Halloween Poison Toffee Apple Cake with Caramel Peanut Brittle Buttercream and Snow White Apples

Halloween isn't really a big deal here in South Africa, I mean there are a few spooky decorations and the odd ghost-shaped sweet in the supermarkets but definitely not as big of a deal as it is in America. BUT let me just warn you, 'cos it seems to gradually becoming a thing. Last year? Kids came trick or treating at my door and I had NOTHING to give them! The horror! And before you go and say I was tricking them - how could THE biggest dessert-o-holic NOT have sweets in her house, let me just say that it's because I'm an all or nothing kind of gal. Meaning, I eat them all so there's nothing left.

But I digress. This year the lovely folks over at Food & Home Entertaining Magazine asked me and my ridiculously talented sister to do a little something for Halloween. Scary tales was the brief - the spooky side of fairy tales (which frankly are bloody terrifying). This cake is an evil (but delicious) spin on Snow White and the poison apple; layers of spiced apple cake, toffee buttercream, peanut brittle and some snow white apples on top. Sugar, sugar and more sugar - basically, if the poison apple hadn't done the job, this cake certainly would've!

Halloween Poison Toffee Apple Cake with Caramel Peanut Brittle Buttercream and Snow White Apples

Serves 8-10 

210g salted butter, softened

270g Natura Dark Demerara sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp (5ml) vanilla extract

200g self-raising flour, sifted

½ tsp (2.5ml) bicarbonate of soda

1 tbsp (15ml) cinnamon

½ tsp (2.5ml) nutmeg

80ml (1/3 cup) milk

145g finely grated Golden Delicious apples, squeezed well

75g flaked almonds, toasted

TOFFEE BUTTERCREAM

240g Natura Light Demerara Sugar

250ml (1 cup) water

360ml (1 ½ cups) cream

250g salted butter, softened

SNOW WHITE APPLES

8 small lunchbox apples

8 wooden skewers or clean sticks

200g white chocolate, chopped

Peanut brittle, crushed, to garnish

Preheat the oven to 180C (conventional) and grease and line 3 x 20cm sandwich cake tins.

Cream the butter and sugar until very light and fluffy (about 8-10 minutes).

Add the eggs one at a time, beating well in between each addition.

Beat in the vanilla.

Combine the flour, bicarbonate of soda and spices and stir into the cake batter alternating with the milk.

Stir in the squeezed apple and flaked almonds then divide between the 3 tins and bake for about 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cakes, comes out clean.

Allow the cakes to cool, upside down, completely then remove from the tin.

To make the buttercream, place the sugar and water in a pan and heat gently until the sugar is dissolved.  Bring to the boil and simmer, without stirring, until the mixture begins caramelizing.

Once the syrup reaches a dark toffee-colour (137 degrees celcius on a sugar thermometer), pour in the cream and swirl to combine.

Allow to cool completely and divide the mixture in half.

Cream the butter until very white and fluffy (about 8-10 minutes) then add one half of the toffee sauce and whip to combine – the buttercream should be very light and fluffy. 

To assemble, slice each cake in half to create 4 layers.

Sandwich the layers together with the buttercream, sprinkling a little of the peanut brittle in between each layer, then cover the top and sides with the remaining buttercream.

To make the snow white apples, insert the sticks into the apples then set aside.

Melt the white chocolate gently over a double boiler then dip each apple into the chocolate. Allow to drip thoroughly before placing on a lined baking sheet to set completely.

Place the apples on top of the cake then drizzle with the rest of the toffee sauce, to serve.

TIP: If the buttercream gets stiff while assembling the cake, simply whip again until fluffy.

Demerara Toffee Fudge Bars with White Chocolate and Sea salt

Should I even bother typing an intro to this? I mean, with a title like that, I know you’re already thinking ‘Get in mah belleh!!!’ and working out how you can get to the shops and back in the quickest amount of time. I’m thinking it too. ‘Cos I know how flipping amazing these are!

For those of you still reading, let me break it down for you: cocoa shortbread, slapped with a thick layer of fudge, slathered with white chocolate and sprinkled with salt flakes. Jip, that’s fat on top of sugar, on top of butter (somewhere a dietician just quit her job cos she discovered what I do for a living… awkward!). BUT the key here is that it’s not just any sugar - it’s scrummalicious sugar (there are just too few food adjectives out there okay - inventing my own starting now).

I’ve used the crunchy caramelly Natura Demerara sugars for the job (Demerara sugars is crystallized from the first press of sugarcane juice). The Light Demerara is perfect for shortbread - the texture is fine (like wiggling your toes in beach sand!) so it dissolves while baking but still adds flavour. The Dark Demerara has gorgeous amber crystals (so pretty I used them as decoration on top of the white chocolate) which are perfect 

for making a kick-ass caramel fudge. I’ve realised that sugar is so much more than 

just adding sweetness and using proper unrefined sugar will add heaps of 

flavour to your baking!

In my opinion, the best part, is the sexy off-cuts! I pretty much spent the entire morning munching on them while shooting - don’t think for a second they made it back into any sort of storage container (what is this ‘storage container’ you speak of? What is it used for?!). 

Well, now my camera is covered in fudge… Wait, my camera is covered in fudge!

Now, go bake yourself happy while I contemplate whether licking my camera is socially acceptable…

P.S. This is what was left of the batch:

Demerara Fudge Bars with White Chocolate and Sea salt

Makes 16-20

Shortbread base

150g cake flour

30g cocoa powder

130g butter, cut into blocks

60g Natura Light Demerara Sugar

Demerara Filling

130g milk powder (full-fat if possible)

150g Light Demerara Sugar

210g salted butter

100g Natura Dark Demerara Sugar

160ml boiling water

Topping

200g white chocolate, melted

Sea salt flakes

Dark Demerara Sugar, for sprinkling

Grease and line a 20 x 20cm baking tray with baking paper. 

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius (160 if you’re using a fan-forced oven).

Combine the flour, cocoa, sugar and butter in a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix until it forms a soft dough. Alternately, get your fingers dirty and rub all the ingredients together until well combined. 

Press the dough into the prepared baking tin and prick the base with a fork. 

Bake for 20 minutes or until golden. Allow to cool completely. 

To make the Demerara fudge layer, place all the ingredients in a  blender and blend for 1-2 minutes or until smooth and combined. Pour into a saucepan and stir continuously over a low heat until all the sugar has dissolved. 

Bring to the boil and cook until the mixture turns golden brown and reaches soft ball stage (118C on a sugar thermometer). To test if it’s ready, drop a small amount into a small cup filled with tap water, it should form a soft, pliable ball. Remove from the heat and immediately pour over the shortbread. Allow to cool completely. 

Spread the melted white chocolate over the top of the toffee then sprinkle with a little sea salt and the Demerara sugar. Allow to set then cut into bars using a hot knife. 

Disclaimer: This post has been sponsored by Natura Sugars who produce a range of really special sugars that are unrefined and made according to traditional Mauritian sugar-making techniques. The sugars are non-GM, non-irradiated and unbleached with no preservatives, colourants or syrups added which basically means they are pure, natural and packed with flavour! 

Salted Caramel Coma Cake

A buttery malt sponge sandwiched together with layers of caramel and toffee buttercream with just a touch of sea salt. Can I get an 'Amen?'

 THIS cake is what I think of New Year's resolutions that involve exercising and dieting. Caramel on top of caramel, on top of more caramel - this, can never be a bad thing. 

I've written about my affinity for salted caramel before (although not to be confused with my infatuated love affair with chocolate) and while the world may move on from the salted caramel obsession. I refuse. And there is a very good reason why. 

I'm going to quote myself (can one even do that?! oh well here goes...) from a post I did 2 years ago but only because at the time, in my caramel-induced coma,  I (unknowingly) solved one of the world's greatest problems: Salted Caramel Cake Guilt

cake guilt

ɡɪlt/

noun

1. 1.

   the fact of having committed a specified or implied offence by indulging in too much cake.

"Add a pinch of salt to caramel and you have an earth-shattering combination that is basically the crack cocaine of the culinary world. The reason for this? Consuming fat, sugar and salt all together is a serious sensory overdrive for our brains - it releases dopamine and adrenaline and totally gets our neurons fired up. Exactly the way drugs do.

But before you feel guilty about shovelling another spoonful of caramel straight out the jar, don't, because genetically we're supposed to be attracted to foods with this tantalising trifector. It's a matter of survival, people! We need salt because we can't produce our own. We need fat for energy and our sugar cravings are linked to being able to tell which foods are edible (cave-man days)." 

So, the lesson here is, make this caramel cake and while you drift into a blissful toffee coma, do not feel one pang of guilt, because... you can't fight genetics. 

Salted Caramel Coma Cake
Recipe by Katelyn Williams

260g butter, softened
100g golden syrup
200g brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 large eggs
250g cake flour
2 tsp (10ml) baking powder
60g malted milk powder (aka Horlicks)
40ml milk

Toffee buttercream
120g white sugar
1/2 cup (125ml) water
3/4 cup (180ml) cream
250g butter, softened

200g (1/2 tin) tinned caramel or dulce de leche spread
Sea salt flakes, for sprinkling
Caramel popcorn, to serve (optional)

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees celcius. 
Line the bottoms of 2 x 15cm springform cake tins and set aside.
Cream together the butter, syrup and brown sugar until very light and creamy (about 8-10 minutes).
Beat in the vanilla and the eggs, one at a time, mixing well between each addition. 
Sift in the cake flour, baking powder and milk powder and fold together, adding the milk to form a thick batter. 
Divide the batter between the two cake tins and spread evenly. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean and the cake has pulled away from the sides. 
Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely, upside down, on a cooling rack. 

To make the buttercream, place the sugar and water in a pan and heat gently until the sugar is dissolved. 
Bring to the boil and simmer, without stirring, until the mixture begins caramelising. 
Once the syrup reaches a toffee-colour, pour in the cream and swirl to combine. 
Allow to cool completely. 
Cream the butter until very white and fluffy (about 8-10 minutes) then add the toffee sauce and whip to combine. 

To assemble, slice each cake in half to create 4 layers. 
Spread the first layer with tinned caramel then a layer of buttercream and top with the next cake layer. Continue until 4 layers are formed. 
Frost the entire cake using the buttercream (I used some tinned caramel along the bottom of the cake to achieve an ombre affect). 
Place the remaining buttercream in a piping bag (to create a swirled effect, simply smear stripes of caramel in the piping bag before adding the buttercream) then pipe blobs onto the top of the cake. 
Place in the refrigerator to set. 
To serve, sprinkle with sea salt flakes and top with caramel popcorn (if desired). 

TIP: To make a 25cm cake with 4 layers, double the recipe above.

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Chocolate red wine toffee marshmallows

A girl only needs two things in life; chocolate and red wine. 

But a little toffee and marshmallow can't hurt either so I've thrown those in here for good measure. I've been wanting to create some 'gourmet' (I really despise that word but there really aren't enough food adjectives in the English language) marshmallows for a while now since they're so trendy and all but I didn't want to make just any marshmallows. These needed to be very special marshmallows. For grown-ups!

Then a box full of beautifully-wrapped red wine toffees from Sweet Temptations landed on my desk. It was a sign. 

Obviously this toffee HAD to go into my marshmallows. The recipe I've used is based on Eric Lanlard's cocoa marshmallows and it is so incredibly simple and easy you'll wonder why you've been eating those horridly squishy store-bought pink ones all along. How amazed would your guests be if you whipped these out for after-dinner sweets?!! I know, you're welcome.

Chocolate red wine toffee marshmallows
Recipe adapted from Eric Lanlard's 'Chocolat'
Makes 24 squares

2 Sweet Temptations red wine toffees, thinly sliced lengthwise*
150ml water
2 tsp sweet red wine
200g sugar
2 tbsp gelatine powder
1/4 cup glucose
1/4 cup honey
125g dark chocolate, chopped and melted
Cocoa powder, for dusting

Line a 20cm square cake tin with baking paper. 
Place the thinly sliced toffee pieces on a piece of baking paper and roll out using a rolling pin to the size of the cake tin. Cut to fit the base and place in the bottom. 
Place the water, red wine, sugar and gelatine in a saucepan over low heat and stir until the gelatine and sugar is dissolved. Do not let the mixture boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the glucose and honey. Place in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on high for 8-10 minutes or until the mixture is thick and holds it's shape. Fold in the cooled melted chocolate and pour into the lined baking tin. Smooth the surface using a hot knife, cover and allow to set in the refrigerator for an hour. Once set, unmould and using a hot or oiled knife to cut into squares. Dust with cocoa powder and store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. 

*You could use any very soft toffees here (make sure they're pliable) otherwise, leave out the toffee and sprinkle the base with a dusting of cocoa. 

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Sweet as honeycomb

Your dentist may despise it and your dietician loathe it, but honeycomb is a childish delight all the more delicious for it’s reputation. Also known as hokey pokey, cinder toffee or puff candy, the crunchy moreish shards make the perfect dinner party gift as no one can resist its old-fashioned charm.

Photographs by Angie Lazaro Photography

Homemade honeycomb

Makes 20 pieces

300g castor sugar

150g golden syrup

pinch cream of tartar

1t white wine vinegar

1 ½ t bicarbonate of soda

Place the sugar, syrup, cream of tartar and vinegar into a saucepan. Add 5T water and stir over medium heat until dissolved. Bring mixture to the boil.

Cook until the syrup turns amber-coloured and reaches hard-crack stage or 150°C on a sugar thermometer*. Remove the pan from the heat.

Working quickly, add the bicarbonate of soda and whisk to combine. The mixture will foam up. Pour into the prepared tin and leave to cool. Turn honeycomb out and break into chunks. Store in an airtight container for 2-3 days.

TIP: be sure to use fresh bicarbonate of soda and don’t overmix the toffee once it’s added

Entertaining tip: dip shards of the honeycomb into white and dark chocolate, pile into a beautifully wrapped box and present it to guests to take home or as a hostess gift. 

*DON'T HAVE A THERMOMETER?

Boil a sugar syrup to the right stage

The best utensil for testing sugar syrup is a sugar thermometer but if you don’t have one, you can test it by dropping a small quantity into cold water and feeling the consistency:

Soft ball stage: 116 - 125°C – the syrup will form a soft, flat ball.

Hard ball stage: 126 - 135°C When a little syrup is dropped into ice water the ball that forms does not collapse as it is harder.

Hard crack stage: 146 - 155°C The ball forms is flattened between the fingers but is hard, brittle, breaks easily and not sticky.