Apple Upside-Down Cake

I often say that cooking is art(feeling extra spicy today?- toss in some of this and that,) and baking is chemistry(if you don't add that 1/4 tsp, it won't work.)  Well sometimes baking can be art too.  Our friends called and invited us over the other evening and I didn't have anything on hand to bring over, so I stood in the middle of my kitchen and improvised.  I glanced around and spied the apples peeking out of my fruit bowl.  Since it's autumn and I live in upstate NY, chances are I'll spy some apples on my counter.  The ones I used in this recipe are Ginger Gold apples.

 I just started throwing things together and came up with a cake.  No recipe, no plan, just action.  This cake is a riff on the traditional pineapple upside-down cake.   Start by peeling, coring, and slicing 4-5 apples into 1/4 inch slices.   Put them in a skillet with 1/4 cup butter and 1/3 cup brown sugar.  Cook them for 4-5 minutes on a medium-low flame.  Dump the apples and caramel sauce into a buttered 9"cake pan.

You can't tell from this pic, but I did take the time to artfully arrange the bottom layer before dumping the rest into the pan.  That way the cake would be pretty when turned out of the pan.

While those apples are cooking, whisk 2 eggs, 2/3 cup agave nectar, 1/2 cup applesauce, 1/2 cup sour cream, 1 tbsp vanilla, and 6tbsps melted butter in a medium sized bowl.  In a separate bowl whisk together 1/2 cup white rice flour, 1/2 cup brown rice flour, 1/4 cup tapioca flour, 1 tsp baking powder, and 1/4 tsp xantham gum.  Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet until the batter is smooth.  Pour into the pan over the apples and bake at 350 for 40 minutes.  This is what it should look like.

Let it cool for 15 minutes before running a knife around the edge and turning it out on a platter.

  Taking the time to make that first layer of apples pretty is totally worth it, isn't it?  This cake was so yummy and moist and was enjoyed by gluten eaters and gluten-free eaters alike.  I like using agave nectar to sweeten desserts because of it's low glycemic index, but this cake shows that improvising can totally work out, so feel free to use sugar or honey if that's what you have in your kitchen.  I didn't bother with cinnamon or any other baking spices, because I wanted the apples to be the star of the show and it worked - the cake tasted very much like apples, not Thanksgiving pie.

Thanks for popping in and check out the other great recipes at Gluten Free Homemaker's Gluten Free Wednesdays, Lisa's Gluten Free's Health Food Carnival, Fireflies & Jellybeans's Show Your Stuff Party, Remodelaholic's Recipe Link Party, and Kelly the Kitchen Kop's Real Food Wednesdays.