Makes 6 jumbo muffins
For the cake:
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt or buttermilk
1/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 egg white
1/2 pound bulk breakfast sausage
2 small Honeycrisp or Fuji apples, cored and thinly sliced
For the caramel:
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons bourbon or rum (optional)
1 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat cups of jumbo muffin tin with nonstick spray. Combine flour, cornmeal, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Combine yogurt (or buttermilk), milk, oil, eggs, and egg white in another bowl. Set aside. Brown sausage in a skillet over medium-high heat about 5 minutes. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels. Whisk brown sugar, cream, syrup, bourbon, and salt for caramel together in a skillet over medium-high heat, stirring often. Bring to boil, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir sausage into flour mixture and add yogurt mixture. Stir just until combined; mixture will be slightly lumpy. Arrange apples slices (usually 3 to 4) in a fan on the bottom of each of the 6 wells in the jumbo muffin tin. Divide caramel evenly between cups; top with rounded 1/2 cup batter. Bake until toothpick inserted in a muffin comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let muffins cool briefly before turning out of muffin tin. (Run a paring knife around the edge of each muffin to ensure that the muffins will drop out when the pan is inverted). Serve upside down with the apples and caramel on top.
For a printable version of this recipe, go here.
