Warm upside-down apple corn cake with syrup

I wanted to open the fast with a tasty and warm cake. Since I had apples in the fridge, I figured a nice spongy apple cake would be perfect, but I wanted to make something a little different than the usual.
I used Masa, which is corn flour, so what I got was a cake that had a more dense texture and the taste of a corn muffin, it was delicious. Here's what you'll need:
(serves 8 large pieces)

apples:
4 apples, peeled and cored, then chopped into bite size pieces
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla extract
juice of half a lemon
batter:
3 eggs
3/4 cup of white all purpose flour
1/4 cup Masa
1/3 cup canola oil
1/4 cup apple sauce (optional, but helps to make the cake more moist)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1tsp vanilla
1/4 cup water

Syrup
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup brown sugar
or
3/4 cup of maple syrup
1/4 cup water

Start by preheating the oven to 350F. Grease a 9 inch spring form pan, place a piece of cut parchment paper on the bottom of the pan and set aside.
Peel and core the apples, then chop them and toss them with the lemon juice, sugar, Cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla, set aside.
In the mixer, beat the eggs and sugar for a few minutes, then add the vanilla, the water and oil and slowly add in the two flours and baking powder, mix till well blended, the batter will be very thick.

Pour the apples into the pan and lay them evenly on the bottom, then spoon over the batter and try to spread it out as evenly as possible.
Bake in the oven for 45 to 50 minutes, then check with a toothpick to make sure that it's cooked all the way. Set aside for about 10 minutes, then carefully, place a plate on top of the spring form pan and gently flip over the cake, so that the plate is on the bottom and the apples are on top. Open the pan, remove the ring, then remove the bottom tin, it will look like a pineapple upside down cake. Now start preparing the syrup; in a pan, add the water and sugar or water and maple syrup and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a minumum and let it reduce for about 5 to 8 minutes. Now carefully pour the syrup all over the cake, since the cake is still warm, it will absorb more of the syrup.
If you prefer to skip the syrup part, you can prepare a lemon frosting instead, by mixing 3/4 cup powdered sugar, 1 tsp oil, 2 tsps lemon juice and start mixing, if it's to thick to drizzle add a few  drops of water. You need the frosting to be liquid enough to drizzle, but thick enough to keep it's texture. Let the cake cool before you frost, or it will melt into the cake.
Enjoy with coffee or tea!