Upside Down Apple Spice Cake with Coconut

So here's my prep list for tomorrow to get ready for Thanksgiving:

Cranberry Sauce
Sweet Potato Casserole
Pecan Pie
Coconut Cream Pie
Pumpkin Cheesecake with Caramel Topping
Caramel Apple Pie
Dinner Rolls

All of these dishes have to be cooked before I go to bed tomorrow.  And my list for Thanksgiving morning is just as long!  All 3 of my girls are home from school this week for Thanksgiving break.  So can you believe I decided I just had to bake up something sweet today while my little Jordyn was taking her nap?  Call me crazy but I just LOVE to bake now!

I'm stuck on apples and cinnamon lately.  It's finally Fall, even though it's been in the upper 70's all week.  I'm looking forward for the cold front that's supposed to arrive on Thursday and stay through Friday.  I want to make all of my Fall time favorite soups and baked goods.

I bought a Spice Cake mix at the store yesterday and I decided it was going to be the focus of my mad baking experiment.  It's just so flavorful and versatile in the fall!  And you don't have to measure out all those darn dry ingredients and have flour and cinnamon all over your kitchen.  I hope you enjoy the cake I created!  It's not too late to add it to your Thanksgiving dessert table.

Cake Ingredients:

1 - Betty Crocker Spice cake mix
1/2 cup cinnamon apple sauce
1 1/4 cup water
1 T vegetable oil
3 eggs
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup diced Granny Smith apples

Apple Topping:

2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced (dice up 1/2 cup for cake mix)
1 T butter
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Caramel Topping:
4 T butter
3/4 cup light brown sugar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Spray a bundt cake pan with non-stick cooking spray. 

In a large stand mixer, add cake mix, apple sauce, water, vegetable oil, and eggs.  Mix on medium speed for 3 minutes.  Stir in the coconut and diced apples.  Set aside.

In a small sauce pan, add the 1 T butter, sliced apples, and 1/2 tsp cinnamon.  Saute until just pliable, about 3 minutes.  This will make it easier to arrange them in the bundt pan without breaking them.  Remove and set aside.  

Use the same sauce pan to melt the 4 T butter and 3/4 cup brown sugar.  Cook over medium low heat for 5 minutes. 

While this is cooking you can arrange the apples in the bundt pan.

Pour the caramel sauce over the apples. 

Then pour the cake mix over the caramel. 

Bake for 42-45 minutes, or until the cake springs back to the touch.  I also tested mine with a long skewer just to make sure it was done in the middle.  This is a very moist cake.

When the cake is done, place a plate over the top and carefully turn it over.  Be careful not to burn yourself in any of the caramel drips out...I speak from experience.  Enjoy!

Linked up at:
Siggy Spice - Thanksgiving Dessert Extravaganza
Tuesdays at the Table - All the Small Stuff