Upside Down Butterscotch Apple Cake

Time to do some practicing with some recipes that are in my 'To Try' file. I wish I could get better with the camera- I know having a light box would help but I'm just not there.....yet!
So, here is the recipe for this apple cake. I got it from Epicurious. You can get it there too. Otherwise, here it is~Baker's sugar, a favorite of pastry chefs, is also called superfine sugar. It measures the same as regular but dissolves more quickly. It's available at some supermarkets. You can also make your own by whizzing granulated sugar in a food processor until powdery.

Cake

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

2/3 cup baker's sugar (superfine sugar) or regular sugar 2 large eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 Golden Delicious apple, peeled, cored, finely chopped (about 3/4 cup)

Butterscotch-caramel apples

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter 1/3 cup (packed) dark brown sugar

1/3 cup butterscotch morsels

2 8-ounce Golden Delicious apples, peeled, halved, cored, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices

For cake:

Preheat oven to 375°F. Mix flour, baking powder, mld salt in medium bow1. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until smooth. Gradually add sugar and beat until well blended. Add eggs and vanilla; beat until blended. Beat in flour mixture, then sour cream. Stir in chopped apple. Set aside while preparing butterscotch-caramel apples.

For butterscotch-caramel apples:

Melt butter in 10-inch-diameter nonstick ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add brown sugar and butterscotch morsels; stir until melted and smooth and mixture is bubbling, about 2 minutes. Add apple slices to skillet and cook until golden brown, using tongs to turn slices, about 3 minutes per side (there will be a lot ofliquid in skillet). Remove skillet from heat and let cool 3 minutes. Using tongs, arrange apple slices in skillet in concentric circles or other pattern.

Carefully spoon cake batter in small dollops atop apples in skillet. Using offset spatula, gently spread batter evenly to edges of skillet (batter will seem to float on top of apples and pan juices). Bake until cake is golden brown and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool in skillet 10 minutes. Run knife around edges of cake to loosen. Place large platter atop skillet. Using oven mitts or pot holders, hold platter and skillet firmly together and invert, allowing cake to settle onto platter. Serve cake warm.

Test-kitchen tip: If your nonstick skillet doesn't have an ovenproof handle, wrapping the handle in

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/printer _ friendly/234162