Apple and coconut upside down cake

Apple cakes are truly favorites or mine – there are several recipes on the blog, including a version made with olive oil that I will repeat next weekend – and the upside down version is even more beautiful. The apple slices turn into a flavorsome layer and the coconut gives a nice tropical touch to the batter – it is a very tender and delicious cake.

The recipe is easy to put together – despite the look of the cake – and I find arranging the apple slices on the bottom of the pan therapeutic. Just be careful not to use a springform pan or one with a removable bottom: the sugar of the topping will melt in the oven and it might leek.

Apple and coconut upside down cake
own recipe

Apple layer:
1/3 cup (65g) granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 small Granny Smith apples, cored and thinly sliced

Cake:
1 ½ cups (210g) all purpose flour
1/3 cup (35g) desiccated unsweetened coconut
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
pinch of table salt
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs
1/3 cup (80ml) buttermilk*
1/3 cup (80ml) coconut milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter a round 20x7cm (8x2.5in) cake pan, line the bottom with a circle of baking paper and butter the paper as well – do not use a pan with a removable bottom because the sugar will melt in the oven and might leek. If your 20cm (8in) pan is not deep enough use a 23cm (9in) pan. In a small bowl, mix well sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the buttered paper. Arrange the apple slices on top. Set aside.

Cake: in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, coconut, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. Using an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy – scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally throughout the making of the recipe. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. On low speed, mix in the dry ingredients in three additions followed by the buttermilk, then the coconut milk. Mix only until incorporate – do not overmix. Spread the batter over the apple slices and smooth the top. Bake for about 50 minutes or until golden and risen and a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 1 hour, then carefully unmold onto a plate and peel off the paper. Serve on its own or with whipped cream.

* homemade buttermilk: to make 1 cup buttermilk place 1 tablespoon lemon juice in a 240ml-capacity measuring cup and complete with whole milk (room temperature). Wait 10 minutes for it to thicken slightly, then use the whole mixture in your recipe

Serves 8-10

Chunky apple and orange cake

I haven’t baked or cooked much lately, but I do go grocery shopping and the price of food has been freaking me out: everything gets more and more expensive on a daily basis. It is really sad and I feel privileged for not having to make any drastic changes, but I do admit that I think twice before buying certain things. Granny Smith apples, for instance, that I love so much – it was the only apple I would eat when I was little, my mom thought it was funny that a kid would like such a tart apple – are insanely expensive, and have been for quite a while, now. Still, my husband bought a handful of them for me and after devouring a couple of them I knew I had to make the remaining apples proud – I could not waste something so precious.

I went on and used the apples on a cake, a delicious cake perfumed with orange zest – the original recipe paired apples and cinnamon, which is a very classic combo of flavors, but I though the citrus touch would be a nice idea and indeed, it was. I am sure this cake would be fabulous with lemon or lime zest as well.

Chunky apple and orange cake
slightly adapted from this book

2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and diced
1 tablespoon all purpose flour, for dusting the apples
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
grated zest of 1 large orange
1 ½ cups (210g) all purpose flour
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
2 large eggs, beaten with a fork
75g unsalted butter, softened
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon whole milk, room temperature

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter a 20cm (8in) round cake pan, line the bottom with a circle of baking paper and butter it as well.

In a medium bowl, dust the apples with the 1 tablespoon flour and set aside.

In a large bowl, place sugar and orange zest and rub together with your fingertips until sugar is fragrant. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt into the sugar and mix to combine. Add the eggs, butter and vanilla to the mix and using an electric hand whisk, combine them for about 1 minute until you have a smooth creamy consistency. Fold in the apples and the milk. Transfer batter to the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until golden and risen and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then carefully unmold onto a wire rack, peel off the paper and cool completely before serving.

Serves 8-10