Sourdough Apple Upside-Down Cake. Is that a tongue twister? Regardless, this cake is phenomenal. Quick, easy, beautiful, and most importantly, tasty.

image of apple upside-down cake recipe made with sourdough discard with a rose shaped caramel top

Anyways, this cake is stunning. It's the prettiest apple upside down cake because of that rose-shaped top, which is surprisingly easy to create! It's also tender, fluffy, and the apple flavor in this cake just stands out, with extra flavor accentuated by some cinnamon and nutmeg. Delicious.

The best part about this apple cake is that it's super easy to make, which is great when not so much effort still equals a stunning cake!

You can even opt to leave out the sourdough discard or add up to 75 grams of it if you have a bunch to get rid of! I give you lots of options for making this cake recipe in the easiest way, personalized to you.

image of a slice of apple cake made with sourdough discard

Sourdough Apple Upside-Down Cake: The Breakdown

Preheat the oven to 350F
Mix the dry ingredients
Mix the wet
Prep the apples
Prep the pan (AKA create the rose)
Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients
Scoop the batter into the pan
Bake the thing!
Let cool and flip it! Ta-da. It's gonna be a beauty.

image of a slice of sourdough apple cake on a black plate

My favorite apple variety for baking!

This subject is a doozy. There are simply SO many apple varieties to choose from for baking. But the ultimate apple choice really comes down to the texture and flavor you want in the apples after baking.

For me, it's most important that the apple retains crispiness and its flavor after baking. And I've had that be successful most often with Honeycrisp apples! It holds just enough shape and crisp even when cooked very, very thoroughly. And a massive plus, the flavor runs the perfect amount of tart and sweet to me.

If you want to explore this topic more, check out this post by Bon Appetit.

image of a slice taken out of a sourdough apple upside down cake

Apple types aside, let's get to baking!

top down view of an apple upside down cake made with sourdough with the apple slices in a rose formation

Sourdough Apple Upside-Down Cake

A slice of this Sourdough Apple Upside-Down Cake would be perfect with a scoop of vanilla ice cream! This easy recipe uses up some sourdough discard (optional), cinnamon and nutmeg to give some spicy charm, and is complete with an apple top that resembles a rose.

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Prep Time 30

Cook Time 1 10

Total Time 1 40

Course Breakfast, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American, Healthy, Vegetarian

Servings 12 slices

Calories 210 kcal

Equipment

1 7 or 8 inch cake pan

Ingredients

150g all-purpose flour or whole wheat pastry flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
80g neutral oil like grapeseed or canola oil
150g granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
90g sour cream or plain yogurt
50g sourdough discard optional, can add up to 75g
100g brown sugar I use dark for a darker top, but light works if you'd like a lighter top!
2 medium or 1 large apple(s) honeycrisp, braeburn, or pink lady work best

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350F.
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, sugar, egg, vanilla, and sourdough discard. Set aside.
Prep your cake pan by spraying the pan with oil spray. Then cut out a circle of parchment paper that fits the bottom inside of the pan snugly. Place the circle in the pan and spray the top of the paper with oil.
Peel the apple(s) and slice finely.
Evenly press the brown sugar onto the paper at the bottom of the pan so it covers the bottom entirely to the edges. Lay out the apple slices by overlapping them until they make a row around the outside.
Then continue with rows to the center until you fill the whole surface area. Any leftover apple slices can be placed on top somewhat haphazardly because they won't show after baking. (I usually end up making two layers, and the second one is with no overlapping.)
After your pan is prepared with the brown sugar and apples, it's time to mix the batter. Dump the flour mixture into the wet mixture bowl and fold just until no lumps appear. Then scoop the batter on top of the apples in the pan and even it out carefully, as not to disturb the apples beneath it.
Bake the cake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean in the center. Let cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes, then place your serving plate upside down on top of the pan and flip the cake onto the plate. You should hear it plop down. Remove the pan, and remove the paper atop the cake. Wait 15 minutes to serve and slice if you want to eat it warm! Enjoy!

Notes

I prefer to use honeycrisp for this recipe, as they retain their crunch after baking and have a sweet, tart flavor.

I tend to use grapeseed oil because it's a relatively healthy and neutral oil. You can use olive oil if you're looking for a more flavorful cake that is gives that olive oil hint that some people enjoy.

The sour cream will give you a richer flavor in the cake, but can be easily swapped for yogurt without much noticeable difference.

1 egg is the equivalent of 50g.

The sourdough discard is optional. You can also add up to 75g of sourdough discard if you have that much to get rid of.

You can use light or dark brown sugar. Dark brown is what I've used in these photos because I prefer the darker top and more molasses-y flavor.

Let me know what you think in the comments! And if you want to make another sourdough discard cake recipe, check out my Sourdough Lemon Bundt Cake! It's another stunner.

Sourdough Apple Upside-Down Cake

Sourdough Apple Upside-Down Cake: The Breakdown