Delicious Toffee Apple Cake

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It's autumn once again and wherever I walk there are apple trees. I don't remember seeing quite so many gardens with them in. They are weighed down by the sheer numbers of fruits the trees have grown (much to the glee of the pesky wasp).

Once again I start to crave everything apple - crumble, pie, cake, cobbler (I could go on but I'm not here to bore you!).

Research took me in many directions but I think the recipe that I have created for you combines the best bits of all the research.

I haven't added any to this cake but if you wanted some extra crunch you could sprinkle the top with some of this crumble topping.

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Before you start, here are a few tips to making this cake.

The Apples.

This cake needs a really sharp apple in order to get the best flavour in the finished cake. It has to compete with all of that lovely caramel you are adding to your cake. I recommend Bramley or Cox's.

Peel, core and dice just before adding to the caramel mix.

Just peel the apples that are going to be grated for the cake.

Make the caramels first.

They need time to cool down enough to add them to your cake. The caramel is going to get to over 175C so please be really careful when making it. Both of these are best made the day before you want to use them.

Get all of the ingredients ready and weighed out before you start.

Use a large, heavy based pan to allow room for the caramel to bubble up when you add the cream.

Drip Caramel.

This is made using the wet caramel method.

Add the water and caster sugar to a pan and stir to mix them together. DO NOT STIR ANYMORE!! Place the pan on the hob, on a medium heat, and allow to boil. DO NOT STIR!! The water is starting to evaporate and leave behind the sugar, then the sugar will start to change colour. If you want to use a sugar thermometer then heat it to 175 - 195C. Don't leave the caramel, you will need to keep an eye on the sugar as you want to reach a rich amber colour. Take your eyes off it and it's likely to burn.

This is the dangerous bit - when you add the cream it will bubble up ferociously. It's trying to release all of that steam really quickly, and it's likely to spit as it cools. Add the cream slowly whilst stirring vigorously at the same time. Have a folded tea towel next to the cooker, to place the pan on whilst stirring in the cream - it holds the pan in place for you (we've only got one pair of hands after all!). Stir until it stops bubbling, then pour into a jar or jug, and allow to cool down completely.

Toffee Apple Caramel.

Everything goes into the pan except the cream, and is heated over a medium heat. Heat it until it gets to a thicker more syrupy consistency. stirring continuously. Do this by eye but it will likely take around 5-7 minutes. Use the same tea towel as before, to place the hot pan on, whilst you stir in the cream. Return the pan to the cooker and boil for a further 5 minutes. Once it's stopped bubbling then place in a heat proof bowl to cool down.

If you are not confident enough or simply don't have time, then use a ready made caramel. There are a number available such as Carnation (tinned) or Bonne Maman (jar), they can be found in any supermarket, usually in the jam aisle.

However, I recommend you make the toffee apple caramel yourself - it just adds that extra yum you don't get from ready made caramel.

Making the cake.

Use a hand held electric whisk or a free standing mixer. You want to get as much air into the batter as possible and it's much easier to achieve this with a mixer - less arduous on the arms!

Use deep baking tins - I use 4" deep ones from the supermarket.

Assembling the cake.

This cake is made up of 7 layers -

Cake:Buttercream:ToffeeApples:Cake:Buttercream:ToffeeApples:Cake

Use a cake board or a nice serving plate to place the cake on.

Place the first cake layer onto the board. Cover with a generous amount of toffee buttercream, making a well in the middle to hold the toffee apple sauce.

Place the second cake layer on top and repeat the filling.

Place the final cake layer on the top (turning it upside down to give a level top).

Cover the whole cake in a generous layer of toffee buttercream. Smooth it out if you can, leave it if you can't (either looks great).

Put the cake in the fridge for an hour to set the buttercream. Add the caramel drip sauce to the cake using a piping bag to direct the drips where you want them. Cover with the remaining sauce.

Leave it like that or add swirls of the buttercream, if there's any left.

Keeps for 1 week stored in an airtight container. If you don't have one that is big enough simply wrap in a double layer of clingfilm.

Have you tried this recipe yet? Mention @cakes_forallseasons or #cakesforallseasons! I’d love to see what you are getting up to in the kitchen!

The Perfect Jubilee Cake

This deliciously zesty Lemon Cake is everything you will need to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.

Street Party or Party in the garden, this will be the centrepiece to wow your guests.

Besides the flavor and texture, this cake is loved because of its ease. Very basic ingredients including butter, sugar, eggs, lemon, and flour. Between the cake and frosting, you’ll need 4 lemons. Both the juice and zest. If you plan to make your own lemon curd you will need double the amount of lemons.

My Lemon Curd recipe can be found here.

Store bought lemon curd is perfectly acceptable but I would choose the more expensive ones as they are easier to spread, and just taste better!

How To Make The Cake

This cake is made in the same way as Victoria Sponge cake. Either the all-in-one method using a free standing mixer or electric whisk, or by hand in a bowl.

The main difference between this and Victoria sponge (apart from the obvious!) is that it uses more flour. The extra flour is needed to compensate for the juice of the lemons. If you try to make this cake without adding the extra flour it will remain flat and be quite flimsy when you try to handle it. It will also look like it has separated : curdled, instead of thick and creamy.

This cake is best baked the day before you are going to decorate it so that the lemon drizzle has time to soak into the lemon sponge, making it more lemony. Make the curd the day before too If making it).

I baked this cake in 2 deep 8" round baking tins and then sliced each cake in half. If you don't want to do the slicing part then use 4 shallow 8" baking tins instead, then simply sandwich them together.

An important note about Lemons.

When choosing them try to find lemons without blemishes on the skin, or any green. The zest is used in the cake and the buttercream so green bits will look like mold, and no-one wants to eat a cake that looks like it has moldy bits.

How to Decorate The Cake

Buttercream is flavoured with lemon oil. Buy this in any supermarket from their baking section. I have switched this a number of years ago. I used to use the zest of a lemon but the pieces the grater produced were too long and would keep clogging up the piping nozzle. I would have to stop several times to unblock it. it drove me mad!

You can use the zest with the oil if you aren't going to pipe swirls on the top to decorate.

I bought ready made sugar flowers to give the cake that spring look. And because it's the Jubilee, go mad with the Union Jacks and spray the cake with edible gold glitter.

Additional Jubilee Street Party Bakes:

Need to bake for a crowd with no time to make a big layer cake?

Use the same recipe and make a traybake instead. The recipe will make 2 trays of lemon cake using a small roasting tin and cutting the baking time down to 30 minutes.

Cupcakes are always a good idea.

This recipe will make approx 24-30 cupcakes. Use an apple corer to scoop out a small amonut from each cupcake, then add a tsp of lemon curd in the hole created.

Cupcakes take 23-25 minutes to bake.

Quick & Easy Creme Egg Brownies

A quick & easy recipe for these squidgy Creme Egg Brownie.

Ideal recipe for baking with the kids.

I do, however, have to issue a safety warning: Take great care when slicing the chocolate eggs in half. This should only be done by a responsible adult! The chocolate eggs are hard because they have come out of the freezer, and they have a tendency to slip out of your grip. I recommend holding them with a tea towel whilst slicing them.

I don't actually like Creme Eggs! I used to when I was a kid, but not anymore. But as this is Easter, and they've been in the shops since Christmas, I would show you a great way to keep the kids entertained, and to use up all of those Easter eggs the kids got!

Or maybe you just love Creme eggs and anything that involves chocolate & cake together is a winner.

If you don't like Creme eggs like me, use Caramel eggs instead, the caramel goes really chewy.

Hints & Tips to make the Brownies.

1. Freeze the chocolate eggs.

I recommend that you put your chocolate eggs into the freezer for a few hours, or the night before. The recipe can be done without doing this step, it just means they will be more crystalised instead of gooey, when baked.

Freezing them also means that when they are cut, they will keep the egg appearance through the middle. If they didn't make it into the freezer, don't worry, the eggs will just be more inclined to break unevenly and the centre will start run out and mix together a bit more.

Slice them in half at the very last minute, just when you are ready to add them to the batter.

2. Dark chocolate

Use the brand you prefer, but a bar with 55% cocoa solids is dark enough. If you like them darker and more bitter, then use a 70% cocoa solids bar.

I use the microwave to melt the butter/chocolate mixture because it's convenient, but if you don't have one then melt in a heatproof bowl over gently simmering water (don't allow the base of the bowl to come into contact with the water, it will burn the chocolate).

Don't add the melted butter/chocolate to the egg/sugar mixture as soon as it comes out of the microwave, it could scramble the eggs. Put the bowl to one side for 5 or 10 minutes so that it can cool down a bit.

3. Bake them.

To tell if a cake is baked enough it is recommended that you insert a cocktail stick, which should come out clean. This won't work with brownies, the cocktail stick will come out gooey, but it's supposed to!

Everyone likes their brownies a certain way : some like them barely cooked, others like a slightly gooey centre but baked edges. The temperature and time are my recommendation for a gooey centre but a firmer edge (it's the way my husband likes them so I have alays baked them to that benchmark). I suggest that 25 minutes is the minimum you should bake them to give them that perfect texture, but you should add time in 5 minute increments to get the texture you prefer, if this is not enough. The longest I have baked brownies is 45 minutes but they had caramel swirled in them.

Finally ......

They are easier to cut and handle if they are left for several hours to set. Best results are achieved when they are kept over night, but it might cause a riot if you make them wait that long!

If you have any questions about this recipe get in touch, I'm happy to help.

Did you know that I have a Facebook group where you can find a video on how to make brownies, as well as lots of other recipes. It's the ideal place to get all of your baking advice.

Join Facebook Group.

Finally, Finally .......

Have fun!