1. Preheat oven to 180C (170C fan-forced). 2. Generously grease a 24cm (9 1/2") round cake tin, approx 4.5cm (1 1/2") deep, with butter - a non-stick tin is best. 3. Peel core and dice one or two apples - enough to give you once cup of diced apple. 4. Place diced apple and 1 tablespoon of water into a microwave safe dish. Cover and microwave on HIGH for 4-5 minutes or until apple is cooked and very soft. 5. Stir sour cream into stewed apple and mash very well or puree with a stick mixer or small blender. Set aside until needed. 6. For the caramel topping, melt 60g butter in a small saucepan over a medium heat. 7. Add brown sugar and golden syrup. 8. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. 9. Pour caramel sauce into the prepared cake tin, tilting it to ensure it covers the base evenly. 10. Now, sift the flour and spices together in a bowl, add a pinch of salt ONLY if you are using unsalted butter. 11. Now, place the 90g butter and the caster sugar into a medium to large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer for 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. 12. Add the vanilla extract and then the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. 13. Reducing the speed of your mixer to low, add the flour to the butter mixture and beat until just combined. 14. Add the apple/sour cream mixture and beat briefly to combine. 15. Now, peel, core, and quarter 2 or 3 apples and then cut each quarter into four slices. 16. Place the lemon juice into a large bowl, add the sliced apple and stir gently to coat each slice with lemon juice. 17. Starting at the outside edge of the cake tin, arrange the apple slices, overlapping each other, in a circle on top of the sauce. 18. Now, arrange another circle of apple slices inside, but slightly overlapping, the first, and so on until you reach the middle of the tin. 19. Reserve some smaller slices for the centre and arrange them, overlapping, as best you can. 20. Now, carefully spoon the cake batter as evenly as possible into the tin, being sure not to disturb the apples. 21. Warm a bread knife under the tap, shake off excess moisture, and use the knife to gently smooth the batter until it is spread evenly. 22. Place the cake onto the centre shelf of a preheated 180C (170C fan-forced) oven and bake for 45-50 minutes (approximately 40 minutes in a fan-forced oven). 23. The cake is cooked when it looks golden brown and the springs back when you touch it - if unsure, insert a skewer into the cake and, if it comes out clean, the cake is cooked. 24. Remove the cake from the oven and let it sit for 3 minutes before running a knife around the rim to loosen the sides. 25. Now, place a large plate upside down over the top of the cake tin and, being careful not to burn yourself, quickly invert the plate and the tin. 26. Leave the cake tin to stand on top of the plate for 20 seconds before removing it. 27. If any apple sticks to the top of the tin, simply remove them and press back into the cake. 28. Serve warm, drizzled with extra golden syrup and serve with thick cream or ice-cream. 29. If you have to make the cake in advance, it can be reheated for a couple of minutes in the microwave. 30. If you wish to be really decadent and serve this cake as a dessert, consider making up a batch of the Caramel Sauce that goes with my Little Icky Sticky Puddings, recipe #88565, and serve it with vanilla ice-cream. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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