Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake...Sounds like a match made in heaven to me!

Yummy! That about says it all, need I go on? Yes, yes, you want all of the yummy details, I know! Trust me, this has got to be one of the best cakes to serve at your next fall gathering or party. Halloween is coming up, this would make a wonderful addition to your list of goodies to serve that night.

Pineapple upside down cake is so good, I knew there had to be something equal to it! The upside down cake is such a fun dessert and can be easily adapted to any taste or fruit in season. The options are limitless.

A few years ago, I made an upside down peach cake, it was SO good! It had the same yummy caramel glaze in the bottom of the pan. It also had coconut sprinkled on top of that, then peach halves put in after that. Oh my, my mouth waters just thinking about it.

Since cutting gluten from our life, I haven't tried an upside down cake until now. What inspired me to try this time? I got an email from Betty Crocker about a Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake. Caramel apple is one of my favorite flavors of just about anything. It ranks right up there with chocolate!

I know Betty Crocker also now makes gluten-free cake and cookie mixes, though I have yet to try them. I rarely buy mixes, as you know, so I went to my kitchen and started to create! Using the same basic idea as their recipe, I made the caramel glaze to go into the bottom of my pan and then sliced the apples.

Tree nuts are off limits here, so the pecans in the original recipe wouldn't work for me. Remembering a recipe for caramel apples I make, I decided to use some of the ideas from that recipe. So, I grabbed some peanuts and added them to the pan with the caramel glaze. Is your mouth watering? YUMMY!

Once the apples were down on the caramel glaze, I set to work on the cake. I knew I wanted a rich, moist yellow cake that could stand up to the glaze and apples. I decided on my yellow cake recipe. The original recipe that I was trying to duplicate called for an addition of apple pie spice, I used more than it called for, wanting to bring more flavor to the cake.

This cake smells so yummy when it's baking! You will have a hard time waiting the time it takes for it to bake and cool a bit before diving in! It will bring the smell of a trip to the apple farm, hot cider and wonderful memories into your home.

If you do want to try a cake mix, by all means do! I think I would have tried that too, if I'd had one. The yellow cake recipe that I used worked pretty well, though I did cook it a bit too long and it was dryer than I had wanted. Watch your cake closely so that you don't over cook yours. It was still good!

Also, if dairy is an issue for you, I hope you don't let that stop you from trying this recipe! It can easily be adapted to be dairy free as well. Just replace the butter and whipping cream for dairy free substitutes. I'd use soy milk or another of the richer dairy free options out there, instead of rice milk.

If eggs are a problem, then use the normal egg substitutes that you would normally use. This recipe is easily adapted to any restriction or taste!

What do you top this yummy cake with? What would you suggest? Ice cream, whipped cream, caramel ice cream topping, even a cream cheese frosting would be yummy! All of the above maybe? Decide what sounds good to you and go for it. We ate it just as is and it was wonderful!