Apple Upside-Down Cake

Rose's Heavenly Cakes, Page 8: Apple Upside-Down Cake.

Initially i wanted to use peach instead of apples since the pairing of peach & almond seems better option for me since i prefer almonds, but in the end the fresh peaches selling at the supermarket weren't all that fresh and also quite expensive, i decided to bake the apple version and use my left-over walnuts from the earlier cake.

I used a 9" spring form pan because it was easily accessible in my pantry..lol! :P Too lazy to dig and measure the other pans buried somewhere in the cupboard. I was multi-tasking while baking - weighing the ingredients and running to the phone to talk to the airline office regarding changes in my flights. In my haste, i forgot to weigh the apples but i used 2 large apples - on sticker say it's from US, so i don't know what type of apple it is (fortunately not the huge Japanese Fuji version type..). :S AND I do not have Bourbon in my kitchen! :( I don't drink (er..alcohol, i meant). Before i started baking i actually never knew Bourbon existed! :p I wonder if i can replace Bourbon with Whiskey? Do they taste the same or not? *shrugs*

Ok, back to the cake... While baking, my entire kitchen smells so good! :) I love the sweet aroma of the caramalized apples and the vanilla cake..it just smells so delicious that you want to eat a piece of it as soon as it is out from the oven! Also, I didn't have any problems with springform pan and in fact i think it's better! After the cake is baked, i just remove the ring and put a plate on top, flip over, remove the bottom pan and all the apple is in place - no problem at all! :))

Now comes the tasting: I L-O-V-E it!! So does everyone in my family - they all love it too!! :D I brought some slices to my work place and was well received too! Rose is right, this apple upside-down cake paired with walnuts is just absolutely yummy!! As you all know i am not a walnut fan by now..but somehow when eaten with this cake, the cake and walnut combo goes down really well. The caramelized apples are not overly sweet and it is still crunchy and i like crunchy! (Is it meant to be crunchy or not? Anyway, mine is still crunchy, ie half-cooked apple slices and not the soft cooked type as in apple pie. I did use baking stone as mentioned in the book.). Also the cake is soft and moist but not wet. I thought when i turned over the cake all the sugar syrup will be absorbed by the cake leaving the cake wet and soggy, but it didn't and i was pleasantly surprised to be able to taste a normal moist cake with the crunchy apple slices..(unless i'm doing it all wrong..hahaha..even if wrong still tasted very good! LOL!).