Every fall our trees are loaded with apples and dad is always looking for excuses to bake with them. Well, he tried three different recipes, and each one turned out with the same problem—they appeared to be cooked, had cooked the proper amount of time as called for by the recipe, the tester came out clean, but when he went to cut into the cake, the inside was gooey. The last time this happened, dad swore like a sailor, threw the whole cake in the sink, and vowed to never attempt an apple upside down cake again. (Ever have days like that?) I don’t know what possessed him to try his hand at it again. Perhaps the intervening year softened the pain of the memory of three failed cakes? Or perhaps he is just easily seduced by cake recipes, and the combination of this recipe he found in an old issue of Bon Appetit and apples on sale at Whole Foods for 99 cents a pound was just too tempting to ignore. Or perhaps it had finally dawned on him (us) that the Granny Smiths we had been using to attempt similar cakes gave off too much liquid to work properly in the recipes. In any case, his perseverance has paid off with this cake. It’s terrific! We can’t wait to make it again. For more information on which apple varieties are best for baking, check out our Guide to Apples. Add 3/4 cup sugar and 6 Tbsps (3/4 stick) butter to the cornmeal mixture. Beat until well blended. Beat in vanilla and eggs. Beat in the flour, salt, baking powder mixture alternating with the milk. Pour the batter over the apples in the cake pan. Cool cake in the pan for 5 minutes. Then run a knife around the edges of the cake to loosen it from the sides of the pan. Carefully invert the cake onto a serving plate or dish, and remove the parchment paper. Cool for 15 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream.
