This Apples-and-Honey Cake Deserves to Be the Center of Your Rosh Hashanah Dessert Table

By Kalea Martín

Updated on 9/12/2023 at 12:30 PM

apple honey upside down cake for rosh hashanah dessert
POPSUGAR Photography | Kalea Martin
POPSUGAR Photography | Kalea Martin

Many Jewish holidays are celebrated by eating delicious foods, and Rosh Hashanah is no exception. During the Jewish New Year — which this year begins on the evening of Sept. 15 — it's customary to celebrate by eating a feast of sweet dishes to symbolize the equally sweet year ahead. This might include tzimmes (a root-vegetable-and-fruit side dish) or a round challah with raisins. But quite possibly the most common food associated with Rosh Hashanah is apples and honey. You can simply slice up apples and serve them alongside a bowl of honey for dipping, but Jake Cohen, an influencer and the author of the cookbook "Jew-Ish," shared an even tastier way to partake in the sweet pairing.

In anow-viral TikTok, Cohen demonstrates how you can actually turn apples and honey into the star of a beautiful upside-down cake to serve as a Rosh Hashanah dessert. Per the instructions he shared in the caption of the video, you start by lining a pan with sliced apples, then top them with homemade syrup and honey-sweetened cake batter. When baked and inverted onto a plate, you're left with a visually stunning cake that looks a lot more complicated to make than it actually is. The hardest part is making sure your perfectly arranged apples don't stick to the bottom of the pan when you flip it, and you shouldn't have any problems with that as long as you use enough cooking spray.

However, it's not just the pretty pinwheel pattern that makes this Rosh Hashanah dessert worth baking. It's also the jammy apples and the caramelized honey that meld together and soak through every crumb of the cake. It's moist and decadent but by no means mushy, and the flavor is as sweet and rich as you'd hope the upcoming new year to be.

Whether you're celebrating Rosh Hashanah or simply the changing leaves of autumn, you can't go wrong with the classic combination of apples and honey in the form of an upside-down cake. To learn how to make this apples-and-honey cake step by step, keep scrolling for the full recipe.

apple honey upside down cake for rosh hashanah dessert: ingredients
POPSUGAR Photography | Kalea Martin
apple honey upside down cake for rosh hashanah dessert: placing apples in pan
POPSUGAR Photography | Kalea Martin
apple honey upside down cake for rosh hashanah dessert: drizzling apples in honey
POPSUGAR Photography | Kalea Martin
apple honey upside down cake for rosh hashanah dessert: pouring in batter
POPSUGAR Photography | Kalea Martin
apple honey upside down cake for rosh hashanah dessert: spreading batter
POPSUGAR Photography | Kalea Martin
apple honey upside down cake for rosh hashanah dessert: finished cake
POPSUGAR Photography | Kalea Martin
apple honey upside down cake for rosh hashanah dessert: finished cake on plate
POPSUGAR Photography | Kalea Martin
apple honey upside down cake for rosh hashanah dessert: slice
POPSUGAR Photography | Kalea Martin

Apples-and-Honey Upside-Down Cake

Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 10 minutes
Yield10 servings

Jake Cohen

INGREDIENTS

    • 3 Honeycrisp apples, cored and sliced into 8 wedges each
    • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
    • 2 sticks unsalted butter
    • 1 cup honey, plus more for garnish
    • 3/4 cup buttermilk
    • 2 large eggs
    • 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 2 cups all-purpose flour
    • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
    • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    • 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
    • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
    • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
    • Whipped cream, for garnish (optional)
    • Nonstick cooking spray, for greasing

    INSTRUCTIONS

    1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a high-sided 9-inch round cake pan with parchment paper cut to fit, then grease with cooking spray.

    2. Line the bottom of the prepared pan with apple wedges, arranging them in concentric circles, then shingle any remaining slices in the center.

    3. In a medium saucepan, combine the granulated sugar with 3 tablespoons of water. Cook over medium-high heat, shaking the pan as needed, until an amber caramel forms, about 6 to 8 minutes. Immediately pour the caramel over the apples in an even layer.

    4. In another medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Cook, stirring continuously, until browned and nutty in aroma, 6 to 8 minutes. Pour the melted butter into a heatproof large bowl, let cool slightly, then whisk in the honey, buttermilk, eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla until smooth.

    5. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, and baking soda to combine. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, then fold until just incorporated.

    6. Pour the batter over the caramel-coated apples. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes, until the top is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

    7. Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then run a paring knife around the edge of the cake. Place a plate over the cake pan, invert them together, then lift off the pan and remove the parchment paper.

    8. Top with whipped cream and drizzle with more honey if desired.

    Notes

    To make this cake parve, swap the buttermilk with non-dairy yogurt and use olive oil in place of butter.