Maple-Apple Upside-Down Buttermilk Cake

                                   Maple-Apple Upside-Down Buttermilk Cake
                                                         (from flour,too cookbook)

1 1/2 cups maple syrup

1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature

4 Granny Smith, or other firm, tart apples, halved, peeled, cored, and each half cut into 8 slices

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. kosher salt

2 large eggs, at room temperature

2 egg yolks, at room temperature

3/4 cup nonfat buttermilk, at room temperature

1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

1 1/3 cups granulated sugar


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place rack in center of oven. Butter and flour the cake pan.

2. In a medium saucepan, carefully bring the maple syrup to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 40-45 minutes, or until thickened, dark, and reduced to about 1 cup. (It foams up in the pan, so be sure to use a pan that is large enough, so it doesn't boil over. Once it foams, reduce the heat to maintain a low simmer; if it keeps foaming it will start to burn.)

3. Remove the pan from the heat, and whisk in the 2 Tbsp. of butter. Pour the maple syrup into the prepared cake pan. Arrange the apple slices in concentric circles in the bottom of the pan, making a second layer on top of the first if they don't all fit in a single layer. 

4. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the whole eggs, egg yolks, buttermilk, and vanilla. Set aside both bowls.

5. Using a stand or handheld mixer, and a large bowl, beat the remaining 1 cup of butter ans sugar on medium speed, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl several times, for 6-7 minutes, or until light, pale and fluffy.

On low speed, add about 1/3 of the flour mixture, and beat for about 15 seconds, or until almost fully incorporated. Add about half of the egg-buttermilk mixture, and beat until almost thoroughly incorporated. Stop the mixer, and scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle.

Add half of the remaining flour mixture, and beat until almost fully incorporated. Add the remaining egg-buttermilk mixture, and beat until almost fully incorporated. Remove the bowl from the mixer, and fold in the remaining flour mixture with a rubber spatula, just until fully incorporated. 

Top the apples and maple syrup with dollops of the batter, and then spread evenly with the spatula.

6. Bake the cake for 60-70 minutes, or until golden brown, and the middle springs back when poked gently. Let cool in pan on wire rack for about an hour. 

7. Carefully invert the cake onto a serving plate while it is still warm, so that the apples will release from the pan. Serve warm with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Serves 8-10.