A Festive Alternative to Thanksgiving Pie

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, many of us are planning our holiday dinner menus. If your family is looking forward to the traditional pumpkin pie, wonderful! However, if you're looking for alternative desserts, or need an extra one if company is coming, I have a recipe for you. And it looks super festive, too! 

This family recipe for Apple Upside-down Cake is at least 70 years old, so definitely tried and true! Simple, everyday ingredients. It'll look lovely on your brunch table if that's the meal you're hosting on the big day.

Apple Upside-down Cake

Cake batter:

¼ cup butter or other fat

½ cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1 ½ cups sifted flour

2 tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. salt

½ cup milk

2-4 firm-fleshed apples, peeled, quartered and sliced (enough to cover the bottom of a 10-inch round pan)

Topping:

1-2 tsp. cinnamon (to taste preference) mixed with ¼ cup sugar

10-inch round pan. Springform pan works best but a layer-cake pan or pie pan also will serve.

Parchment paper

Cream the fat while adding the sugar, well-beaten egg, and vanilla. Sift the dry ingredients together and add alternately with the milk to the first mixture. Line the pan with parchment paper and spray or grease the lining. Pare, quarter, and slice the apples thin. Arrange the slices in an overlapping layer on the bottom of the pan, starting with the outer rim and working in circles to the center. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the apple layer. Pour the cake mixture over the apples. The batter is thick and may need to be spread with a knife to cover all the apples. Bake at 325 for 45 min. Allow to cool for a few minutes before inverting onto a plate or serving platter and removing the parchment paper. Serve warm or cool with whipped cream or hard sauce or ice cream.

Enjoy!