Apple Upside Down Cake

 1.         Spray a 9-inch (23-cm) square or round cake pan once with cooking spray

2.                  Combine 1 cup (7 oz/210 g)  sugar and  2 T water in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Place pan over medium heat and stir until sugar dissolves. Cook until syrup is amber colored, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

3.                  Pour about half of the caramel syrup into the prepared cake pan. Swirl pan to coat bottom evenly with syrup.

3.                  Add 8 large Golden Delicious or Fuji apples (peeled, cored and cut into eithths), 1 T pure maple syrup and 1 vanilla bean to caramel remaining in the saucepan. Cover and cook over medium-low heat until apples are soft but still hold their shape, about 15 minutes

4.                  Remove vanilla bean and, with a slotted spoon, transfer apples to the prepared pan. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350^o F (175 degrees C).

5.                  Sift together  1 ½ c White Lily plain flour, 2 t baking powder and ¼ t cinnamon.

6.                  Beat ¹/₃ c egg substitute and ¾  cup sugar until sugar dissolves. Beat in 1 T vanilla. Add flour mixture in three additions, beating to mix after each addition..

7.                  In a clean bowl with clean beaters, beat 3 egg whites with 3 tablespoons sugar until shiny and stiff peaks form. Blend egg whites into batter mixture. Pour over apples in cake pan.

8.                  Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until cake is golden and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.

9.                  Immediately invert cake onto a heatproof plate.