Apple Upsidedown Tarte Tartin Cake

Behold Fall!!!!! It’s apple season and this warm, swirly, caramel cake celebrates the bounty of apples. It’s an ode to the classic Tarte Tartin, but with an apple cake instead of the traditional pastry on the French tart. While I am not much a baker, I am super proud to have created a wonderful twist on this dessert that my food-allergy ridden children can enjoy. Gluten, Dairy and Egg-Free desserts (vegan friendly, too)  are usually “tolerable” at best, but this is good enough for company! Honestly it makes me eager to try a version with real butter and eggs!

CARAMELIZED APPLES

10-12 apples, cored, sliced in half and peeled (Honeycrisp, if available)

½ cup vegan butter (Miyoko’s in sticks)

½ cup light brown sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

APPLE CAKE

1 cup organic applesauce

3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk

1/2 cup vegan butter, melted (Miyoko’s in sticks)

3/4 cup organic cane sugar

1/3 cup maple syrup

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 ½ cups organic almond flour (Bob’s Red Mill)

1 ½ cups gluten free baking flour (Bob’s Red Mill)

1 ½ tsp baking powder

1 ½ tsp baking soda

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground all spice

1/2 tsp sea salt

Vegan vanilla ice cream or Cocowhip, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Select a 10” saute pan with an oven-proof handle (even better if you have a braising pan). Place onto low heat and add the vegan butter. When melted add the brown sugar and cinnamon and stir to combine. Once the sugar is melted, add the apples with the domed side down and slightly overlap in the pan, creating a spiral pattern with one dome right in the center of the pan. Using a baster, drip the caramel sauce over the apples. Let the apples cook for about 20 minutes, basting with caramel every 5 minutes or so. The apples will soften and the juices will combine with the caramel.

Meanwhile, make the cake batter in a large mixing bowl. Add the applesauce, almond milk, melted vegan butter, sugar, maple syrup and vanilla extract. Whisk until well combined. Add the almond flour, gluten-free baking flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, all spice and salt. Using a spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the wet until well combined.

Turn off the heat for the apples. Spoon the batter into the center of the apples and use a spatula in a circular motion to spread the batter to the edges of the pan. Moving the batter in the same spiral pattern of the apples will help to keep the apple pattern in tact.

Place the pan in the middle of the preheated oven, with a baking sheet on a lower rack to catch any pan drippings. Bake for about 40 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean when inserted into the top portion of the cake. Let cake cool on the stovetop for about 30 minutes. While still warm, carefully invert the cake onto a serving platter. If any apples stick to the pan, simply remove them with a spatula and rearrange onto the top of the cake in a pleasing pattern. If the Tarte Tartin gods are with you, it will invert cleanly. Cake can be served warm or at room temperature with vegan vanilla ice cream or Coco whipped cream.