Pink Poinsettias and Apple Cranberry Charlotte Cake

This week I tried to make some sugar poinsettias. They are very simple to make and soon I will be sharing a tutorial for you. I think they are pretty to decorate little cakes like these ones from Donna Hay Magazine.

These cakes are chic desserts that you can prepare for your holiday party. They also have a delicious surprise hidden inside: an apple and cranberry caramelized filling.  I adapted the original filling recipe which uses blueberries instead, and I loved it! 

As you have to scoop the cake to fill then, you will end up with a lot of crumbs. They are perfect to make some little cake balls or, cake pops if you prefer. I made my little cake balls mixing the crumbs with apple cranberry filling and using the lemon icing for covering. 

Apple and Cranberry Charlotte Cake

(Adapted from Donna Hay Magazine, Issue 64)

Makes 6

Cake

220g unsalted butter, melted

1 ½ cups (330g) sugar

¾ sour cream, softened

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups (300g) plain (all-purpose) flour, sifted

2 teaspoons baking powder, sifted

Preheat oven to 160°C (325°F). Place the butter, sugar, eggs, sour cream, lemon rind and vanilla in a bowl and whisk to combine. Add the flour and baking powder and whisk until smooth. Spoon into 6 X well-greased 1 ¼ cup-capacity (310 ml) mini fluted cake tins and smooth the top with a palette knife. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer.  Cool in tins for 10 minutes. Turn out onto wire rack to cool completely.

Apple and Cranberry Filling

50 g unsalted butter, chopped

1 cup (220g) sugar

1 cup (250ml) cream

1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped

1 kg Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and chopped

1 cup Cranberries

Place butter, sugar, cream, vanilla beam and seeds in a deep saucepan over medium heat and stir until the butter is melted and sugar is dissolved. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Cook for 3 minutes, add the apples and cranberries and cook, stirring occasionally, for 25-30 minutes. You will need to stir more frequently in the last 5 minutes until the apples are lightly caramelized. Pour into a bowl, discarding the vanilla beam, and allow to cool completely.

Trim the base of the cakes and using a 6 cm round cookie cutter, make an indent in the base. Using the indent as a guide, cut a round from the base and set aside. Using a spoon, carefully scoop ½ cup of the cake mixture from the center of each cake. Place the cakes back into the tins and place them to a tray. Divide the apple mixture between the cakes and top with the reserved lid. Top the cakes with a sheet of non-stick baking paper, top with another baking tray and weight down with canned vegetables. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours or until the apple mixture is set. Invert the cakes onto a wire rack over a baking tray.

Lemon Icing

4 cups (640g) icing sugar

1 talbespoon lemon juice

1/3 cup (80 ml) boiling water

Mix to combine the icing sugar, lemon juice and water. Spoon immediately over the cakes and allow to set before serving.