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Upside-down apple cake with calvados glaze

Name: Upside-down apple cake with calvados glaze
Yield: Serves 12
Cuisine: British recipes
Ingredients: 200g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing; 225g caster sugar; 3 large free-range eggs; 125g ground almonds; 125g self-raising flour; Pinch salt; 2 tsp ground cinnamon; 5 eating apples (such as braeburn), peeled and cored, 2 chopped, 3 cut into thin slices; For the calvados glaze; 100g caster sugar; 2 tbsp calvados mixed with 1 tbsp water

Published: 30 Apr 14
Updated: 18 Mar 24

Great for teatime but also a wonderful dessert. Serve this apple cake recipe warm with lots of pouring cream instead of the calvados glaze if you want.

We’ve got a gloriously retro pineapple upside-down cake recipe, too.

Easy
May 2014

Test kitchen approved

Serves 12
Hands-on time 45 min, oven time 50-60 min

Great for teatime but also a wonderful dessert. Serve this apple cake recipe warm with lots of pouring cream instead of the calvados glaze if you want.

We’ve got a gloriously retro pineapple upside-down cake recipe, too.

Nutrition: per serving

Calories: 392kcals
Fat: 22.1g (10.2g saturated)
Protein: 5.7g
Carbohydrates: 42.1g (34.4g sugars)
Fibre: 2.1g
Salt: 0.3g

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Ingredients

200g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
225g caster sugar
3 large free-range eggs
125g ground almonds
125g self-raising flour
Pinch salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
5 eating apples (such as braeburn), peeled and cored, 2 chopped, 3 cut into thin slices

For the calvados glaze

100g caster sugar
2 tbsp calvados mixed with 1 tbsp water

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Method

Heat the oven to 180°C/fan160°C/ gas 4. Grease and line a 23cm round cake tin. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and 225g caster sugar with an electric hand mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Fold in the ground almonds, flour, salt and cinnamon until combined, then fold in the chopped apples.
Arrange the apple slices in the base of the prepared cake tin, then spoon over the cake batter. Bake for 50-60 minutes on the middle shelf until a skewer pushed into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
When the cake is completely cool, make the glaze (see tips). Put the 100g caster sugar in a frying pan over a low heat and gently melt, swirling the pan occasionally. Once melted, let it bubble to a rich caramel, then remove from the heat. Add the diluted calvados (be careful as it will splutter), then pour the glaze into a small bowl to cool a little. Brush the glaze all over the cake just before slicing.

Recipe from May 2014 Issue

Nutrition

Nutrition: per serving

Calories: 392kcals
Fat: 22.1g (10.2g saturated)
Protein: 5.7g
Carbohydrates: 42.1g (34.4g sugars)
Fibre: 2.1g
Salt: 0.3g

delicious. tips

Glaze the cake just before you’re ready to slice it – any sooner and the syrupy glaze will be absorbed into the sponge.
You can make the cake the day before, then keep, unglazed and wrapped in baking paper, in a cool, dark place, or freeze it unglazed for up to 3 months. Defrost before glazing.