Apple Basket Cake

By michele080478

Ingredients

• Golden Yellow Icing Color
• Red-Red Icing Color
• Leaf Green Icing Color
• Brown Icing Color (or brown royal icing tube)
• Meringue Powder
• Buttercream icing
• Royal Icing
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups applesauce
• 3/4 cup pecans chopped
• cornstarch

Details

Servings 24
Adapted from wilton.com

Preparation

Step 1

At least 1 day before decorating cake, make royal icing apples (23 apples used on cake shown).

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray two 9-inch round cake pans with vegetable pan spray.

In large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, cloves and nutmeg. Stir in vegetable oil and eggs. Add applesauce, mixing just until combined. Gently stir in pecans.

Attach apples to lattice and borders, using additional dots of icing if necessary.



Apples:
A great party pick. You can pipe the royal icing fruit in advance, including stems and leaves. At serving time, just position as needed on your iced cake or cupcake. Or make your fruit directly on your cake in buttercream icing.
Source: The Wilton Method of Cake Decorating - Course 1
Tools:
• Tip: 2
• Tip: 6
• Tip: 349
• Disposable Decorating Bags or
• Featherweight Decorating Bags
• Standard Coupler
Ingredients:
• Red (no-taste) Icing Color
• Brown Icing Color
• Leaf Green Icing Color
• Buttercream icing (medium consistency)



instructions

Fit the decorating bag with Round Decorating Tip 6 and fill 1/2 full with medium consistency icing. Hold the bag and tip slightly at 90° angle, slightly above the surface of your cake.

Pipe a large ball with red icing, stop squeezing, lifting the tip slightly, bringing the end of the tip to the surface. Use the edge of the tip to shave off any points, so your ball is nicely rounded.

Add a Round Decorating Tip 2 stem in brown icing. Using Leaf Decorating Tip 349 pipe a leaf in green icing.


Buttercream Icing
Our Buttercream Icing recipe is perfect for spreading or decorating. Follow our instructions to make it the ideal consistency you need.
Source: 2003 Yearbook
Ingredients:
• 1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine softened
• 1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
• 4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (approximately 1 lb.)
• 2 tablespoons milk
Makes: About 3 cups of icing.


instructions
(Medium Consistency)
In large bowl, cream shortening and butter with electric mixer. Add vanilla. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When all sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. Add milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Keep bowl covered with a damp cloth until ready to use.
For best results, keep icing bowl in refrigerator when not in use. Refrigerated in an airtight container, this icing can be stored 2 weeks. Rewhip before using.
For thin (spreading) consistency icing, add 2 tablespoons light corn syrup, water or milk. (1 additional tbsp spreads nice)
For Pure White Icing (stiff consistency), omit butter; substitute an additional 1/2 cup shortening for butter and add 1/2 teaspoon No-Color Butter Flavor. Add up to 4 tablespoons light corn syrup, water or milk to thin for icing cakes.
NOTE: Changes in Wilton's traditional recipes have been made due to Trans Fat Free Shortening replacing Hydrogenated Shortening.




Royal Icing
Source: Cupcake Fun
Ingredients:
• 3 tablespoons Meringue Powder
• 4 cups confectioners' sugar sifted
• 6 tablespoons warm water
Makes: Icing serves about 3 cups.


instructions
1. Beat all ingredients until icing forms a peak (7-10 minutes at low speed with a heavy-duty mixer, 10-12 minutes at high speed with a hand-held mixer).

NOTE: Keep all utensils completely grease-free for proper icing consistency.
*When using large countertop mixer or for stiffer icing, use 1 tablespoon less water.