Upside Down Apple Gingerbread

I always make pie for Thanksgiving, except this year.   I just wasn't in the mood to do it, and I had some recipes kicking around that I wanted to try for a long time.   Maybe it's because I make pies year round, and gingerbread is something that only seems right in the fall and winter.   I found this recipe originally in an old Taste of Home cookbook, long before it became the rag of a magazine it is now, full of recipes pushing prepared food and paid for product placements.  Back in the day, it was full of people's own recipes and testimonials.   I used to love it!  I changed this recipe to add more ginger - to me, a gingerbread should have a real kick to it.   I also prefer a more robust blackstrap molasses flavor.

Upside Down Apple Gingerbread

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

2 large apples, peeled and sliced

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup blackstrap molasses

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

3/4 cup brewed tea

Pour butter into a 9-in. square baking pan; sprinkle with brown sugar. Arrange apples over sugar; set aside.

For gingerbread, in a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, then molasses. Combine dry ingredients; add to sugar mixture alternately with tea, beating well after each addition.

Pour over apples. Bake at 350° for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before inverting onto a serving plate. Serve warm. Yield: 9 servings.