Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Mardi Gras Petit Fours


Last week over at Confessions of a Cookbook Queen, Kristan made the cutest red velvet heart petit fours

Which got me thinking.....I haven't had a petit four in like forever! I didn't feel like going to the bakery to buy an overpriced mini cake when I could just make a bunch for next to nothing. After all, that money could be better spent.....like on SHOES!

I altered a recipe I found online to make it taste more like the ones from our local bakery. 

Now I must warn you, if you don't like things to get messy then this is not for you. This is a messy thing to make. Lucky for me, I have little cleaning fairies who I call children to help me clean up the mess. They want petit fours....I want a clean kitchen. It's a win win situation.

Almond Sour Cream Cake
Ingredients:
1 boxes white cake mix
1 cups flour
1 cups granulated sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/3 cups of water
1/8 cups oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tbsp almond emulsion 
1 cups sour cream (room temperature)
4 lg egg whites

Preheat oven to 325˚

1. In your kitchen aid mixer or a bowl, combine cake mix, flour, sugar, salt and mix until combined. 

2. Add water, sour cream and oil and mix until combined. 

3. Add almond and vanilla, mix.

4. Add eggs whites one at a time until incorporated thoroughly. 

5. Mix until there are no lumps, about 2 minutes.

6. Pour cake mix into a greased and floured pan. I used a 9X13 pan. Place into a preheated oven. Bake @350˚ for about 50 min or until a toothpick comes out clean. Bake time varies with ovens. Allow cake to cool.


Glaze
Ingredients:
4 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond

Mix all ingredients in a mixing bowl until combined. Place in microwave about 1 min, maybe a little longer. Just like ovens, all microwaves are different. Mine gets pretty hot, fast. 





Cut out square shapes. I used a 2X2 square cutter. 

Place square pieces on a wired rack and place a cookie sheet under it. Pour warm glaze over cake pieces. Allow a minute or two, then pour another layer of icing. I did this two or three times.  

While cakes were still sticky I transferred them to a piece of wax paper and sprinkled with Mardi Gras colored sprinkles. Then allow the icing to set up. They will stay tacky for a few hours. 


This recipe was so worth all the sticky. The petit fours went in the matter of minutes. I'm sure my kids were wired at school. 


8 comments:

  1. These look awesome! What size baking pan did you use for the cake?

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    Replies
    1. Sorry, I forgot to list the pan size. I used a 9X13 pan.

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  2. oh I hated making those in school only because we had to make like 100 at a time, but they were so good, must try your recipe.

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  3. Almond emulsion - is that the same as almond paste? Or...? I'd love to try these! Fantastic photos, too. :)

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  4. Where do you buy a square cutter? Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's just a square cookie cutter. Walmart carries them as well as Amazon.

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  5. Hi! Do you bake these at 325 or 350? Btw, I find that popping the cake in the freezer for a bit helps when cutting. A pizza cutter has resulted in sharp lines for me.

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  6. Please tell me is it all purpose or self rising?

    ReplyDelete

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