One-Bowl Apple Cranberry Upside-Down Cake

If I told you that you could bake up a jammy, apple- and cranberry-topped vanilla cake glazed with a cinnamon caramel in an hour (maybe less), my guess is you wouldn’t believe me. And yet that is indeed the tasty little secret about upside-down cakes: They truly could not be easier.

Here, the cake is one-bowl to boot, as the caramel is assembled in the pan in which you bake the cake, as opposed to in a saucepan on the stovetop. Moreover, the cake is an oil-based one, which means that making this cake does not require softening and creaming of butter. So, I don’t want you anywhere near your stand or hand mixer when you assemble this cutie: Just grab a whisk, a bowl, and a flexible spatula and you’re good to go.

The most time-consuming part of whipping up this upside-down cake is the peeling, coring, and slicing of the apples. And I hear you — I, too, get a little agita when staring down a bunch of apples in need of baking prep. But the good news is that this recipe calls for only two (you’re welcome). And once the apples are sliced, things really pick up speed. Butter is melted; brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt are added; apples and cranberries are tossed and bathed in the caramel for a few minutes in the oven.

The cake takes all of five minutes to assemble and benefits from a sneaky little trick that I called upon with abandon when writing my last book, Snackable Bakes. Rather than whisking the dry ingredients in a separate bowl at the start of the recipe, I have you add the leavening and salt directly to the wet ingredients, and then the flour is folded in solo at the end. This ensures that the assembly of the recipe is limited to one bowl, and also guarantees even distribution of the baking powder and salt. This method also encourages a gentle hand when flour-folding (read: no need to aggressively stir in the flour an effort to thoroughly incorporate the leavening/salt, as they are already in the mix).

The batter is poured over the caramel-coated fruit and the cake is popped in the oven. Once removed, the cake rests for a mere five minutes before being flipped out onto a serving plate. Didn’t mean to bury the lede here, but when it comes to upside-down cake baking, the bottom of the cake (aka the caramel-covered fruit) becomes the top post-bake.

Some recipes suggest you wait to flip the cake for 15 minutes or so. Others say to do so as soon as the cake leaves the oven, but I happen to think five minutes is the sweet spot. And I know, I know: The idea of flipping a cake out of its pan when it is still warm and covered in caramel-coated fruit is nobody’s idea of a good time. But here’s the thing: Upside-down cakes are wonderfully forgiving. Any and all errant pieces of fruit, or even a caramel-soaked piece of cake that remains in the pan post-flip, is easily removed from the pan and “surgically” replaced on the cake and no one will be the wiser (promise).

The cooked fruit is terrifically malleable, and the caramel is like a camouflage all its own. So have fun and make a quick cake that screams autumn, while simultaneously impressing your friends and family, who can’t imagine how you whipped up something so gorgeous and fast and spectacularly yummy. But don’t worry — I’ll never tell.