Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat brown sugar and ¾ stick butter in a small pot set over medium high heat, stirring occasionally, until completely melted. Add cinnamon to mixture and heat through. Set aside.

Slice apples and transfer to a bowl. Add 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice to fruit and mix through. Set aside.

Whisk (or sift) flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Set aside.

In another bowl, mix ¾ stick softened butter, until creamy and smooth. Add granulated sugar and mix until well incorporated. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each. Add vanilla and 1 tablespoon orange juice and continue mixing until combined. Batter should be slightly thick but pliable.

Warm brown sugar mixture on stovetop, if needed, to loosen. Pour mixture into the bottom of a standard 9-inch cake pan. Tilt pan to spread mixture to edges. Arrange sliced apples atop brown sugar mixture, to cover. Drop mounds of batter over top of apples and carefully spread to edge of pan to seal perimeter and cover apples. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until golden (test doneness with toothpick inserted in center of cake. If it comes out clean it’s done). Transfer cake to cooling rack for at least 30 minutes before inverting onto a serving platter. (Once cake is transferred to rack to cool, you can run a knife around the outside edge to loosen. This will help in removing cake from pan later.) Once cooled and inverted, slice and serve. Dust with powder sugar and/or chopped pecans, if preferred.