A vintage cake is a stunning way to mark a celebration. With gorgeous piped icing and decorative ribbons, they make a show-stopping centrepiece for any gathering. And this beautifully light yet moist apple cake is well worth the effort.
We used Colour Mill oil-blend food colouring for the icing on our vintage cake. Colour Mill is Australian-made and highly pigmented, so use just a few drops to tint the buttercream to the desired tone. It’s available from Spotlight or cake decorating suppliers.
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Ingredients
Method
Preheat oven to 200°C (180°C fan-forced). Grease two deep 20cm round cake pans. Line base with baking paper.
Combine egg whites and sugar in the bowl of electric mixer and whisk on medium for 3 minutes or until foamy. Increase speed to high and whisk for 5-6 minutes or until meringue has tripled in volume and stiff peaks form. Gently fold in egg yolks.
In two batches, sift cake flour and bicarb over the egg mixture and gently fold to incorporate. Divide mixture evenly between prepared pans (about 300g of cake batter per pan) and level tops with a palette knife.
Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown and spring back when touched. Invert onto a cake rack and leave to cool upside down. Run a palette knife around the edge to release the cake if necessary.
MILK SYRUP Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat, allow to cool. Refrigerate until ready to use.
VANILLA CREAM Combine all ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer. Whisk on medium speed until mixture is smooth and is a medium spreadable consistency. Refrigerate until ready to use.
APPLE FILLING Combine sugar, water, lemon juice, cornflour and cinnamon stick in a small saucepan over a medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer, add apples and stir until combined. Cover, cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until apples are tender but still have a slight bite. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Drain apple mixture over a bowl and add any apple juices to the Milk Syrup.
SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM Combine the egg whites and sugar in a large heatproof bowl. Place over a pan of simmering water; whisk continuously for 10 minutes or until mixture reaches 70°C on a sugar thermometer (the sugar should be completely dissolved). Transfer the mixture to large bowl of an electric mixer, whisk on medium-high speed for 10 minutes or until firm peaks form, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally, and mixture is almost at room temperature. Replace whisk with the paddle attachment. Add the butter, a couple of cubes at a time, beating well after each addition until the mixture is pale and smooth. Beat in the vanilla paste. Tint pale yellow with food colouring. Keep at room temperature until ready to use.
To assemble, split each cake in half. Place a layer on a cake board or plate. Brush with ¼ of the Milk Syrup. Spoon some of the Swiss Meringue Buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a 1cm plain piping tip. Pipe a boarder around the edge of the cake layer. Spread 1/3 of the Vanilla Cream onto cake layer within the Buttercream boarder and top with 1/3 of the drained Apple Filling. Repeat layering with cake layers, Milk Syrup, piped Buttercream boarder, Vanilla Cream and Apple Filling, finishing with a cake layer.
Spread a thin layer of Buttercream over the top and sides of cake to seal. This is called a crumb coat. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Once the crumb coat is chilled and set, spread the top and sides with a thicker layer of Buttercream. To create a clean smooth coat on the cake, use a cake scraper or offset palette knife. Refrigerate vintage cake for at least 1 to 2 hours.
Tint remaining Buttercream a darker yellow. Spoon half of the Buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a Loyal 352 leaf piping tip. Hold the piping bag so the ‘v’ part of the nozzle is level against the side of the cake. Working on the cake board, squeeze piping bag firmly and move piping bag in a circular motion to achieve a ruffle all around the cake. Using the same icing and nozzle, pipe around top edge of the cake, holding with steady pressure to create a ripple effect.
Spoon remaining Buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a Loyal 4B star piping tip. Pipe a shell edge around base and on top of vintage cake as shown.
To create the garland, insert toothpicks around top edge of vintage cake equal distance apart. Then using a round biscuit cutter or similar, lightly mark the iced side to create a semi-circle. Using the bag fitted with the leaf piping nozzle, with steady pressure create a ripple effect following the semi-circle. Repeat around the cake. With the other nozzle and icing, pipe 2 shells vertically down the side of the cake where the icing garlands meet.
Decorate with ribbon bows. Refrigerate until required. Remove vintage apple cake from fridge 30 minutes before eating.
Vintage cake: get the piping right
The decorative piped icing is what sets vintage cakes apart from other iced cakes. Using the above image as a reference, these are the nozzles used for each effect, listed from left to right:
- Loyal 352 leaf piping tip (used in steps 12 and 14)
- Loyal 352 leaf piping tip (used in steps 12 and 14)
- Loyal 4B star piping tip (used in steps 13 and 14)
Why use cake flour?
Cake flour has a lower protein content and is finer, lighter and softer than plain flour.
Can I prepare the vintage cake ahead of time?
Yes, you can. In fact, we recommend you prepare the cakes, Milk Syrup and Apple Filling the day before putting cake together.
What is a cake turntable?
If you enjoy making layered cakes, a cake turntable is a game changer! It’s like a Lazy Susan, enabling you to smoothly rotate your cake, making it easy to reach all sides and decorate evenly. We used one when decorating our vintage cake.
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