(Family Features) There’s no time like the holidays to enjoy the sweetness of the season. Incorporating a fresh, fruity flavor, such as the versatile Piñata® apple, is one mouthwatering way to create a crisp, new spin on your favorite holiday recipes ranging from salads to entrees to desserts.

Crisp and juicy, Piñata has classic apple flavors with a unique, tropical twist. With the same thin skin as Golden Delicious, Piñata apples can be used for nearly any culinary purpose. They hold their shape to cooking temperatures, making them a great choice for classic apple pie or roasted alongside pork tenderloin. Their pretty, red-orange color, bright flesh, and delightful texture also make them the perfect apple for adding crispness and flavor to a fresh green salad.

Derived from three heirloom varieties – American classic Golden Delicious, England’s Cox’s Orange Pippin and the Duchess of Oldenburg from Russia – Piñata is your old-meets-new apple with the balanced sweetness and tartness perfect for both culinary creations and fresh eating. Look for Piñata in supermarkets from November through April each year.

For more seasonal recipes featuring Piñata apples, visit www.stemilt.com.

Piñata Apple Upside-Down Cake                                       

Servings: 8 to 12

1          cup light brown sugar, packed

1 1/2    sticks unsalted butter, divided

1/8       teaspoon ground cinnamon

2          tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice, divided

2          large Stemilt Piñata apples, peeled, cored, quartered and thinly sliced

1 1/2    cups all-purpose flour

2          teaspoons baking powder

1/4       teaspoon kosher salt

1          cup granulated sugar

2          eggs

1          teaspoon vanilla

Powdered sugar (optional)

Chopped pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Heat brown sugar and 3/4 stick butter in small pot over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally until completely melted. Add cinnamon to mixture and heat through. Set aside.

In bowl, add 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice to apples and mix through. Set aside.

Whisk (or sift) flour, baking powder and salt in bowl. Set aside.

In another bowl, mix remaining butter until creamy and smooth. Add granulated sugar and mix until well incorporated. Add eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each. Add vanilla and 1 tablespoon orange juice and continue mixing until combined. Batter should be slightly thick but pliable.

Warm brown sugar mixture on stovetop, if needed, to loosen. Pour mixture into bottom of standard 9-inch cake pan. Tilt pan to spread mixture to edges.

Arrange sliced apples atop brown sugar mixture. Drop mounds of batter over top of apples and carefully spread to edge of pan to seal perimeter and cover apples.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, until golden.

Transfer cake to cooling rack for at least 30 minutes before inverting onto serving platter. Once cake is transferred to rack to cool, run knife around outside edge to loosen.

Once cooled and inverted, slice and serve. Dust with powder sugar and/or chopped pecans, if preferred.

Source: Stemilt Growers