Apple Upside-Down Cake

This tasty little cake won 2nd place in the 2nd Annual Apple Bake Off at the UVic Geography Department. Yeah.

Caramel-apple topping (bottoming?):
1/2 c brown sugar
2 T margarine, melted
3 c baking apples, very thinly sliced (1-2 large)
1/2 c pecans or walnuts, chopped

Cake:
1 1/2 c unbleached white flour
3/4 c cane sugar
2 1/2 t baking powder
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t salt
1 c soy milk
1/4 c oil
1 T apple cider vinegar
1 t vanilla

Preheat over to 350F.
Oil the sides of a 9" cake pan. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.
Mix dry cake ingredients in a medium mixing bowl, set aside.
Mix wet cake ingredients, set aside and let sit for a couple of minutes.
Combine hot melted margarine and brown sugar. Spread this caramel mixture over the bottom of the cake pan.
Arrange apples in a pretty pattern on top of caramel. Top with nuts.
Combine wet and dry cake ingredients, stirring just to mix.
Pour cake batter over apples, use a spatula to gently spread the batter evenly over the apples.
Bake for 30 minutes, or until the cake tests done in the middle.
Let cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes before removing from the cake pan.

Notes on a "healthier" version:
This morning I made a somewhat healthier version of this cake for breakfast. I replaced 1 c of the white flour with whole wheat flour and reduced the sugar in the cake batter to 1/2 c. I also added an extra cup of apple slices and tried substituting water for margarine in the caramel sauce. It turned out tasty and still quite sweet, however, the caramel sauce stayed thin and ended up making the cake a little soggy in the middle.