apple cake

I totally had a teacher in mind when creating this cake. Which is funny, since I homeschool. 2 recipes White Cake, page 19 recipe Red Velvet Cake, page 21 1 recipes Basic Buttercream, page 24 Green, red and brown, gel food coloring But we all have many teachers in life, whether at school, Sunday school, karate class, or even Walmart, where helpful grandmas insist on demonstrating the proper way to discipline a screaming child in the middle of the frozen food aisle. I like to consider myself a lifelong learner, and I hope to impart that to my kids as well! I also hope to teach them that its important to say thank you to people who impact our lives. And its even better when we can do it with cake!

Baking
1. Bake 4 white cake layers in 8-inch round cake pans. Cool to room

Special equipment: 4 8-inch round cake pans; cupcake tin or 9 x 13-inch pan; offset spatula; 4-inch round cookie cutter; small, sharp knife; disposable plastic pastry bags; #65 and #4 decorating tips Difficulty: Medium

temperature.
2. Bake the red velvet cake in the pan of your choice, such as a cupcake tin or a 9 13-inch pan. Cool to room temperature. 3. Prepare the buttercream. Tint cup leaf green and cup brown.

Leave the remaining buttercream white.

4. Place 1 white layer cake on a piece of parchment paper. Using the

offset spatula, cover it in a thin layer of white buttercream, then add a second layer. Repeat to make a second 2-layer cake.
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5. Freeze the cakes for at least 6 hours, preferably

overnight.

Making the Surprise

6. Remove the cakes from the freezer. Place a 4-inch cookie cutter in the center of one of the cakes and press in slightly to create a guideline. Repeat with the second cake. Then insert a toothpick or skinny skewer into the center of each cake and then remove it. This will be your center guide point.

9. Use a spoon to go in and carve out the rounded shape of the bottom of an apple, leaving an island in the center, which will be the indentation at the bottom of the apple. The indentation should go all the way through one layer of cake and about halfway through the bottom layer. Do not go all the way through both layers. Place the pieces of cutout cake into a bowl.

7. Insert a small, sharp knife 1 to 2 inches deep

in the guide point at a 45-degree angle. The knife should be pointing away from the center of the cake. Slowly move the knife in a circle, keeping your depth and angle steady.
8. Insert the knife at the guideline at a 45-degree

angle toward the center of the cake. Slowly cut around the cake.

10. Repeat with the other cake, this time carving

the shape of the top of the apple. This time the island represents the well at the top of the apple where the stem sits.

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combined to make a cake mixture (page 11). Youre looking for a Play-Doh-like consistency.
14. Fill the spaces in both cakes with the red velvet cake mixture. The tops of both cakes should be even.

11. Next, create the stem of the apple. Insert the knife into the center of the island in the second cake and cut out a small cylinder shape. The cylinder should be about 1 inch deep. 15. Spread a thin layer of white buttercream around the edge of the apples bottom cake. Carefully turn over the apples stem cake and lay it on top of the bottom cake, so that the apple (red cake) is joined at the center. 16. Cover the cake in a crumb coat (page 13) and

chill for at least 1 hour in the fridge or 15 minutes in the freezer.

Frosting and Decorating

12. Add about 1 tablespoon of buttercream to the 17. Tint the remaining buttercream red. 18. Remove the cake from the refrigerator. Cover

bowl with the crumbled cake. Add 3 to 4 drops of brown food coloring and combine thoroughly. Carefully press the brown cake mixture into the cylinder cavity that you created for the stem.
13. Break the red velvet cake into crumbs

the cake in a smooth layer of the red buttercream (page 12).

19. Place a #65 tip into a plastic disposable pastry

and place them into a large bowl. Add 2 to 4 tablespoons of buttercream and mix until fully

bag, and fill the bag with the green buttercream. Then place a #4 tip into a plastic disposable pastry bag and fill it with the brown buttercream.
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20. Pipe out some branches onto one side and the

21. Go in with green buttercream and randomly

top of the cake. An easy way to do this is to trace out your design with a toothpick before you begin piping. If you make a mistake, simply smooth out the frosting with a small offset spatula.

add leaves. Start by practicing leaves on a piece of parchment paper. Place tip on parchment and apply pressure to the bag. Slowly pull up and release pressure. Move to the cake and pipe a leaf onto a branch that you have already piped out.

make apple cupcakes!

Simply create little apples out of red velvet cake mixture. If you include stems, make them a little bigger than youd think they should be. Prepare white cake batter and fill prepared cupcake wells two-thirds full. Place a red velvet apple into each cupcake (some of apple will be visible) and bake as you normally would.

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