This large 3D Apple Shaped Cake is ideal for a Snow White Party or Back to School celebration! It has four layers of cake inside and is covered with fondant then painted with food coloring gel.
I like to surprise my daughters with a fun back-to-school themed treat after school on their first day of school.
When my oldest started Kindergarten, I started making a School Bus Cake and continued the tradition each year. When my girls stopped taking the bus, I had to pivot and come up with other ideas that included a Pencil Cake, Pencil and Ruler Cupcakes, Apple Shaped Cupcakes, and Brownie Chalkboards.
Because I like to try something new each year, I decided on this giant 3D Apple Shaped Cake. This ended up super cute, and the girls loved it!
It would also be perfect for a Snow White Birthday Party, like these Apple Cake Pops.
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Supplies
- box of cake mix, flavor of your choice, or Two Layer Chocolate Cake
- two 6-inch cake pans
- two 8-inch cake pans
- 3 baking strips
- long wooden skewer (for support)
- batch of Easy Vanilla Buttercream
- ready to roll white fondant
- powdered sugar
- large fondant rolling pin
- red, black, brown, yellow and green food coloring gel
- disposable plastic transfer pipette
- Food safe paintbrush
- Paint palette dedicated to food
- Everclear or vodka
Bake the Cakes
Add wet cake baking strips around one 6-inch pan and two 8-inch cake pans, leaving the remaining 6-inch cake pan without a baking strip. Spray the insides of all of the pans with nonstick baking spray.
Make the cake batter according to the package directions.
Divide the batter evenly among the four pans.
Bake the cakes according to the package directions. You may need to reduce the baking time for the 6-inch pans compared to the 8-inch pans.
Remove the cake pans from the oven when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
The 6-inch cake without the baking strip should be slightly domed.
Cool the cakes in the pans for 10 minutes, then invert the cake pans onto cooling racks to remove the cakes.
Flip the domed cake back over so the dome is facing up while the cake cools.
Allow the cakes to cool to room temperature until assembling.
Assemble the Cake
Add sections of waxed paper on the edges of a cake platter.
Smear a few tablespoons of buttercream in the center of the cake platter. Place the flat 6-inch cake on top.
Spread an even layer of buttercream over the cake with a large icing spatula. Place one of the 8-inch cakes on top and repeat with the second 8-inch cake.
Place the domed 6-inch cake on top.
Using a sharp serrated knife, carve the entire cake into a sphere shape like a large apple.
To keep the cake stable, I recommend adding a wooden skewer through the center of the cake. I had to break my skewer in half in order for it to fit in the cake.
Add a thick layer of buttercream over the entire surface of the cake. This will allow the fondant to stick to the cake.
Carefully remove the pieces of waxed paper and discard them.
Cover the Cake with Fondant
I like to purchase ready to roll white fondant rather than making my own. I do have a recipe for homemade Marshmallow Fondant if you prefer to make your own.
One tip I have for working with fondant is to keep it wrapped in plastic wrap in an airtight container. Just leaving the fondant out for several minutes can cause it to lose moisture and start getting hard, making it difficult to work with and roll.
The easiest way to roll fondant is to think of it like sugar cookie dough but use powdered sugar instead of flour on the cutting board. For large sections of fondant, like the piece to cover the entire cake, I use a large fondant rolling pin that has guides on the ends to ensure even thickness.
For this apple shape, a large round piece of fondant is ideal. To estimate the diameter of the circle you will need, use a ruler to approximate the height and width of the assembled cake.
Once your circle is to the desired size, carefully transfer it onto the top of the cake. This process is not unlike transferring a rolled pie crust into a pie plate. Sometimes I will carefully fold it in half and then in half again, line up the corner of the folded fondant on the top center of the cake, then carefully unfold it.
Once the circle of fondant has been placed on top of the cake, you will need to carefully work the fondant around the sides. For me, this is the hardest part to ensure it covers the cake evenly without ripping and without having too much excess.
You can trim the excess at the bottom with a sharp paring knife at the end. I highly recommend not trying to stretch the fondant too much or it may rip.
The bottom of my cake did not look exactly how I wanted, but I didn't want to add any buttercream to hide it, so I chose to ignore the flaws. My kids didn't notice!
Paint the Cake
The fondant will be painted with food coloring gel that is diluted with Everclear or vodka.
Add a drop or two of red food coloring gel to the well of a food dedicated paint palette. Pour a small amount of the alcohol into a small bowl. Use a disposable transfer pipette to add a few drops of the alcohol to the food gel. Combine the gel with the alcohol using a food grade paintbrush.
Brush the diluted gel onto the fondant with long, smooth brush strokes.
To make a lighter shade of red paint, transfer a few drops of the diluted red into a well with a few more drops of alcohol. To make a darker shade of red, add another drop of food coloring gel or a tiny amount of black or brown food coloring gel into the diluted solution.
If you would like to add other colors to make the apple look more realistic, repeat this process to dilute other colors of food gel like orange or yellow.
As you paint the fondant, you can adjust the amount of alcohol in your solution to make a more or less intense red to give some shading on the cake.
Continue to paint the fondant until all of the white is covered with food coloring.
Make the Stem
To make the stem, I rolled out some white fondant and wrapped it around a small cork. Then, I painted it with diluted brown food coloring gel.
To place it in the cake, I inserted into the top center of the cake. Doing so pushes the cake down a little to give it even more of an apple shape.
Make the Leaves
To make the leaves, I rolled some white fondant and cut it into leaf shapes with a sharp paring knife. You can also use an X-Acto knife. I then added the veining on the surface of the leaves and painted them with green diluted food coloring gel.
Then, I placed two leaves on top of the cake, connected to the stem. You can use a little bit of Everclear, water, or even a small dot of buttercream to help the leaves adhere to the red fondant.
Storage
Because this is just a buttercream cake, rather than a cheesecake or cream cheese frosted cake, I stored it at room temperature because I was serving the cake later that day.
You can store the cake in the refrigerator if you wish.
Either way, if you will be serving the cake the next day, I recommend covering the cake loosely with plastic wrap, once the food coloring is dry, to seal in the moisture so the fondant does not start to harden.
Serving
To serve the cake, use a long serrated knife or cake knife to cut slices from the apple like wedges of a pie.
Gluten Free Option
Use a gluten free cake mix to make the cakes. I recommend King Arthur brand gluten free cake mix. If you prefer to make your own gluten free cake, I highly recommend my Two Layer Chocolate Cake made with a measure for measure gluten free flour such as Bob's Red Mill.
Check the packaging of your fondant to make sure it is certified gluten free.
📖 Recipe
3D Apple Shaped Cake
Equipment
- 2 6-inch cake pans
- 2 8-inch cake pans
- 3 baking strips
- 1 long wooden skewer (for support)
- 1 large fondant rolling pin
- food-safe paintbrush
- Paint palette dedicated to food
Ingredients
- 1 box cake mix (flavor of your choice, or Two Layer Chocolate Cake)
- 1 batch Easy Vanilla Buttercream
- ready to roll white fondant
- powdered sugar (for rolling the fondant)
- red, black, brown, yellow and green food coloring gel
- Everclear or vodka
Instructions
Bake the Cakes
- Add wet cake baking strips around one 6-inch pan and two 8-inch cake pans, leaving the remaining 6-inch cake pan without a baking strip. Spray the insides of all of the pans with nonstick baking spray.
- Make the cake batter according to the package directions.
- Divide the batter evenly among the four pans.
- Bake the cake according to package directions. You may need to reduce the baking time for the 6-inch pans compared to the 8-inch pans. Remove the cake pans from the oven when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. The 6-inch cake without the baking strip should be slightly domed.
- Cool the cakes in the pans for 10 minutes, then invert the cake pans onto cooling racks to remove the cakes.
- Flip the domed cake back over so the dome is facing up while the cake cools.
- Allow the cakes to cool to room temperature until assembling.
Assemble the Cake
- Add sections of waxed paper on the edges of a cake platter.
- Smear a few tablespoons of buttercream on a cake platter. Place the flat 6-inch cake on top.
- Spread an even layer of buttercream over the cake with a large icing spatula. Place one of the 8-inch cakes on top and repeat with the second 8-inch cake.
- Place the domed 6-inch cake on top.
- Using a sharp serrated knife, carve the entire cake into a sphere shape like a large apple.
- To keep the cake stable, add a wooden skewer through the center of the cake. You may have to break your skewer in half so it fits into the cake.
- Add a thick layer of buttercream over the entire surface of the cake. This will allow the fondant to stick to the cake.
- Carefully remove the pieces of waxed paper and discard them.
Cover the Cake with Fondant
- When working with fondant, it is important to keep it wrapped in plastic wrap in an airtight container. Just leaving the fondant out for several minutes can cause it to lose moisture and start getting hard, making it difficult to work with and roll. Break off what you need and keep the rest wrapped.
- For this apple shape, a large round piece of fondant is ideal. To estimate the diameter of the fondant circle you will need, use a ruler to approximate the height and width of the assembled cake.
- Break off a large piece of fondant and place it on a cutting board or mat lightly dusted with powdered sugar. Continue to dust the fondant with powdered sugar as you roll it to prevent it from sticking to the board or rolling pin. Roll the fondant into a large circle of even thickness.
- Once your circle is to the desired size, carefully transfer it onto the top of the cake. This process is not unlike transferring a rolled pie crust into a pie plate. One option is to carefully fold it in half and then in half again, line up the corner of the folded fondant on the top center of the cake, then carefully unfold it over the cake.
- Carefully work the fondant around the sides of the cake. Take your time with this part, as stretching the fondant can cause it to rip. Trim off the excess fondant at the bottom with a sharp knife.
Paint the Cake
- Add a drop or two of red food coloring gel to the well of a food dedicated paint palette. Pour a small amount of the alcohol into a small bowl. Use a disposable transfer pipette to add a few drops of the alcohol to the food gel. Combine the gel with the alcohol using a food grade paintbrush.
- Brush the diluted gel onto the fondant with long, smooth brush strokes.
- To make a lighter shade of red paint, transfer a few drops of the diluted red into a well with a few more drops of alcohol. To make a darker shade of red, add another drop of food coloring gel or a tiny amount of black or brown food coloring gel into the diluted solution.
- If you would like to add other colors to make the apple look more realistic, repeat this process to dilute other colors of food gel like orange or yellow.
- As you paint the fondant, you can adjust the amount of alcohol in your solution to make a more or less intense red to give some shading on the cake. Continue to paint the fondant until all of the white is covered with food coloring.
Make the Stem
- To make the stem, roll some white fondant and wrapped it around a small cork or similarly shaped object.
- Dilute some brown food coloring gel with alcohol and paint the fondant stem with it.
- To place it in the cake, I inserted into the top center of the cake. Doing so pushes the cake down a little to give it even more of an apple shape.
Make the Leaves
- Roll some white fondant and cut it into 2 leaf shapes with a sharp paring knife or an X-Acto knife. Add veining on the surface of the leaves.
- Dilute green food coloring gel with alcohol and paint the leaves.
- Place the two leaves on top of the cake, connected to the stem. You can use a little bit of Everclear, water, or even a small dot of buttercream to help the leaves adhere to the red fondant.
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