Prep Work:

• Preheat oven to 350˚F and lightly spray the bottom of a 9×3 round cake pan with non stick spray. Place parchment paper that has been cut to size in the bottom of the pan and spray again with non-stick spray. Set aside and begin preparing your apples, caramel sauce, and cake.
• Clean, peel, core, and slice 2 medium apples into 1/4 inch slices and set aside. I personally used 1 granny smith and 1 honey crisp apple for a balanced flavor.

Caramel Sauce:

• In a saucepan, melt 1/4 cup of butter over medium heat until melted. Once melted, add in the light brown sugar and salt, and whisk until the sugar dissolves and the mixture gets lighter in color. This only takes a minute or so. Once it starts to bubble and boil, remove from heat, and whisk in 1/2 tsp of cinnamon. Lastly add in 1-2 tablespoons of milk and whisk until smooth. Immediately pour the caramel sauce into a cake pan that has been sprayed and lined with parchment paper. Tilt the pan from side to side so that the entire bottom of the cake pan is covered with caramel sauce.
• Next arrange the apple slices on top of the caramel sauce, overlapping as needed. Don’t worry about it being perfect, it will look beautiful when it’s done no matter what

Cake:

• In a large mixing bowl add the oil, sugar, yogurt or sour cream, eggs, cinnamon, and vanilla extract and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Next add in the flour in increments, whisking in between until combined. Do not over mix.
• Pour the cake batter over the apples and bake for 40-45 minutes or until the cake is a light golden brown on the top and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
• Immediately place cake pan onto a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Once cooled, place the serving plate or platter on top of the pan and quickly turn upside down. Let the cake naturally fall out of the pan before removing. If you sprayed your pan well enough you shouldn’t have any issues, but if you do you can always tap the outside of the pan with a butter knife to get the cake to release.
• Once you remove the pan, remove any extra caramel sauce from the pan and drizzle on top of your cake. It will look so beautiful and delicious!
• The cake will be warm and tender. For cleaner slices, let cool for 10-15 more minutes before cutting and serving. Serve as-is or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream.