming! Now is time to break out our sweater and enjoy cinnamon and more cinnamon. How, you may be asking? Well, we have this new dessert that combines our favorite elements of fall, besides the sweaters: cinnamon, apples and desserts. When we combined the three elements, we have, Upside Down Apple Cinnamon Swirl Cake.
Upside Down Apple Cinnamon Swirl Cake was created because of our love of apple pies, cinnamon bun and fall. We have to celebrate the incoming fall season in style. This cake is perfect for an easy dessert, or a small celebration amongst loved ones. Topped with a delicious cream cheese whipped cream frosting. There’s nothing else you’ll need to enjoy the fall season, until you get your next pumpkin spice anything.
It Starts With The Apples
Creating this gorgeous Upside Down Apple Cinnamon Swirl Cake starts with picking the perfect apple for you. You can choose from an array of delicious and juicy apples of your own preference. Some apples like Granny Smith or Crispin lean toward a more sour and a tart taste; for sweeter apples Fuji or Gala apples are your best bet; to create a nice, natural juicy glaze, Mcintosh or Honey crisp apples are perfect.
Whichever apple you choose, the method remains, core and slice. After, just add cinnamon and brown sugar, set aside and complete the rest of the cake.
Inspirations
When creating desserts, what aspect to always consider is, what and why? We of course and to enjoy a delicious dessert, but what kind, and why that type. We just wanted a cake. Ok, what next. We want a cake that contains fruit, but not too much. We also wanted a cake that was simple to make, but complex in flavor and texture. Cinnamon was a must! What is fall without it, plus we love cinnamon rolls, so why not add a cinnamon swirl. Cinnamon rolls wouldn’t be cinnamon rolls without a delicious frosting, especially one with cream cheese. Packing all these ideas together, we got Upside Down Apple Cinnamon Swirl Cake. An upside cake, the resembles homemade perfection of our youth. Made with and for family and celebrations, small and big.
How To… Cake
This is a cake that allows you to play around with it, to your own preference. That’s how and why it was created. Even keeping the cake as an upside down cake after baking is optional. The cream cheese whipped cream frosting adds a light sweetness to the apples, so adding the frosting to the apples, instead of the swirl of the cake can be a better option.
Place the apples into a bowl, with brown sugar and cinnamon. Set aside, while you make the cake batter. The cinnamon and sugar will help the apple not rot, or preserve longer, while making the batter, along with also making a small amount of juice. We’re going to you it all for this cake.
Making the batter is routine. Cream the butter and brown sugar. This is the most important part of this batter.
Upside Down Apple Cinnamon Swirl Cake
Equipment
- 9" square baking pan
Ingredients
Apples
- 2 apples skinned and sliced, granny smith, gala, honey crisp, etc.
- 50 g brown sugar
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
Cake
- 250 g AP Flour
- 1 ½ tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- ½ tsp. salt
- 113 g unsalted butter softened
- 220 g brown sugar packed
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp. maple extract optional
- 1 cup milk room temp.
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Cinnamon Swirl
- 35 g brown sugar
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp butter melted
Cream Cheese Whipped Cream Frosting
- 10 oz. cream cheese cold
- ¾ cup heavy cream cold
- 100 g powdered sugar
Instructions
Apples
- Prepare a medium bowl. Skin, core and slice (or chop) your preferred apples. Place in bowl, with cinnamon and brown sugar. Lightly mix well, and set aside.
- In another mixing bowl, cream your butter and sugar.
Cinnamon Swirl Cake
- After, add salt, cinnamon, maple extract and vanilla extract. Mix well in.
- Next, add half of your flour, along with your baking soda and baking powder. Mix well in, then add your eggs, one at a time, mixing between each addition.
- Add your second batch of flour. Mix until smoothed.
- Add your milk, slowly. Carefully mix you batter. Set aside, while making you cinnamon swirl.
- Melt your 1 tablespoon butter. After your butter is melted, add your cinnamon and brown sugar. Mix very well to remove any lumps.
Preparing Cake to Bake
- Preheat oven to 350℉.
- Prepare a 9-inch square pan, with grease and parchment. Spread your sliced apples onto the surface of the lined pan, as flat and even as possible.
- Once apples are at bottom of lined pan, pour your batter evenly over the apples.
- Place dollops of the cinnamon swirl mix at different areas of the batter. Using a butter knife, skewer or chop stick, swirl the batter around to create a knife cinnamon swirl effect.
- Once done, place in oven and bake for at least 30 minutes, or until cake comes out clean with a toothpick.
- Remove from oven and let cool for at least an hour.
Cream Cheese Whipped Cream Frosting
- In a mixing bowl, cream your cream cheese with a whisk. Cream very well, as the cream cheese will be cold, and may be lumpy while mixing.
- Once creamed, add the heavy cream. Start mixing slowly, then increase the speed.
- Once the whipped cream cheese has reached soft peaks, slowly add your sugar, mixing in-between. Mix well until it reaches stiff peak and stable. Make sure not to overmix.
Assembling Final Cake
- Remove cake from baking pan, place on a platter, cake board, plate or anything similar.
- Choose if you would like the cake swirl side up, or apple side up.
- Dollop your stiff peak frosting over your cake with a spatula. Spread evenly.
- Optional: Place in refrigerator or 30 minutes for cake and icing to meld well together.
- Slice, serve and enjoy!
Nutrition
Falling In Love With Apples
Our love for apples and general creativity allowed for this delicious dessert. Upside Down Apple Cinnamon Swirl Cake, which in-itself is a mouthful of a name is a gorgeous, seasonal dessert, that is not too sweet, but sweet enough, while highlighting, apples, cinnamon and all of our fall favorite flavors. The mixture of cinnamon and brown sugar alone is a win. So this fall, pick up your favorite seasonal apples and indulge in this delightful dessert. Your personality will soon come out from just the choice of apple. While it may have a few steps, it’s a breeze to create, and consume.
