Name: Speculaas Upside-Down Apple Cake Recipe
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 90 min
Total time: 110 min
Ingredients: 3 Granny Smith apples medium; 2 tbs brown sugar; 160 g butter; 1 cup caster sugar; 4 eggs; 2 tbs Speculaas spice; 2 cups plain flour; 1 pinch salt; 2 tsp baking powder

by dayna_hoskin Last updated on 01/31/2023

Dutch apple cakes are traditionally a vanilla sponge-type cake with apple chunks atop it, but coming from a Dutch family myself, when I think of Dutch flavours my mind goes straight to Speculaas. So without further ado, here is my Speculaas apple upside down cake. - dayna_hoskin

Ingredients

3 Granny Smith apples medium
2 tbs brown sugar

Cake batter

160 g butter
1 cup caster sugar
4 eggs
2 tbs Speculaas spice
2 cups plain flour
1 pinch salt
2 tsp baking powder

Method

Step 1

Preheat oven to 150C.
Step 2

Grease or line a 20cm round cake tin and set aside.
Step 3

Core and slice your apples into thin half spheres and set aside.
Step 4

Sprinkle brown sugar in an even layer in the base of your cake tin, then arrange your apple slice atop the brown sugar in any pattern you wish. Note: you will yield better results if your apples overlap somewhat.
Step 5

Combine flour, baking powder, salt and Speculaas spice in a bowl and set aside.
Step 6

Using an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar in a large bowl until light in colour. Add and mix in eggs one by one, followed by flour/spice mixture. Beat together until smooth.
Step 7

Carefully, so as not to disturb your apple arrangement, spoon cake batter into your cake tin and smooth the surface with a knife.
Step 8

Place in the oven to bake for 1 hour 30 minutes (90 minutes total), or until a skewer inserted into the centre of your cake comes out clean.
Step 9

Remove from cake tin while still warm to avoid the caramel in the bottom from setting and sticking.