Upside-Down Apple Maple Cake

1. Summary Information
   1. Ingredients
   2. Instructions
   3. Notes

Summary Information

This recipe was modified from “The Instant Pot Bible”, by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarabrough. I reduced the sugar content and replaced the vanilla extract with maple syrup.

For equipment, you will need an Instant Pot, a souffle/baking dish, two mixing bowls (large, medium), aluminum foil, measuring cups/spoons, a spatula, a sharp knife, a cutting board, and a vegetable peeler.

Optional equipment: a fine sieve for sifting the dry ingredients; an electric mixer for creaming and combining the batter.

Ingredients

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 9 tablespoons butter, room temperature, 2 tbsp for maple mixture, 7 tbsp for batter, additional butter for greasing the pan
• 1/4 cup maple syrup, 2 tsp for batter sub vanilla extract, rest for maple mixture
• 2 medium baking apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup granulated white sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 3 tablespoons whole milk, sub almond or soy milk

Instructions

1. Prepare Dry Ingredients
   : In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and cinnamon.
   • Optional: sift the dry ingredients through a mesh strainer for easier mixing.
2. Saute the Apple Maple Mixture
   : Generously butter the inside of the souffle dish and set aside.
   Melt two tablespoons of the butter in the Instant Pot. Add the maple syrup and stir until warmed. Add the apples and cook, stirring around until softened, approximately for 5 minutes. Carefully layer the softened apples into the souffle dish, forming a flat layer of apple slices around the perimeter of the dish. Pour the butter/syrup mixture into the prepared dish once the apples have been arranged.
3. Combine the Cake Batter
   : Clean and dry the insert before returning it to the Instant Pot. Cream together the remaining butter and sugar in a large bowl until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, ensuring the first egg is fully incorporated before adding the second egg. Beat in the 2 tsp of maple syrup (or vanilla extract), if using a hand mixer reduce speed to low.
   Beat in the flour mixture until incorporated. Add in the milk and mix until uniform.
   Pour this batter over the apples in the prepared pan. Cover tightly with aluminum foil.
4. Pressure Cook Apple Cake
   : Add 1 cup of cold water into the Instant Pot. Set the baking/souffle dish onto a trivet and gently place it into the Instant Pot.
   Pressure cook at high pressure for 30 minutes, keep warm setting turned off. Allow the machine to natural release after the cook time is over.
   Remove the hot dish from the instant pot and allow to cool for around 5 minutes. Flip the dish over onto a platter to remove the cake from the dish. Cool for an additional 15 minutes and serve warm.

Notes

• If the cake is still too sweet, reduce the sugar from 1/3 cup to 1/4 cup. Additionally, use 2 tsp of vanilla extract instead of maple syrup for the cake batter.
• Depending on your souffle dish size, you will have excess sliced apples. These can be served on the side of the cake after baking. Additionally, you may need to use a flatware knife to loosen the cake from the inner perimeter of the dish after baking.
• Additional fruit may be used to substitute apples such as Bartlett pears, or pineapple.