This cake is beautiful and elegant and would look fabulous at any autumnal tea party, but its also a fairly simple bake.

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees (fan) and line 4 7inch cake pans. 

2. Peel your apples and cut into 1cm sized cubes, cover with a little brown sugar and cinnamon.  

3. Cream together your butter and your sugars until light and fluffy.

4. Crack the eggs into a jug, add the vanilla essence and milk, whisk and then gradually add this to your creamed butter. 

5. Weigh out your flour, mix in your spices and then add this in three batches to your cake mixture. Fold in your cubed apples. 

6. Divide your mixture equally into your cake tins, place in the oven and bake for 30 - 40 mins or until your cakes are a lovely golden brown and cooked all the way through, test using a toothpick/skewer. Leave in the cake tins for 10 minutes before turning them out onto a cooling rack. 

7. Whilst your cakes are baking its time to make your caramel. Place your sugar and water in a medium sized pan, give it a gentle stir to allow the two to combine, place on a medium - high heat and allow to bubble DO NOT STIR!! Allow it to bubble and turn a deep amber colour, remove of the heat. Gradually stir in your double cream, be careful as your mixture will bubble. Add the butter, return to a medium heat and leave to bubble for 2-3 minutes. Leave to cool and thicken. 

9. Time to make your gorgeous buttercream. Beat your butter till light and pale in colour - at least 5 minutes. Add your icing sugar in small batches, start beating the butter and sugar together slowly increasing the speed as your sugar begins to become incorporated into the butter. Once all icing sugar has been added, add the milk and cinnamon and beat for a further 3 minutes. The longer you beat your buttercream the paler it will become. 

8. Once your cakes are cooled trim the tops giving you a flat topped cake. Either on a plate or a cake board add a small blob of buttercream, spread it out and place the first layer of cake onto this. Doing this gives your  cake something to stick to and will not move around as your are building and icing. Add a layer of buttercream and then top with another layer of cake, repeat until you have a fully built cake. Add a thin layer of buttercream, known as a crumb coat, smooth it out leave to cool and set for 30 minutes.

9. Add a thick layer of buttercream to the entire cake, including the top, using a palate knife or a side cake work work the buttercream until you have a smooth layer, fill in any gaps with more buttercream if required.  Leave to cool for another 20 minutes. 

10. Either using a teaspoon or a plastic squeeze bottle drop the caramel round the edges of the cake, then spread a layer to the top of the cake. Decorate with your meringue kisses and that is your Caramel and Apple Autumn Cake completed.

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Happy Baking. All my love

Paul xx 

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