A is for Apple

I think this has been one of the most delicious cakes I've made to date... and that is not to say my other flavours are not equally delicious but every now and again there's one that just stirs your tastebuds. This one is moist apple cake with caramel sauce in between every layer.

I knew I wanted to create this design from the moment I signed up for the apple themed Instagram baking collab! It incorporated two techniques I'd been desperate to try, the first being dehydrated apple slices. Not only did I want to use dried apples, I wanted to colour them as I had seen Georgia of Georgia's Cakes do, so I added my thinly sliced apples into two saucepans filled with coloured water (courtesy of food gel colouring) and a tsp of sugar and simmered them until al dente (not too soft or the slices will just disintegrate).

The next step is to arrange your slices on a cookie tray lined with parchment paper and bake in a preheated oven at around 80˚ C for anywhere between 6-10 hours. You're looking for the slices to be completely dry before you remove them from the oven.

Bear in mind that some slices (depending on size) may dry faster than others so you'll need to check on them sporadically.

I then painted each of my slices with alternating edible gold and copper paint (created by mixing vodka with edible lustre dust) for added flair!

Creating the fault line design itself with a bulky decoration like dried apples was something of a challenge... I'm happy I did it but perhaps in hindsight I should have created narrower cake layers in the mid section of the cake to allow for a more streamlined finish when adding the buttercream. Either way I love the look of those coloured apple slices popping out of the teal buttercream and like I said it was beyond yum!