Gingery Apple Upside-Down Cake

It's flipped!

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This is the Apple Upside-Down Cake mentioned here. It turned out great. I baked it in a large cast iron skillet. It is a modified version of a recipe I found on Cooks Illustrated.

Apple Topping
4  tablespoons unsalted butter , melted
3/4 cup light brown sugar
3  tart apples (such as Granny Smith), peeled, halved, cored, and sliced thin

Ginger Cake
2 1/4  cups unbleached all-purpose flour , sifted
1/2  teaspoon baking soda
1/2  teaspoon table salt
1  teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg  
1  teaspoon Dutch-processed cocoa powder
8  tablespoons unsalted butter , melted, then cooled to room temperature
1/2  cup unsulphured molasses
1/2  cup granulated sugar
1  large egg
1  cup buttermilk
3  tablespoons grated peeled fresh ginger
3  tablespoons minced crystallized ginger

1. For the Apple Topping: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease sides of large cast iron skillet. Pour melted butter into pan; spread brown sugar evenly over pan bottom. Arrange apple slices, overlapping slightly upon brown sugar mixture.

2. For the Ginger Cake: Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cocoa in medium bowl.

3. Beat butter, molasses, and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until combined. Beat in egg until incorporated. Gradually add buttermilk and ginger.

4. Add dry ingredients to liquid; beat on medium speed until batter is smooth, about 1 minute, scraping down sides of bowl with rubber spatula as needed. Do not overmix. Pour batter over apple slices.

5. Bake until top springs back when lightly touched, and edges have pulled away from the pan sides, 50 to 60 minutes.

6. Set pan on wire cake rack and let cool for 5 minutes, invert onto serving plate, cut into squares, and serve.