Use a proper sterilizing chemical, I suspect that what sterilizers a baby bottle is not the same as for wine/cider.
You can get a proper cider yeast, think Youngs make it, alternatively try to get hold of something like Gervins Variental D, it is for fruit wines.
Or just Youngs standard Super Yeast.
The process you describe appears a bit of a mix between Cider and Apple Wine.
Cider: Take apples, beat the living daylights (mince) out of them to produce a pulp, then put the pulp in a press and squeeze the juice out. You ferment this juice - no water, no additional sugar, just the juice. So a lot of the final cider depends on the apples used - sweetness, acidity, tannin level.
This site gives some ideas:
http://www.cider.org.uk/content2.htmApple Wine:
12 lbs apples, 3lbs sugar, pectic enzyme. water to 1 gallon.
(All seem to need a big pan to boil it all.)
Here goes:
Mince the apples, put apples in big pot, add gallon of water and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
Strain liquid into a bucket, add sugar and dissolve sugar.
Add apple pulp back to the juice+sugar.
When cool add pectic enzyme.
(Now this is where I differ from the instructions)
Make a yeast starter and add to the barely luke warm mix, add yeast nutrient also.
Cover bucket and ferment for 5-7 days, stir twice a day.
Put the whole lot through a reasonably fine sieve and into a DJ, add airlock and ferment+rack to as normal.
This came from:
http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/recipes.aspApple recipe 2.
I would mince the apples, put in a bucket then pour 3 or 4 pints of boiling water on this, allow it to cool, make up to a gallon with water then throw in the yeast etc. Easier to boil 2 or 3 kettles of water then 1 gallon of apple mix.
Alternative: Mince apples, add cold (luke warm) water, add a campden tablet, leave overnight, stir, add pectic enzyme, add nutrient, add yeast starter, cover and ferment for 5-7 days etc.
There will be a subtle difference between uncooked and cooked apples.
For Sweet/Medium/Dry you need a hydrometer and also need to measure the Specific Gravity at the start, just before you add the yeast.