Apple Buttermilk Cake

This one's a doozy. I intended to make a French Apple Cake, so I bought apples. Then I realized I have this huge-ass carton of buttermilk meant for the pancakes, of which I'll use just a bit.

So, I have apples and buttermilk to contend with, which means potential for a Frankenstein's monster.

OK, this really can't be that bad. It's a good combination as far as leftovers go. A little tweak on a classic apple coffee cake, substituting buttermilk for regular milk, slap on the tarte tartin inspired topping, and voila! Mangy leftovers no more.

As it turns out, it's a rich moist cake with plenty of spicy apple flavour. The upside-down apple topping really soaks into the cake and gives it a sweet caramel boost. V yum with a steaming hot cup of joe.

• 30g unsalted butter
• 250g sugar
• 80ml water
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 Granny Smith apples, peeled and thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 175C and grease a 9-inch round cake tin.

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the sugar, water and cinnamon and bring to boil. Add apples and cook until apples are just tender, about 15 minutes. Remove apples from syrup and arrange decoratively in bottom of pan. Continue boiling liquid in skillet until thick and syrupy, about 4 minutes. Pour over apples.

Now, on to the cake batter.

• 200g sugar
• 110g firmly packed brown sugar
• 115g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 240ml buttermilk
• 2 eggs
• 280g flour
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and finely diced

In a bowl, sift together the flour, spices and baking soda. With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar till pale yellow. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well in between.

Add the buttermilk, beating well and scraping down as you go. Finally, add the flour mixture and beat till you have a smooth batter. Finally, gently fold in the apples.

Pour the batter into the cake tin and bake for 50 minutes.

When done, flip the cake over on to a cake board and watch the caramelised glaze drip down the sides.