The Humble Apple

There’s apples everywhere right now and since my freezer is full of apple sauce I have to use them in other ways. I spent a few minutes on the internet researching the health benefits of apples and there is lots of information available.

Apples are the cheapest among fruits and the healthiest too and are available all year long. Eating apples helps prevent several kinds of cancer, lowers cholesterol, aids in weight loss and is packed full of vitamins. A Danish article states the apple is a vitamin bomb and suggests that “eating three apples a day will keep the weight away”.

I bought a large bag of beautiful Gala apples from BC and since I am not a big fan of apple pie I found many other great ways of using apples. The Apple & cinnamon upside-down pancake is a mouth watering dish to make on a week-end morning. The smell of baked apples and cinnamon will have everyone sitting at your table waiting for the cake to come out of the oven.

Apple & cinnamon upside-down pancake

I made this for breakfast on Sunday morning and served it with crisp bacon.

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Baking time: 30 minutes

2/3 cup flour
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
Pinch of salt
½ cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
1 tbsp. melted butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 large apples – I used Gala
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. cinnamon
¼ cup sugar
3 tbsp. butter

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees and butter a 9 inch non stick cake pan.

Place the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium sized bowl, stirring well. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, melted butter and vanilla. Mix into the dry ingredients until just combined. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, peel and core the apples and cut into wedges. Sprinkle the lemon juice over the apples.

Add the cinnamon to the sugar and mix well. Sprinkle the mixture over the apples, stirring to coat them well.

Over medium heat, melt the butter in a medium sized non-stick frying pan. Arrange the apples over the bottom of the skillet. Sprinkle any leftover sugar mixture over the apples. Cook the apples until the sugar has melted and the liquid becomes a little syrupy, about 3 minutes.

Arrange the apple wedges decoratively around the bottom of the buttered cake pan. Pour any remaining syrup in the frying pan over the apples. Spoon the batter over the apples and bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until the top is just beginning to turn golden and the centre is firm to the touch.

Immediately run a knife around the edge of the pan and invert the cake onto a plate . Carefully remove the cake pan from the plate using a knife to replace any fruit that is stuck to the bottom.

Serve with maple syrup or vanilla ice cream.