Spiced Apple and Ginger Upside-Down Cake

Name: Spiced Apple and Ginger Upside-Down Cake
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 45 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: eggs — 1 pcs; sour cream — 120 g; sugar — 120 g; honey — 70 g; vegetable oil — 60 ml; all-purpose flour — 200 g; ground cinnamon — 1 1/2 tsp; ground ginger — 1 tsp; nutmeg — 1/4 tsp; ground cloves — 1/4; baking soda — 2/3 tsp; apple medium size — 4 pcs; butter — 40 g; brown sugar — 50 g

45 minutes

Medium

I know, I know - ginger treats usually make you think of the Christmas and holiday season, and that's still quite a ways off. But this cake is simply too delicious to be tied down to any specific season or holiday!

Just grab some apples, raid your spice rack, and start baking.

Unlike most of my cake recipes, I highly recommend using a solid (non-springform) baking pan for this one. The caramelized butter and sugar at the bottom can easily leak out and drip onto your oven bottom if the pan isn't perfectly sealed. And who needs all that smoke, right?

Baking American cuisine European cuisine

07.10.2025

Ingredients for 24 cm diameter baking pan:

Batter

eggs
1 pcs
sour cream
120 g
sugar
120 g
honey
70 g
vegetable oil
60 ml
all-purpose flour
200 g
ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp
ground ginger
1 tsp
nutmeg
1/4 tsp
ground cloves
1/4
baking soda
2/3 tsp

For the Top

Recipe:

Ingredient Notes:

Apples. Those with fairly dense flesh that doesn’t turn into a purée when baked, such as Golden Delicious or Granny Smith, are best.
Honey. For this recipe, the universal option is linden or mixed flower honey. It provides a noticeable, yet not overpowering, honey flavor. However, if you prefer a stronger honey flavor, buckwheat honey is a good option.
For this recipe, honey is heated, so both liquid and settled honey can be used.
Butter. This cake uses two types of fat: vegetable oil for the batter and butter for the top. You can use any vegetable oil of your choice. You can also replace it with melted butter. The butter used for the caramel topping needs to have a fat content of 80% or more.
Sugar. Ordinary white granulated sugar is sufficient. The flavor of brown sugar will be lost against the background of honey and spices.
Sour cream. The fat content is not crucial. You can replace it with thick, plain yogurt.
Flour. All-purpose flour with 10% protein content is sufficient. Cake flour is also excellent. However, strong bread flour is better suited for bread.
Spices. This cake will be the tastiest and most aromatic with a full set of the spices prescribed in the ingredients list. If you have limited options, remember that cinnamon and ginger are essential for this cake. You can omit the nutmeg and cloves, though this will simplify the flavor profile.
You can use a pre-made spice mix for gingerbread or pumpkin pie.

Let’s start cooking!

Pour the melted butter and sugar into the baking pan.

Peel and slice the apples. Arrange the slices on the bottom of the pan.

Prepare the batter. Combine the eggs, vegetable oil, white sugar, sour cream, and honey. Beat with a whisk until smooth.

Add the flour, baking soda, and spices that have been sifted together. Mix the batter.

Pour the batter over the apples in the pan and spread evenly.

Place the cake in an oven that has been preheated to 180°C (355°F). Bake for approximately 35 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and let rest for about 10 minutes. Then, turn the pan onto a plate and carefully remove the cake.

Let cool and serve.

Bon appétit!

This Spiced Apple and Ginger Upside-Down Cake recipe was checked, prepared and approved by Chef Tatyana Nazaruk - author of FlavorIt.com.
Would you like to thank me? It's easy!