Upside-down Applesauce Cake

I am going to keep this one short today... Saw a recipe using applesauce in a cake.  Liked the idea. Made a few changes.  Made a lot of changes.  Turned it upside-down.  Came out pretty and pretty tasty.  Enjoy.

Upside-down Applesauce Cake

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1 stick unsalted butter, softened, plus 1/4 cup, melted for topping
1 cup light brown sugar, packed plus 1/2 cup for topping
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups applesauce
3 granny smith apples

Note: This recipe makes 2 shallow cakes.  As I was playing around a bit, I came out with a lot of batter!

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180 C).  Prepare your baking dish by buttering sides throughly.  You will be adding melted butter to dish so you not need to butter bottom.

2. Whisk together dry ingredients through cloves.  Leave a small bit of cinnamon to sprinkle on your topping.  Set aside.

3. Beat stick of butter, 1 cup brown sugar, and vanilla until pale and fluffy.  Beat in eggs, 1 at a time. Then beat in applesauce. Mix in flour at a low speed until just combined.  Do not overmix.

4.  For your gooey apple topping, core, peel, and slice apples. Do not worry about them browning.

5. Add melted butter to your baking dish so that you have a thin layer. Sprinkle with brown sugar. Adjust the amounts if required.  Dust with leftover cinnamon and arrange apples in even layer.  Remember that this will be the top of your cake, so get creative!  Pour batter over topping.

6. Bake for about 30-40 minutes or until golden brown.  Use the toothpick test!

7. Cool in pan for about 10 minutes and invert onto platter.  Serve warm topped with scoop of vanilla ice cream.