The Apple Upside Down Cake is another version to its popular counterpart, the tropical flavored Pineapple Upside Down Cake. But trust me this upside down cake made with apples, which is also eggless and vegan, is simply delish too. The eggless Apple Upside Down Cake recipe is easy to make and going to be your go-to tea-time snack or after-meal dessert the moment you try it. So, give it a try today!
Table of Contents
About Apple Upside Down Cake
Despite of the patience that baking and creating patisserie dishes involve, I have always considered it as a therapeutic activity.
The satisfaction that I get after baking a perfect cake, pie, muffin, bread or any such dish is unmatched! More when it is liked by all, as it adds to the confidence and really makes my soul happy from within.
This eggless Apple Upside Down Cake recipe is one of those that has been developed by me. It not only tastes good, but is a complete stunner in its looks as well.
Yes, I agree that it took me some trials to overcome my impatience to get this cake right. I’ve had my share of baking blunders too. But in the end the efforts paid off, and how!
Why This Recipe Works
Baking without the use of eggs or non-dairy products can be a challenge for the biggest of professional chefs. I’m glad that I have finally cracked it (not the egg, but the recipe!) for keeps.
This eggless Apple Upside Down Cake has been a hit for my family too, from the word go. The cake has a good crumb and is light and soft sans eggs The secret to this texture in the cake is the addition of lemon juice and water.
In addition, this Apple Upside Down Cake is made of ingredients that are easily available in the kitchen and you don’t have to have sleepless nights in sourcing anything special to prepare it.
Since jaggery is also easily available in India, I have added organic powdered jaggery in the cake batter. In case you don’t have it, the cake batter can be sweetened with regular sugar or powdered sugar too.
Besides this gorgeous Apple Upside Down Cake, if you are a true-blue apple fan, here are some more recipes that you must try – Apple Cake, Apple Pie and Apple Muffins.
Wondering what is Jaggery? It is unrefined sugar made from sugarcane juice and is locally made in many Indian states. But you can easily get it from Indian grocery stores or online if you live outside India.
In case you cannot source jaggery, look out for the Latin American panela or Mexican piloncillo. You could also easily swap jaggery with brown sugar or muscovado sugar.
How to make Apple Upside Down Cake
Preparation
1. Grease a 7 to 7.5 inches round cake pan or tin. You can even line the pan with butter paper or parchment paper.
Rinse, peel, core and slice 2 medium-sized apples. Do not make thin slices. Layer the apple slices in the tin.
You can have a single layer or double layer. Preheat the oven at 180 degrees C/356 degrees F for 15 minutes.
2. I doubled the apple layer and sprinkled ¼ teaspoon cinnamon powder, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg powder, 2 to 3 tablespoons demerara sugar and few drops of lemon juice on the apple slices.
Instead of demerara sugar, you can easily use brown sugar or raw sugar.
Make Apple Upside Down Cake
3. In a mixing bowl take the following listed dry ingredients:
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 pinch salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ cup powdered jaggery (or ¾ cup brown sugar or ¾ cup raw sugar or ½ cup confectioner’s sugar or powdered sugar)
- ½ teaspoon ground vanilla powder
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon powder
Mix them well with a wired whisk.
If using vanilla essence or extract, then add it when adding lemon juice in step 5.
4. Add 1 cup water and ¼ cup oil, mix well to form a batter without lumps. Do not over mix.
5. Add 1 teaspoon lemon juice and mix well again. You can see tiny bubbles on the batter after adding lemon juice.
6. Pour the cake batter in the prepared cake pan/tin layered with apples. Shake the sides of the pan, so that the air bubbles are released.
7. Put the cake pan/tin in the preheated oven and bake for 45 to 55 minutes at 180 degrees C/356 degrees F or for some more time if required.
Do keep a check as oven temperatures vary. It may take less or more time in your oven.
8. Make sure to remove the cake carefully when its cooled down to room temperature. I removed it while it was still hot. Hence, the apple slices got stuck at the bottom of the cake pan.
Lining the cake pan/tin with parchment or butter paper is always advisable as it helps to easily remove the cake without the apple slices sticking at the bottom.
Slice or cut the Apple Upside Down Cake into wedges and serve as an after meal dessert or with tea or coffee.
Why is it called an Upside Down Cake
It is not rocket science to guess why a cake must be called an ‘upside down’ one? You pour your usual cake batter over some fruits sprinkled with sugar and spices, bake it and then flip it over while unmolding it. By doing so you get a cake, whose bottom becomes the top and hence an ‘upside down.’
Other than the traditional choice of using pineapple for such a cake, fruits like apples, pears, cherries, plums and peaches are also used to make lovely upside down cakes. This Apple Upside Down Cake recipe is going to help you bake one such amazing cake.
Other region specific upside down cake variants include the Tarte Tatin from the French cuisine and Bolo de Ananas a.k.a Bolo de Abacaxi from the Portuguese cuisine.
Expert Tips
- The time taken to bake the cake will vary from oven to oven. It may take less or more time in your oven. So, you will have to keep a check.
- It is always better to line your cake pan/tin with a parchment or butter paper. This helps in easily remove the cake without letting the apple slices stick to the bottom of the cake pan/tin. Also, keep in mind to cool the cake to room temperature before removing it from the pan.
- Some whole wheat flours have a strong nutty flavor which comes through while baking. Adding flavorings and spices will help mask this typical taste/flavor.
- After sprinkling cinnamon powder and nutmeg powder on the apple layer in the pan, you can also drizzle some lemon juice on them. This avoids discoloration of the apple slices.
- Make sure to not over-mix the cake batter as this might result in a dense, chewy, weak cake. Since this recipe uses whole wheat flour too, over-mixing can result in a doughy batter with formation of gluten strands in it. This will hamper the rising of the cake while baking and result in a lumpy doughy mass of cooked atta.
- The sweetness in the cake batter can be adjusted as per your preferences. You can also use unrefined cane sugar or powdered sugar instead of powdered jaggery.
- You can use garam masala powder and cardamom powder instead of cinnamon powder or nutmeg powder. While using garam masala powder, make sure that you add just ¼ teaspoon as adding more may overpower the flavors.
- You can use vanilla essence or extract instead of ground vanilla powder.
FAQs
Yes, only if you have a convection mode in your microwave, otherwise not. However, the time will vary because each microwave is different.
Not sure, as green apples taste tart. The quantity of jaggery and sugar has to be adjusted accordingly then.
Yes, you can. In this case, add ¾ cup water instead of 1 cup water.
Yes, you can. No additions or deletions required.
If you don’t have lemon juice, you can use vinegar in the same amount for this recipe.
More Eggless Cake Recipes To Try
Cake Recipes
Cake Recipes
Please be sure to rate the recipe in the recipe card or leave a comment below if you have made it. For more vegetarian inspirations, Sign Up for my emails or follow me on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter.
Apple Upside Down Cake
Ingredients
For apple layer
- 2 apples medium-sized, rinsed, peeled, cored and sliced
- 2 to 3 tablespoons demerara sugar or brown sugar or raw sugar
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon powder (ground cinnamon)
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg powder (ground nutmeg)
- few drops lemon juice
For cake batter – dry ingredients
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ cup jaggery powder – preferably organic, or brown sugar or raw sugar – adjust as per your sweet requirements
- 1 pinch salt
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon powder (ground cinnamon)
For cake batter – wet ingredients
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 cup water
- ¼ cup sunflower oil or any neutral tasting oil
- ½ teaspoon vanilla powder or ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Preparation
- Grease or line a 7 to 7.5 inches round cake pan or tin. You can even line the pan with parchment paper.
- Preheat the oven now at 180 degrees C/356 degrees F for 15 minutes.
- Rinse, peel, core and slice the apples.
Lining cake pan with apples
- Layer the apple slices neatly on the base of the cake pan/tin in single or double layer.
- Sprinkle cinnamon powder, nutmeg powder on the apple layer. Also sprinkle a few drops of lemon juice, so that the apples do not discolor. Sprinkling lemon juice is an optional step.
- Keep this cake pan/tin aside.
Making apple upside down cake
- In a bowl, take all the dry ingredients – whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, powdered jaggery, vanilla powder and cinnamon powder.
- Mix them well with a wired whisk. If using vanilla essence or extract then add it when adding lemon juice.
- Add the water and oil, stir and mix to get a lump-free batter. Do not over-mix.
- Now add the lemon juice and mix well again.
- Pour the batter all over on an even layer over the apple slices in the prepared cake pan/tin.
- Bake at 180 degrees C/356 degrees F for 45 to 55 minutes in the preheated oven.
- When cooled to room temperature, remove the cake gently. Serve the Eggless Apple Upside Down Cake with tea or coffee or as an after meal dessert.
Notes
- Instead of jaggery, add ¾ cup powdered jaggery (or ¾ cup brown sugar or ¾ cup raw sugar or ½ cup confectioner’s sugar or powdered sugar.
- The cake can be made entirely with all-purpose flour. In this case, add ¾ cup water instead of 1 cup water.
- Organic powdered jaggery does not have any impurities and is good while preparing cakes, muffins or even Indian sweets.
- Keep in mind that the time taken to bake the cake varies from oven to oven. It can take more or less time in your oven. So, keep a check.
- I suggest to line your cake pan/tin with a parchment paper as this helps to easily remove the cake without letting the apple slices stick to the bottom of the cake pan/tin.
- Some whole wheat flours may have a strong nutty flavor which comes through while baking. Adding a few more flavorings and ground spices will help mask this typical taste and flavor.
- Ensure not to over-mix the cake batter as this might result in a dense and doughy texture after baking. Since this recipe uses whole wheat flour, over-mixing can result in the formation of gluten strands in the batter.
- The sweetness in the cake batter can be adjusted as per your preferences. You can also use raw sugar or confectioner’s sugar or powdered sugar instead of jaggery powder.
- Note that the approximate nutrition info is for 1 slice of the cake.
Nutrition Info (Approximate Values)
This Apple Upside Down Cake recipe from the blog archives, first published in March 2013 has been republished and updated on December 2022.
I made this today,(was my first upside down cake ;)) and turned out just awesome.I melted my powdered jaggery in water and then added into batter. lined with greased parchment paper and could unmould easily. Thanks a ton for this super awesome recipe. Also tried whole wheat banana bread recipe few days ago. It was also really very good.
Lotsa love <3
thanks for this feedback chaitra. melting powdered jaggery in water is a good way. thanks again.
I have just made the cake and wanted to suggest you add in the amount of cinnamon for the cakebatter as it is not mentioned in the ingredients but in the instructions.
Can not wait to taste it!!
Thank you =)
thanks for pointing out the error. i will update in the post.
it looks moist and delicious!Thanks for sharing the recipe,
welcome chhiwat
Hi. I’m trying this recipe for some of my vegan friends. I wanted to suggest that you include the size of the cake pan and when to add the vanilla and salt, since they aren’t mentioned in the procedures. It’s in the oven now, so I’ll rate it when I taste it! Thank you for sharing the recipe.
-Carolyn
thanks carolyn for the feedback. i have updated the the size of the cake pan as well as the vanilla and salt bit. hope the cake turned out well.
Hi,
Is lime juice necessary for the recipe? I want to bake this immediately, but don’t have lime at home.. 🙁
aarthi, use vinegar in the same amount.
Apple upside downcake is awesome! Next in queue to try. I am a big fan of your recipes and keep trying them every now and then. This is the place I check whenever I need a new recipe! I need help from you today on baking in convection mode of microwave. I am trying endlessly to get a good spongy and crumby cake but I am not getting good results. I bake mostly eggless and creamless cakes (thanks to your recipes I got dairy free cake solutions) and also with Whole Wheat. While baking, cake rises nicely but while cooling down it sits back completely. Because of that the cake texture is dense. It’s soft and cooked but it’s dense and not “crumby” like a cake should be. I have tried reducing baking power/soda, decreasing flour and sugar quantity, using maida as well but no results. I get a better cake done in cooker than microwave oven. Can you please suggest me what should I do to get a really fluffy and spongy cake with the right texture?
thanks keya. while baking in a convection oven, it is suggested to lower the temperature of the oven from 10 to 20 degrees. the heating is quick in a convection oven due to the fan. so if a recipe has 200 degrees celsius, then you bake at 190 or 180 degrees celsius. try this way and let me know.
I had a convection oven that used to heat up too much. I used to half the temperature. Like if the recipe called for 180 degrees celsius, I used to set it at 90. Each oven is different (though I doubt if anyone has it as bad as mine).
thats a big range of temperature difference, jyothsna. for mine i don’t even reduce the temperature. i just remove the baked good in less time. do get the oven checked, if possible.
I just made this for the first time. My family just loved it and since there was no eggs in it it was perfect for my daughter. We topped it with vanilla ice cream and it was the best. Love the recipes.
thanks toby. glad to read your positive feedback.
Hey Dassana,
I am thinking to make this cake for a party today and do not want to gamble. I can not afford to mess up anything, hence was wondering if I can simply mix all ingredients (like apple cake recipe) and bake it instead of making an upside down cake. Please let me know. I do not have coconut jaggery but have organic jaggery, hence I want to make this recipe in stead of the apple cake one. Please respond.
Regards,
Nidhi
hi nidhi, yes you can add the apples and make the cake. but chop the apples. you can use organic jaggery. the cake will be moist from within due to the presence of apples. i suggest to coat the apples with some flour very well before you add the liquids.
Hi dassana.. Lovely recipe. Please suggest another ingredient as a substitute for cinnamon powder .
try with garam masala powder. not exactly a substitute but still gives a warm flavor. just add about 1/4 tsp. too much will become overpowering. you can skip nutmeg powder in this case. if you do not like garam masala, then just add nutmeg powder. another substitute is cardamom powder. this will give a completely different aroma and flavor.
Can’t thank you enough for this awesome recipe. Most of the ingredients used in the cake are readily available and thats what I love about most of your recipes. No need to go to market to look for some exotic ingredients.
thanks anjali. i always try to make recipes which have ingredients easily available. since i know some ingredients can be difficult to get and also expensive at times.
Thank you for such a wonderful recipe. Mine came out great but dint take as long as 55 mins. Mine was done in 25-30 mins. I also used the whole wheat flour which has some flax seeds in it. I was worried initially as i read about flax seed only after i added the batter to the pan but it came out good. Next time am thinking of adding some nuts as I always like the crunch. Anything i need to do differently for that? Thanks again.
thanks smita for the feedback. flax seeds are healthy and a good replacement for eggs, but care has to be taken in their amount. too much changes the taste of the cake. while adding nuts, mix the nuts with some dry flour. then fold them in the batter. if you do this, then the nuts do not settle at the bottom.
Hi,
Just tried you’re recipe, came out fabulous. Everyone loved the texture and taste. It was light and delicious. It got over in a jiffy. Unfortunately can’t upload the picture 🙁
Thank you !!
welcome diivya. glad to read your positive feedback.
can i make this cake in pressure cooker ? .. as I don’t have oven..i make all cakes in cooker only..
hi ashu, i am not sure if you can make this cake in the pressure cooker. have never tried baking this cake in pressure cooker.
The recipe looks very simple! I definitely want to try it today for a very dear friend who doesn’t eat eggs.
Just a thought though ..can I use butter in place of oil?
For some reason I keep thinking the oil will give it a taste i don’t like. (I tried making egg less chocolate cake with sunflower oil and didn’t quite like the taste 🙁 )
yes saee, you can use butter instead of oil. i often add oil to cakes instead of butter and never get any particular taste of oil in them.
Hi, just stumbled onto your website. I am a vegan and your recipes sound terrific! just a friendly suggestion, I think it would be helpful if you state the size of cake pans to use at the beginning where you state the temperature and length of baking time so you do not always have to post back. You are incredible, so tolerant and helpful! I have been baking and cooking practically all my life but just started vegan, gluten and dairy free baking for my family so I will for sure try some of your recipes! Thanks a bunch
thanks carmen. i will take your suggestion into account and will use it for future recipes and will slowly incorporate it in old recipes as well. keep visiting.