Basket of Apples Cake

Stack the 8 inch round cakes, filling with buttercream. Ice with a crumb coat with buttercream tinted brown or chocolate buttercream. Insert 6-8 dowels or straws through all cake layers for support. Once crumb coat crusts, frost cake.

Roll out brown fondant until about 3/16 inch thick. Measure circumference of cake and divide by two. This is roughly how many rectangles of brown fondant to cut. Measure height of cake. Add half an inch to this number for the length. Cut fondant into rectangles measuring 2 inches x height of cake plus half inch. Score rectangles with corn cob pick or fork. Highlight grooves by painting with brown food color paste thinned with extract.

Carefully attach brown fondant rectangles to sides of cake, pressing lightly to adhere to frosting. Cut two more strips of brown fondant measuring 1 inch x cake circumference. Paint with brown food color paste. Glue around side of cake with buttercream. Roll small ball of fondant into a log. Press wire into and cover with fondant. Press ends of wire into sides of cake. Tint buttercream grey and pipe nail details.

Frost tops of cupcakes. Roll out red fondant 1/8 inch thick. Cut circles large enough to completely cover cupcake, about 4 inches diameter. Cover cupcakes with fondant so seam is on bottom. Pinch together to seal and trim off excess. Press down into center top of cupcake to make a small indentation. Roll small balls of brown fondant into thin strings. Cut 3/4 inch long and place in cupcake indentation. Tint buttercream green and pipe leaves.

Arrange cupcakes on top of and around basket, adhering with buttercream if necessary.