Fallen Leaves

Autumn most certainly started in Vienna. This year, it does not seem like we eased into it though. We started autumn with a winefestival with over 30 degrees Celcius. One week later it was just raining for several days in a row, with massive floodings coming over a large part of Austria. Fortunately, this has passed as well and we are back in the normal autumn situation right now.

Only the many fallen trees in the forests still remind of the large storms a few weeks ago. Besides, autumn is now showing its best side. The leaves of the trees and the vineyards around Vienna are colouring into their golden yellow and bright red shades. The very young wine, called Sturm in Austria, is available in the vineyards and in all cafes and supermarkets. It’s a beautiful season to go out for long walks and warm up afterwards with either a drink or a cup of tea. And it’s a beautiful season to cook as well. There are so many ingredients that have autumn as their main season. Of course pumpkins and mushrooms are obvious examples, but also fruits like pears and persimmons. And not to forget, although it often seems like they don’t have a season at all: apples. A super versatile fruit, as it both works in sweet and savoury dishes. Funnily enough, it does seem like apples are a bit underrated. At least at work, the poor apples always stay behind in the fruit basked when all other fruits are long gone already. But really, what fits better to that cup of tea to warm up after an autumn walk than a slice of a fresh apple pie or cake?

Upside Down Apple Cake

These ingredients fit into a small cake pan with a 16 cm diameter and about 5 cm height. Of course, you can also use a larger one like a 22 cm cake pan. Doubling the amount of ingredients will work for that size. Just pay attention to the baking time, which should be around 50 minutes, until golden brown.

The five spices powder used in this recipe is a mixture of star anise, cloves, cinnamon, Sichuan peppercorns and fennel seeds. I like the kick that this spice mixture gives to the cake. But in case you have any issue finding the spice mixture, you could either blend it yourself or use for example only cinnamon.

Ingredients for one small cake

Topping

• 3 small apples
• 50 grams of white sugar
• Tablespoon butter
• Salt

Cake

• Butter – 50 grams, at room temperature
• White sugar – 50 grams
• Brown sugar – 50 grams
• 1 egg
• Five spices powder – 1 teaspoon
• Baking powder – 5 grams
• Salt
• Flour – 100 grams
• Milk – 40 ml

Preheat your oven to 180°C. Line the bottom of your cake pan with a layer of baking paper.

Start by preparing the topping. Peel the apples, core them, and cut into slices of about 1 cm thickness. Melt the butter over a medium fire and add the sugar. The best is to do this in a stainless steel pot. After around 5 to 6 minutes the sugar should start caramelizing and turning into a golden brown. At this point, add the apples and a pinch of salt to the sugar. This might make the sugar lump together due to the temperature difference, but that is not a problem as it will melt again once you continue the cooking process. Cook the apples over a low fire in the caramel while stirring once in a while. The apples will release juice, so make sure to let the mixture cook until the caramel thickens up, in total around 12-15 minutes. Once the caramel has a nice, thick and sticky consistency, add the apples and caramel to the prepared cake pan and spread the mixture out evenly. Just make sure not to touch the caramel at any point, as it becomes extremely hot.

While the apples are cooking, start on the cake batter. Mix the butter with both white and brown sugar. Add the egg and beat it through carefully. Then, add the five spices powder, baking powder, salt and flour. When everything is combined, stir the milk through the batter. The cake batter will be quite thick.

Carefully add the cake batter on top of the caramlized apples into the cake pan. Spread the batter out evently. Place in the pre-heated oven and cook for 35-40 minutes, until the cake is golden brown. If you are not sure if the cake has cooked through, stick a toothpick or the tip of a knife in and check if it comes out clean.

Once the cake is ready, take it out of the oven and let it cool down for around 15 minutes. After this time, place a plate over the top and turn the cake around onto the plate. Make sure to remove the baking paper that will most likely be on top of the cake and enjoy!