Upside-Down Caramel Apple Cake

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Line the bottom of a springform pan with a round piece of parchment paper that covers the bottom. Spray the sides of the pan with cooking spray and set aside. 

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and apple pie spice. Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, oil and egg. Using the largest holes of a box grater, grate the Pink Lady apple then pat the grated apple dry with a little paper towel. Measure out 1/2 cup of the apple and add it to the wet ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix with a rubber spatula until well incorporated. Set aside.

Using a mandoline, slice the Granny Smith apples into rings about 1/4-inch thick (no need to peel them.) Pick out any seeds that haven’t fallen out of the apple and place the slices into a bowl and toss them with the brown sugar, cornstarch and salt. Shingle the apple slices into the bottom of the pan to make one layer of apple at the bottom. Pour any any sugar or cornstarch from the bottom of the bowl onto the top of the apples then pour the apple cake batter over top of the apples. Smooth the batter with the back of a spatula.

Bake in the oven for 40 minutes or until the cake begins to pull away from the edges of the pan and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the cake.

Let cool for at least 20 minutes on a cooling rack. Once cool, remove the cake from the springform pan and place the cake upside down on a plate. Peel away the parchment.

For the Spiced Whipped Cream, whisk the heavy whipping cream with a stand mixer, hand mixer or a hand whisk, until it forms stiff peaks. Mix in the powdered sugar, sour cream, cinnamon and salt.

Serve cake with a dollop or two of the cream.

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