This caramel apple upside down cake combines a deliciously soft and moist spiced apple cake with perfectly tender apples and a layer of luxurious caramel – it’s really the perfect cosy, no-fuss fall bake and it’s super easy to make. And you’d never know that it’s both gluten AND dairy free, absolutely everyone will love it.
If there’s one cake that perfectly captures the very essence of fall, it’s this caramel apple upside down cake. It has it all: an abundance of perfectly tender (but not mushy!!) sweet-tart apples, plenty of cinnamon and ginger in the batter and, of course, a layer of luxurious caramel that gets partially absorbed by the cake during baking, giving the most decadent end result.
The cake itself is deliciously soft, moist and tender, it simply melts in your mouth. It’s just a really cosy, comforting cake – and it’s also super easy to make. You don’t need any special equipment (no stand or hand mixer, not even a thermometer to make the caramel) and the recipe is absolutely fail-proof.
This one is both gluten AND dairy free – but you’d honestly never know. Because it’s an oil-based cake, it’s extra soft and fluffy, and it stays moist for days… of course, whether it’ll actually last that long, that’s a whole other story.
Before we get to the bits and bobs of making this AMAZING cake – if you like what you’re seeing, subscribe to my newsletter to keep up to date on the latest recipes and tips!
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Note: the whole recipe, including the ingredient quantities, can be found at the bottom of this page – just scroll down to the bottom, or click the ‘Jump to Recipe’ button at the top of this post.
The caramel apple layer
There are quite a few different ways of preparing the caramel layer for an upside down cake: my go-to one is making a quick, simple caramel sauce with just (vegan) heavy/double cream and no butter. This method will give you consistently delicious results and a perfect caramel texture on your final, baked cake every single time.
Then, once you have your caramel layer ready, pour it on the bottom of a buttered and lined 9-inch (23cm) round cake pan. Make sure that it’s NOT a springform pan (otherwise, some of the caramel could leak out during baking) and that you line the bottom of the cake pan with a round of parchment/baking paper. This prevents any apple slices from sticking to the bottom of the pan when you invert your cake.
Finally, arrange the apple slices on top of the caramel layer, overlapping them slightly. You can arrange the apples as neatly as you wish and/or have the patience for – don’t stress too much if they’re not 100% perfectly arranged, this is definitely a rustic kind of dessert.
The soft, spiced apple cake
The cake batter is super easy to whip up, you just need to separately combine all the wet and all the dry ingredients, whisk them together into a smooth cake batter, fold in some chopped apples – and that’s it.
You could technically omit the chopped apples in the batter but I really REALLY recommend adding them. They make sure that you get some apple in every single bite of this cake, which I absolutely love. And you could also play around with other add-ins, such as chopped walnuts or pecans, or even raisins!
Once you have the cake batter prepared, just pour it on top of the caramel apple layer, and the cake is ready for baking. It’ll need about 45 minutes at 350ºF (180ºC), and you can cover it with a sheet of aluminium foil (shiny side up) if it starts browning too quickly.
Inverting the caramel apple upside down cake
After you’ve taken the cake out of the oven, allow it to cool for about 5-10 minutes and then invert it onto a large serving plate. Don’t cool it for longer than that, otherwise your cake can end up sticking to the baking pan when you try to remove it.
You can serve this cake both warm and cooled completely to room temperature – it’ll be incredibly delicious either way.
Top tips for making the PERFECT caramel apple upside down cake
- Use the dry caramel method to make the caramel layer. This means that you don’t add any water to the sugar when you make the caramel. This allows you to stir the caramelising sugar without having to worry about it crystallising – you can read more about this method here.
- Make sure that your (vegan) heavy/double cream is warm when you add it to the caramel. Using cold cream can cause very violent bubbling and steam formation when you add it to the caramel – so, I always recommend adding warm or even hot cream instead.
- Line the bottom of your cake pan with a round of parchment/baking paper. This prevents the apple slices from sticking to the pan when you invert the cake.
- Cut the apples into about ¼ inch (6mm) slices. This ensures that they’ll get nicely tender (but not mushy!) in the time it takes for the cake to bake through.
- Using oil in the cake makes it extra soft and fluffy, and keeps it moister for longer. That’s because oil is naturally a liquid fat as compared to butter, which is a solid fat at and around room temperature. I recommend using neutral-tasting oils, such as sunflower, rapeseed/canola or vegetable oil.
- Add xanthan gum to prevent the gluten free cake from being too crumbly. Xanthan gum is a binder (gluten substitute) which adds some elasticity and flexibility to gluten free bakes. You don’t need a lot of it – just ½ teaspoon is more than enough here. You can read more about the role of xanthan gum in gluten free baking here!
- Cool the cake for 5-10 minutes and then invert it while it’s still hot. If the cake cools too much in the pan, it can end up sticking when you try to invert it – and trust me, trying to save a stuck upside down cake is a complete nightmare.
And that’s it! This covers everything you need to know about this truly FABULOUS gluten and dairy free caramel apple upside down cake. It’s truly an incredibly easy cake to prepare, and it tastes like a warm, cosy hug.
I really hope you’ll love it as much as I do.
Happy baking!!
More apple desserts
If you’re looking for more delicious apple-packed dessert recipes, you’re definitely in the right place!
- Easy Gluten Free Apple Turnovers (Mini Apple Pies)
- Gluten Free Apple Pie Bars
- Easy Gluten Free Apple Pancakes
- The Perfect Gluten Free Apple Strudel
- Gluten Free Apple Marzipan Tart
- The Ultimate Vegan Apple Pie
If you like what you’re seeing, subscribe to my newsletter to keep up to date on the latest recipes and tips!
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Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake (Gluten & Dairy Free)
This caramel apple upside down cake combines a deliciously soft and moist spiced apple cake with perfectly tender apples and a layer of luxurious caramel – it’s really the perfect cosy, no-fuss fall bake and it’s super easy to make. And you’d never know that it’s both gluten AND dairy free, absolutely everyone will love it.
Print Rate SAVE
4.84 from 6 votes
Prep Time 30 minutes mins
Cook/Bake Time 50 minutes mins
Total Time 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins
Servings 10
Author Kat | The Loopy Whisk
Ingredients
Caramel apple layer:
- 200 g (1 cup) caster/superfine or granulated sugar
- 80 g (⅓ cup) vegan heavy/double cream, warm
- ½ tsp vanilla bean paste (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
- 2-3 medium slightly tart, firm eating apples, peeled, cored and cut into ¼ inch (6mm) slices (I recommend apple varieties such as Granny Smith, Pink Lady, Jazz or Braeburn.)
Spiced apple cake:
- 75 g (¼ cup + 2 tbsp) caster/superfine or granulated sugar
- 75 g (¼ cup + 2 tbsp) light brown soft sugar
- 3 US large/UK medium eggs, room temperature
- 120 g (½ cup) non-dairy milk, room temperature (You can use almond, rice, soy or oat milk, the latter only if you're not sensitive to oats. I don’t recommend using canned coconut milk.)
- 70 g (¼ cup + 1 tbsp) neutral-tasting oil, such as sunflower, rapeseed/canola or vegetable oil
- ½ tsp vanilla bean paste (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
- 200 g (1⅔ cups) plain gluten free flour blend (I used Doves Farm Freee gluten free plain white flour that doesn't have any xanthan gum added.You can also mix your own gluten free flour blend using this recipe.Note that for this homemade blend, 1 cup = 150g, so ideally use a digital food scale and the weight measurements for best results.)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp xanthan gum (Omit if your gluten free flour blend already contains xanthan gum or other binders.)
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- 1 medium slightly tart, firm eating apple, peeled, cored and diced into about ½ inch (1cm) pieces (I recommend apple varieties such as Granny Smith, Pink Lady, Jazz or Braeburn.)
Instructions
Caramel apple layer:
Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and pre-heat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Lightly butter a 9-inch (23cm) round cake pan and line its bottom with a round of parchment/baking paper.
Tip: Don't use a springform pan, as some of the caramel could leak out during baking.
In a light-coloured or stainless-steel saucepan, cook the sugar over medium heat, with occasional stirring, until it’s fully melted. The sugar will initially clump together – don’t worry, that doesn’t mean that it’s crystallising. Just continue stirring until it’s fully melted. If there are any persistent clumps of sugar, reduce the heat to low and continue stirring until all the clumps disappear.
Tip: The light colour of the saucepan makes it easy to keep track of the colour of the caramel.
Continue cooking the caramel (melted sugar) with constant stirring over medium heat until it reaches an amber colour.
Once you've reached the desired colour, remove the caramel from the heat and pour in the warm cream, mixing constantly. Be careful as the addition of cream will release a large amount of hot steam and it might bubble up quite violently.
Add the vanilla and mix well, then pour the hot caramel into the bottom of the lined cake pan and smooth it out into an even layer.
Arrange the apple slices on top of the caramel, overlapping them slightly (see blog post for photos). Set aside until needed.
Spiced apple cake:
In a large bowl, whisk together the caster/superfine or granulated sugar, light brown sugar, eggs, non-dairy milk, oil and vanilla until well combined.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the gluten free flour blend, baking powder, xanthan gum, salt, cinnamon and ginger.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet and whisk everything together into a smooth, fairly runny cake batter with no flour clumps.
Add the chopped apples and fold them in until they're evenly distributed throughout the batter.
Pour the batter on top of the caramel apple layer.
Bake at 350ºF (180ºC) for about 45 minutes or until the cake is golden brown on top, well risen and an inserted toothpick or cake tester comes out clean. If the cake starts browning too much or too quickly, cover it with a sheet of aluminium foil (shiny side up) and continue baking until done.
Inverting & serving the upside down cake:
Allow the cake to cool for 5-10 minutes, then carefully invert it onto a large plate while it's still hot. (Run a knife or a small offset spatula along the edges of the cake to loosen it from the pan if necessary.)
Tip: Don’t cool it for longer than that, otherwise your cake can end up sticking to the baking pan when you try to remove it.
Serve the cake either warm or cooled completely to room temperature.
Storage:
The cake keeps well in a closed container in a cool, dry place for 2-3 days.
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