Apples

Add the invert sugar.

Start beating the egg whites at medium speed...

... and increase the speed slowly...

... whip up until very stiff.

Zest the lemon with a Microplane Classic grater)...

... and add to the beaten egg whites.

Sift the flour, almond powder and icing sugar.

Add the sifted ingredients in 2 or 3 batches to the meringue...

... and combine with the rubber spatula every time.

Place a Silpat baking mat on a Silichef XL perforated baking sheet.

... to create an even layer.

The result should look like this.

Bake in a fan-assisted oven preheated at 180°C (gas 4)...

... and leave to cool.

Peel the apples.

Cut the apples into thin slices with a Japanese mandolin slicer...

... to a thickness of about 5mm.

... then dice into a brunoise.

The result should look like this.

Place the green apple purée in a saucepan.

Add the castor sugar...

... and the lemon juice.

Cook for a few minutes over medium heat.

When the apple cubes are tender, remove from the heat and add the rehydrated gelatine. Combine well.

Add the Grand-Marnier and combine.

Pour the preparation in a piping bag.

Cut the tip of the bag to create a hole with a diameter of about 1cm.

Fill the cavities of a mini truffle silicone mould with the apple preparation.

Cover the surface with cling film and place in the freezer.

For the Grand-Marnier Bavarian cream: Organise all the necessary ingredients.

Start with the milk, whipping cream, egg yolks and castor sugar.

Add 1/2 vanilla pod or vanilla powder (or vanilla liquid extract).

Add half of the castor sugar.

Place the pan over medium heat.

Place the egg yolks in a mixing bowl.

Blanch with a whisk.

When the milk and cream start boiling, pour them over the egg yolks and sugar.

Combine carefully then transfer the preparation into the saucepan used to boil the milk.

Cook à la nappe (i.e. until the consistency is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon), stirring constantly. The temperature shouldn't exceed 82°C (use a thermometer).

Pass the cream through a fine sieve.

Transfer the preparation into a large recipient and spread to a thin layer so it cools down faster.

In the meantime, whisk 280 grams of cold whipping cream in the stand mixer...

... until you obtain a whipped cream.

When the cream has cooled down, transfer into a mixing bowl.

Add the Grand-Marnier. Combine well.

Combine well with a whisk.

... and fold gently with the spatula, making sure to go right down to the bottom of the bowl until homogeneous.

Transfer the preparation into a piping bag.

Assembling the cakes: Using a pastry cutter Ø 4cm, cut the biscuit into discs.

The result should look like this.

Pipe the Bavarian cream at the bottom of each cavity from the fruit silicone mould.

Pipe a layer of Bavarian cream over the biscuit.

Remove the frozen apple inserts from the mould.

Place a frozen apple insert in each cavity, burying it a little in the cream.

Finish with a biscuit disc on top.

For the apple chocolate stems (make the day before): Organise all the necessary ingredients.

Melt the chocolate couverture in the microwave. Add the cocoa powder (sifted beforehand), one spoon at a time. Combine well every time.

Add cocoa powder until smooth. Transfer into a piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle Ø 3mm.

Pipe the chocolate into lines on a sheet of greaseproof paper.

The chocolate lines shouldn't be completely straight (see photo). Leave to cool.

... and fill with melted chocolate.

Seal the bag properly to avoid leaks.

Cut the tip of the bag to create a small hole with a diameter of Ø 2 mm.

... between 4 and 5cm.

Dip the tip of an apple leaf in melted chocolate.

Carefully stick the tip with melted chocolate on the chocolate stick.

Make sure you arrange the apple leaves so they are facing the right way before sticking on the chocolate stem. Pipe a drop of melted chocolate to stick the apple leaves.

Leave to set. You can also use a cooling spray for a faster operation. Set aside.

This is a really great colouring system which I found easy to use.
For the green colour I selected, I need 8 yellow Power Flowers and 1/4 red Power Flower. This depends obviously on the amount of chocolate.
The Power Flowers are easy to cut into equal portions with a small knife.

The ingredients are now ready, let's go!
Place the white chocolate and Mycryo cocoa butter into 2 separate bowls.

Melt both ingredients until the temperature gets to 40°C.

Stir until homogeneous.

Pour the melted cocoa butter over the melted white chocolate.

Combine gently.

At this stage, the thermometer shows 41°C, which is perfect. If needed, place the bowl in the microwave for a few seconds until the temperature gets to 40°C.

Start stirring. The yellow flowers are the first to melt and the preparation turns yellow.

Continue mixing with a hand blender to activate the colour pigments. The preparation should start turning green.

After a few seconds, we get the exact shade of green shown on the colour chart. This colouring system ensures consistency results instead of adding approximative amounts of colouring powder.
Power Flowers are fat-soluble and non-azo, so they're mainly designed to use with chocolate.

Arrange them on a baking sheet...

For the green coating: When the icing is between 40°C and 45°C (use a laser thermometer), pour it into a chocolate spray gun. I used a cheap paint spray gun for this recipe, which works really well for this type of application.

Fit the spray body on the recipient and screw until tight.

Spray the green icing over the apples. I recommend using an airbrush spray booth for a mess-free operation.
Adjust the gun if you find the coating too volatile.

Make sure you apply the coating on the whole surface.

Gently lift the apples...

... and arrange them on a serving platter.

For the finish: Insert the chocolate stems with leaves in the centre of the apples when they have started to defrost a little to make sure the chocolate stems don't break.

Our apple cakes are now ready. Leave to defrost in the fridge for 2 hours before serving. Enjoy!