Traditions. Everyone has them, whether they know it or not. They can be related to holidays, your family history, or something that you took the liberty of starting one day and it stuck around. I am definitely not a traditionalist in regards to most things, and I am always open to doing things differently, but I love to hear stories about how traditions start.
Speaking of starting traditions, two and a half years ago, our family started one of my favourite traditions to date - apple picking! I had never been before we started this yearly family outing, and my toddler talks about it all year long so it absolutely stuck. The bright blue skies and crisp fall air, the wagon ride in anticipation of what's to come, and of course, the apples that are quite possibly the same size as my toddler's head. The whole experience is a fun-packed, family centred, crazy and delicious few hours.
This year we picked BEAUTIFUL honeycrisp apples and the day was just lovely! A whopping seven bushels of apples later and it was off to the races with enough apple filled recipes to feed the nations. Applesauce, apple pie, apple crisp, oh my! Of course, all of these tradition family recipes are wonderful, but I decided to try something new. This Maple Brown Butter Apple Upside Down Cake is a perfect treat that your whole family will devour (trust me, it didn't last two days in our house). The sweet tender honey crisp, the crunchy maple glazed edges and the nutty brown butter notes is almost as good as your grandma's famous coffee cake...and I only say almost because when it comes to grandma's cooking, who can beat tradition?
Maple Brown Butter Apple Upside Down Cake:
2 large honey crisp apples, peeled, cored and sliced thin (other sweet apples will work, but I like these best)
2/3 cup unsalted butter
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/14 cups Robin Hood Gluten Free Flour Blend (can use regular all purpose flour)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a small sauce pan, add your butter and turn the stove to medium/high heat. Allow the butter to boil until the milk solids separate from the fat and the butter turns a rich brown colour (make sure you remove the pan from the heat a bit early as the butter will continue to brown once off of the heat and we don't want to bun it).
Once the butter has been browned, remove from the pan and allow to cool.
In a loaf pan or an 8x8 pan, add 1 tbsp of the brown butter and 2 tbsp of maple syrup, and use this mixture to line/grease the pan.
Add the sliced apples in layers along the bottom of the pan until the entire bottom is covered in one layer of sliced apples.
In a bowl, add half a cup of brown butter and the brown sugar; cream together. Add the eggs and stir/whisk until combined.
In a separate bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Stir.
Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and stir until everything come together. Pour the batter evenly over the sliced apples.
Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool.
Once cooled, place a plate over the pan and flip the pan upside down, allowing the cake to fall on the plate. The apples should now be on top. Dust with a little powdered sugar or eat warm with some creamy vanilla ice cream
What are some of your traditions?