This caramel apple upside-down cake is spiced, fluffy and moist, topped with luscious vegan salted caramel and delicious sliced apples!
Vegan and Gluten-Free Caramel Apple Upside-Down Cake
Maybe you're trying out the vegan lifestyle or the gluten-free lifestyle, or just trying to be a little healthier this year. But we all crave sweets from time to time, an we need something that'll hit the spot without being over-the-top sweet.
Enter this caramel apple upside-down cake that's both vegan and gluten-free!
What is an upside-down cake?
Upside-down cake is a single layer cake where the topping is placed at the bottom of the pan, under the cake batter. After it bakes, it's flipped upside down onto a plate so that the topping ends up on top of the baked cake. The most classic example is pineapple upside down cake, but it's also delicious with other fruit like banana coconut upside-down cake or kumquat upside-down cake!
Gluten-free vs. All-purpose flour
Gluten-free baking sounds intimidating but it doesn't have to be difficult! I'm a gluten-free newbie but I baked this cake using a gluten-free all-purpose flour that works as a 1-to-1 substitution for regular all-purpose flour. Just make sure your gluten-free flour contains xanthan gum, which acts as a binder and adds volume to your gluten-free baked goodies!
Vegan Salted Caramel
Upside down cakes generally starts adding melted butter and brown sugar to the bottom of a cake pan. Sometimes even caramelizing the butter and sugar first. But I'm making this upside-down cake recipe super easy and convenient by using half a jar of Nature's Charm's vegan salted caramel sauce!
How To Make Caramel Apple Upside-Down Cake
In the bottom of an 8 inch / 20 cm round cake pan, spread half a jar of vegan caramel sauce. Peel and slice the apples and lay them on top of the caramel. Set it aside while making the cake batter.
In a bowl, whisk together the gluten-free flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, mix together the oil, brown sugar, granulated sugar, non-dairy milk, flax egg, vanilla extract, and apple cider vinegar.
Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix until combined. Let the batter rest for about 20-30 minutes to let the gluten-free flour hydrate. If you skip this step, your cake might end up with a sandy texture!
While the cake batter is resting, preheat the oven to 350°F / 180°C. Pour the cake batter over the sliced apples, even the top with a spatula, and bake it in the preheated oven for about 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the baked cake rest for at least 10 minutes before turning it out onto a plate or platter.
More vegan and gluten-free recipes!
- Kumquat upside-down cake (gluten-free)
- Sweet potato cake (gluten-free)
- Matcha tiramisu (vegan)
- Chickpea chocolate chip cookies (vegan & gluten-free)
- Banana cupcakes (vegan)
- Chocolate banana cupcakes (vegan)
- Chocolate haupia pie (vegan & gluten-free)
Caramel Apple Upside-Down Cake
Ingredients
- ½ jar vegan salted caramel
- 2-3 apples, peeled and sliced into ¼ inch slices
- 1¼ cup / 184g gluten-free all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon / 1.5g fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon / 3g baking soda
- 1 teaspoon / 4g baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ cup / 100g olive oil
- ¼ cup / 50g brown sugar
- ¼ cup / 50g granulated sugar
- ½ cup / 120g non-dairy milk
- 1 flax egg (1T flax meal + 2.5T water)
- 1 teaspoon / 5g vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons / 10g apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Spread caramel in the bottom of a greased 8 inch / 20 cm cake pan. Lay apples on top. Set aside.
- In a bowl, whisk together gluten-free flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, mix together oil, brown sugar, granulated sugar, non-dairy milk, flax egg, vanilla extract, and apple cider vinegar.
- Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix until combined. Let the batter rest for about 20-30 minutes to let the gluten-free flour hydrate.
- While the batter is resting, preheat the oven to 350°F / 180°C. Pour the batter over the sliced apples, even the top with a spatula, and bake it in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let it rest for at least 10 minutes before turning it out onto a plate or platter.
Disclosure – Thank you to Nature’s Charm for sponsoring this post! I love both their products and brand values, and I’m so excited to be working with them!
Mark says
What time an easy endles delicious recipe! My wife has Celiac and also must eat dairy-free so this is the perfect dessert for her. I’m a disabled veteran, wheelchair-bound, beginning baker, yet had no problems making this gluten-free apple caramel upside down cake. I made homemade browned butter salted caramel yesterday and used it in your apple caramel upside down cake recipe. Definitely going in my “Must Make” file.
Thank you for this wonderful recipe!
Ai says
Hi Mark! Thank you so very much for your comment and rating! I'm so happy you and your wife enjoyed this cake! Homemade browned butter salted caramel sounds absolutely delightful! I think you should promote yourself to intermediate baker 😉 Thank you for your service, and hope you're having a lovely day!!