That’s why I’ll always keep this recipe around. This upside-down apple pancake is an old fave in my family. It’s fairly easy, it’s just special enough to impress without feeling OTT, and it’s oh so delicious. What are you waiting for?
This apple pancake is a great weekend morning alternative to the standard bacon and eggs or traditional pancakes, and while it feels like there are a lot of steps involved, once you make it a few times, you’ll find it’s actually too easy, and too tasty, not to put into your regular rotation.
I make this recipe in two round cake pans, but you can make it on a cookie sheet and serve it as a brekkie or brunch dish to a larger group, too. Trust me, this one is a crowd pleaser.
All you need is a bit of butter, sugar and cinnamon in the bottom of the pan (eherm, that’s caramel people), layered with sliced apples to form a sweet, gooey, toffee-like bottom.
The type of apples you choose will yield different results. Granny Smith apples stay tart and firm when cooked (which I prefer) but for a more applesaucey topping, try using Macintosh apples. I would stay away from sweet types like Delicious or Gala though. There is already a lot of sweetness in the sticky bottom and in the souffle-like batter.
This recipe appears to have a bunch of little steps, which can initially slow you down, but you’ll quickly find that you can complete one task while another is taking place. While you’re peeling and slicing apples, you are preheating the oven. While the apples are cooking, you have ten minutes to whip up the egg whites and prepare batter.
Once you get your timing right, the apples will be done just as you’re combining the meringue and batter and you can immediately add it atop the hot apples. Then it’s into the oven to bake for 12-15 minutes, during which time you can boil the kettle, and set the table.
The result is a light, almost souffle-like mixture. It’s satisfying like cake, yet light, and low in calories! Win! Win! Win!
Once out of the oven, slide a butter knife around the edge of the pan and carefully flip the pan onto your plate. Don’t worry about those cracks, no one will see them.
Now you’ve got those soft, gooey, toffee apples laying on top. And if you’re lucky, they’ll slide out easily from the pan for a flawless display. The best way to guarantee this is to transfer the hot pancake onto the plate right away. If you wait around too long, the toffee bottom will cool and stick to the pan. If you do get called away and the pans sit for too long, just sit the bottom of the pans in a large bowl of hot water (do not submerge) and it will loosen that sticky goodness.
Delish.
The outer crust is soft, with a little bit of chewy crumble. The inner batter is creamy but firm. And those warm, sweet, toffee-ey apples. Don’t worry, no jiggly, eggy flavour or texture here. Think dutch baby or souffle. The ultimate indulgence! And isn’t that what weekends are all about?
Is this the type of breakfast that floats your boat? What else do you love to pull out for a special morning meal? Be sure to let me know below in the comments.
Mel
xo
- 2 tbsp butter or margarine
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 3 apples, peeled and sliced (I use Granny Smith for their firm, tart flavour)
- BATTER:
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 2 egg yolks
- ⅓ cup milk
- 4 egg whites
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar (I use ¼ cup and it's still sweet enough)
- In two 9-inch pie plates or a 13- x 9-inch baking dish, melt butter in 400F oven, about 2 minutes. Combine sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle evenly over butter; bake for 2 minutes.
- Arrange sliced apples over top; bake for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine flour and baking powder; blend in egg yolks and milk.
- In a large bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form; gradually beat in sugar until stiff peaks form.
- Fold into milk mixture; spread evenly over apples.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned.
- Remove from oven; loosen edges with a butter knife and invert onto serving plate.
- For best results, remove from pan right away.
Comments (12)
This looks sinfully delicious!
Aw shucks…Thanks PTUFOL:)
Oh. My. God.
Are you kidding me? This is amazing!!!!!!!!!! I have got to make this as soon as I can. I can’t believe how good this looks. I just hope I can make it look as good as yours does!! I know my Hubby and I know he’d want this for dinner and not wait for the weekend. Do I even dare show him this right now with so many things to make on the list for the week? I think I’ll surprise him with it instead.
Way to go! And thanks for the inspiration!
Seriously, this will totally turn out. I’ve been making it for years now, so it seems super easy, but as long as you’re comfortable with egg whites, then no worries. Even if you don’t whip the eggs enough it still cooks up well. It’s mess-up proof, basically.
I think surprising hubby is a great idea! Definitely fun to have breakfast for dinner too. Good luck this week with all your other recipes too!
I’m off to the grocery store right now! YAY!
I haven’t forgotten your dinner email, I’ll reply ASAP….trying to think of a theme.
Thanks again for this one! So excited!
No pressure! We’ll get it going all in good time. Have fun at the grocery store. I love food shopping (obv.).
[…] you’ve listened to my advice and tried the Upside-Down Apple Pancake. It came out just as you’d hoped, everyone loved it, you are the master of your kitchen […]
Oh this looks so lovely (like seriously pretty in your pics)! I’ll make this Sunday as part of our breakfast. I love anything with apple and cinnamon in it. I haven’t whipped egg whites in awhile (so I may give my hubby that job!). Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!
Allison
Thank you Allison! I love the pictures on your blog too. Let me know how this turns out if you try it on Sunday.
Melanie
I made this today! I used golden delicious apples (perfect choice), brown sugar for the sticky bottom instead of white, and 1/4 cup of cane sugar for the meringue-ish part. I found the pancake way too sweet (and I’m a sugar fiend), I will half it next time. I was hoping for more of a typical batter-y pancake taste to counteract the sweetness of the sticky apple stuff. anyway, it was good and a hit at potluck brunch. I will make again, possibly with sliced bananas instead of apples, and a bit of coarse sea salt in the butter/brown sugar mix to get a salted caramel taste. MMMMM
Oooh I love the banana idea and also the salted caramel! Inspired!
I do find that sometimes it does taste quite sweet. The apples make a difference too, as they seem to get sweeter with baking. That’s why I like to use Grannie Smith–they are inherently tart. Keep me posted on how you change up the sugar amounts…I can give it a try too.
[…] you’ve listened to my advice and tried the Upside-Down Apple Pancake. It came out just as you’d hoped, everyone loved it, you are the master of your kitchen […]