Not Your Momma's Test Kitchen: Petit Fours

As some of you already know, I started a new blog called "Not Your Momma's Test Kitchen." It was supposed to be a blog where you send in recipes that you've been saving for a while but haven't gotten around to making. I would make them and show you my results, and then it would be your turn. Well, I decided it would be too much trouble, and really impractical, to have two blogs. So I'm making NYMTK a sub-chapter of this blog! Somehow, I have to figure out a way to rework this layout to include a tab to submit a recipe (like this page here on my NYMTK blog). Suggestions are welcome and much needed!

For my first NYMTK post, I took the very first e-mail submission I received. It was sent in by Andrea, and she bookmarked it from DianasDesserts.com. The recipe originally comes from "The New Food Lover's Companion 2nd Edition" by Sharon Tyler Herbst. Since petit fours are on my Top 100, I thought this was a perfect match! Reading the reviews on Dianas Desserts, I knew I was going to get one of two results. Either my petit fours would be delicious and adorable, or they'd be sickeningly sweet and fugly. Just browse through my photos below and then guess which result I got........................

Got a guess???? They were absolutely the sweetest things I've ever eaten! I know they're supposed to be quite sweet, and that is why they are portioned so small. But seriously, this was like literally dipping a spoon straight into a box of confectioners' sugar! And fugly doesn't even come close to describing them. I'm not exactly a beginner in the kitchen, and I couldn't even make them look respectable. I think they're so sickeningly sweet because of the amount of icing that has to go on them so they're no longer see-through. The cake itself was delicious with a thin coating of the fruit glaze, and after just one coating of icing they were sweet, but just as I'd imagine a petit four to taste like. However, once they were completely coated, they became inedible. Overall, I'd say my final opinion is that petit fours just suck! Sorry I don't have better news for you, Andrea. :(

Tea Time Petit Fours (from "The New Food Lover's Companion 2nd Edition" by Sharon Tyler Herbst)
Makes 2 1/2 dozen

For Cake:
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
1/4 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup milk
3 egg whites

For Fruit Glaze:
12 oz. apricot or raspberry preserves (or heated jelly may be used instead)
3 tbsp. water

For Icing:
9 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Food coloring, optional
Tiny edible sugar flowers or leaves, for decorating tops of petit fours

For Cake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 C). Grease and lightly flour a 9-inch square baking pan.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, shortening and sugar. Beat in the vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk. In a small mixing bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form; gently fold into batter.

Pour batter into prepared baking pan and bake at 350 degrees F (180 C) for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Remove cake from oven and let cool in pan for 10 minutes. Turn cake out onto a plate or cooling rack; then chill cake in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. (I froze mine overnight before I continued.)

Remove cake from refrigerator. Cut a thin slice off each side of chilled cake. Cut cake into 1-1/4-inch squares. Place squares 1/2 inch apart on a cooling rack over a 15 x 10 x 1-inch pan. Apply fruit glaze (See Fruit Glaze Preparation Below) evenly over tops and sides of cake squares, allowing excess to drip off. Let dry. Repeat if necessary to thoroughly coat squares. Let glaze dry completely. (I put mine in the freezer for 15 minutes.)

For Preparing The Fruit Glaze:
In a medium size saucepan, heat preserves with the 3 tbsp. water on low heat. Drizzle or spread a thin layer of heated preserves over cooled tops and sides of petit fours before icing. (If using jelly, you do not need to add water to it, just heat jelly in saucepan on low heat and spread over cooled tops and sides of petit fours).

To Prepare Icing:
Combine all icing ingredients in the top of a double boiler. Heat over boiling water to lukewarm. Pour icing over tops and sides of petit fours. Once they are set, they should be coated with icing again. After icing hardens, decorate tops of each petit four with a tiny edible sugar flower or leaf. (I put each piece of cake on a dipping fork over the icing bowl then poured the icing over with a large spoon.)

Storage of Petit Fours
Petits Fours may be made up to 24 hours in advance. Let the icing (or if using a fondant frosting) dry completely before storing in an airtight container. Refrigerate petit fours if they contain perishable fillings and icings, such as dairy products or fresh fruit or berries. The fruit preserves or jelly used in the filling of these petit fours can go bad after 2 or 3 days because of the moisture from the wet fruit filling, so storing them in an airtight container at room temperature for more than 2 days is not advised.

Tips:
1) You can separate the icing, once it's made, into small bowls, and tint each with a different food coloring, adding color until you achieve the desired shade.
2) Icing colors that look nice for petit fours are: White, Pale Yellow, Pale Pink, Pale Blue, Pale Green or Lavender.
3) You may also drizzle melted white or dark chocolate over tops and sides of petit fours instead of using the white or tinted icing.
4) Another idea is to sandwich two of the cake squares together with the heated preserves or jelly glaze; then pour icing over the tops and sides of squares, then decorate when icing has hardened completely.