Apple Upside Down Cake

Ever since posting about the cast iron skillet last weekend, I've had upside down cake on my mind. Since I don't live in Hawaii, though, I can't claim pineapple as local. However, a quick look through The Joy Of Cooking by Erma Rombauer, found a recipe called French Apple or Peach Cake. We still have stored apples, a little soft by now, but still excellent for applesauce or baking. I adapted the recipe rather heavy-handidly.

French Apple or Peach Cake
Joy of Cooking p. 661
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F
Grease the bottom of a deep 8 inch pie pan or ovenproof dish and cover the bottom well with:
2 cups or more peeled, sliced apples, peaches or other fruit. (I used 3 apples, unpeeled but sliced very thin, and a #10 cast iron skillet)
Sprinkle the fruit liberally with:
2/3 cup sugar
cinnamon or nutmeg (No nutmeg here)
grated rind and juice of 1 lemon (I did not have a lemon. However, I did have some dried lemon peel, and a jar in the refrigerator full of the ground lemon left over from Chuck's experiment making a Limoncello-like liquor this fall. I used 1 Tablespoon of the dried peel, and 2 Tablespoons of the ground lemon)
Dredge with:
1 Tablespoon all purpose flour (I just sprinkled this over the top)
Pour over surface:
2-4 tablespoons melted butter (What if you used a half and half mixture of coconut oil and butter?)
(I also sprinkled 1/2 cup chopped pecans, and 1/2 cup shredded coconut* over the apples.)
Prepare the following batter. Sift together:
1 cup all purpose flour (I used 1/2 cup unbleached white, 1/2 cup white whole wheat)
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon double acting baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Beat and add:
2 egg yolk (I used 1 whole egg)
1 Tablespoon melted butter
1/4 cup milk. (I used 1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt, thinned to a milk-like consistency with water)
Beat these ingredients with swift strokes until blended. Cover the fruit with the batter. Bake the cake for about 30 minutes. Reverse it onto a platter. Cool slightly.

This was marvelous- there was a delightful light lemon flavor. The texture was doughy, sort of like a big pancake.

*No, the coconut is not local. However, my local structure is: grow it myself->buy from the farmer->buy from a local independent store->buy from a local chain->buy from a national chain.
The coconut came from my local Mennonite bulk store- a local independent store as did the flour, baking powder and sugar. So it's not too far up the scale. The lemons are not local, either, but came from the farmers market earlier in the fall.