When autumn arrives, has there ever been a better twosome to toast the change of seasons than apples and caramel? I think not. Well OK, soup and homemade bread works too. But if you want to raise a cheer, it should be with something a little more auspicious than a humble bowl of soup and a piece of bread. At least to my thinking. Of course a Hot Buttered Rum or a warm cup of Glögg and a Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies or two would work also. But for today I’m going to celebrate apples and caramel. (My blog, my choice!)

So the other day I got a wild hair to make a caramel-apple upside down cake. (And no, I have not made many upside down cakes before. So this was going to be a fairly new experience for me.) So why now you might ask? And I would have no adequate answer to give you. “Just because” is probably as close as I could come to the actual reason.

But then I love caramel. And apples are OK too. And I was in the mood for cake because I truly love a really delicious homemade cake. All I knew was that I didn’t want to bake a huge old cake because then I would be forced to eat more than I really should. And then I’d feel guilty. And if I ended up throwing some of it away I’d also feel guilty. (We still don’t have a new freezer even though we ordered and put a down payment on one months ago! Grrrr….) So, how could I avoid guilt tripping myself in any manner available to do just that? (I’m so very good at it, you see.)  

So to the internet to get some ideas about how to build an upside down apple caramel cake. And to my delight, on the pinchofyum.com site, (great site BTW) was what appeared to be the perfect recipe for me. A salted caramel-apple cake that would fit in a 9-inch cake pan. So, not too large a cake. In fact, just the perfect size to share with our neighbors Mark and Vicki.   

Now sometimes I try a recipe and it’s just OK tasting, or it doesn’t have all of the qualities I hoped for. And you never know about it. Not this recipe. This wonderful recipe is delicious and absolutely what I had in mind. And the recipe contains common ingredients that are easy to put together. So in my book, this is a perfect recipe. Thank you very much Lindsay for this delightful, welcome to autumn, recipe.

So as always, be content with what you have, who you are, and for what’s to come.

I’ve been a bit concerned about how I was going to handle being confined to quarters for the long fall and winter ahead. But as I was drifting off to sleep last night, I thought about all the wonderful delights fall and winter have to offer that I can enjoy from the comfort of my own home. Watching the clouds come and go. Seeing beautiful colored autumn leaves drift by my window. (Sounds like a song lyric, right!?) Catching a bit of movement out of the corner of my eye as a tree twists and turns in the wind. Sit in my comfortable den chair and read. And cook up a storm.

And then there’s the holidays to plan for.

This year of course is going to be different than any previous year. But there are still things I can continue to do to make life a little bit more fun for myself and my family and friends.   

Every year I send a goody package to each of my kids. I bake fruit cake (yes fruitcake can be delicious), candy, and cookies. So this year isn’t going to be any different in that regard. (Maybe more types of cookies and candy. Maybe different types of goodies like spice and herb blends. Maybe gourmet chocolate or even a large bottle of really good vanilla or a favorite ice cream sauce. Lots of fun for me to plan and build, and I’ll bet there will be some delight on the other end too.) And I can plan fun things to build for my friends. Who knows, there could even be something containing alcohol involved. Been known to happen.

And then, maybe it will snow. I love snow. I’m just about as bad now as I was as a kid praying for a snow day. And then before I know it, the first signs of spring will appear. And a whole new cycle will begin. And once again I will be reminded how lucky I am and how wonderful life really is for me. May each of you also find joy in your life. Peace and love to all.

For the Caramel and Apple Part:

½ c. unsalted butter

2/3 c. brown sugar, packed

¼ tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

½ tsp. freshly ground nutmeg

¼ tsp. ground cloves

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 c. thinly sliced peeled apple (takes about 1 big apple)

Generously butter a round 9-inch high sided cake pan. (If you don’t have a high sided cake pan, be sure to place a rimmed baking sheet under your cake pan before placing in the oven. A bit of the caramel will undoubtedly try and probably succeed in escaping while the cake is baking. At least it did for me. (And yes, I just ordered a couple of high sided cake pans because I plan to make this cake again and again. The girl can learn!)

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add the brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and vanilla. Keep over medium-low heat and cook for about 3 minutes or until smooth and slightly thickened. Pour the caramel into the greased cake pan and top with the apple slices.    

For the Cake:

½ c. (1 stick) cold unsalted butter*

1 c. brown sugar, packed

2 lg. eggs

¼ c. whole milk

1½ c. unbleached all-purpose flour, fluffed

1 tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. kosher salt

½ tsp. ground cinnamon

coarse sea salt for topping

Beat the cold butter and brown sugar until well combined. (The mixture will not be creamy and light like you would normally get if you started with room temperature butter. That’s what you want. See reason below.) Scrape the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs and milk and beat until incorporated. (Might be a few small lumps. That’s fine. Not too worry.) Scrape the sides of the bowl again or whenever the ingredients are sticking to the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, and cinnamon together. Stir into the butter mixture just until combined. Spoon the stiff cake batter onto the top of the apples. Using an offset spatula, carefully smooth out the cake batter until the apples and caramel are evenly covered.    

Bake in a pre-heated 325 degree oven for 45 minutes. Stick a toothpick into the cake part. If it comes out clean and the top of the cake is a lovely brown, the cake is done. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes. (Letting the cake cool for 10 minutes is very important.) Using a knife or offset spatula, cut around the edge of the cake to make certain it is not still attached to the pan. Invert the cake onto a cake plate and tap the top until the cake comes out onto the plate. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt and serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Lovely warmed or at room temperature.  

*I use cold butter for this recipe because I want the batter to stay a bit stiff and not incorporate as much air as if I had started with room temperature butter. When you cream sugar with room temperature butter, the sugar crystals punch little holes in the butter and those holes capture air. In this recipe, I prefer the cake part to be fairly dense.