Platinum Engagement Ring Cookie

 

Recently my friend Jesse commissioned a cookie order to celebrate the upcoming nuptials of her soon-to-be sister-in-law.  I suggested a Platinum Engagement Ring Cookie as the design, selfishly on my part because I haven't made or decorated that shape before.  I bought this cookie cutter set from Amazon and used my favorite sugar cookie and royal icing recipes.  

Aren't the packaged favors so cute?  They would be beautiful for a bachelorette, bridal shower or wedding reception.

Petits Fours

 

This Petits Fours post is long overdue and I mean REALLY overdue.  We're talking more than a decade people!  When you put it that way it sounds so bad, right?  My fascination with petits fours really started when I saw them made in this video, Martha Stewart Living Cake Decorating.   I was immediately drawn in by how beautiful and elegant the little cakes were.  They've been on my baking bucket list forever and I finally got my a%$ in gear and made them recently for my Easter table this year.  I packaged four petits fours into clear plastic boxes and placed a favor at each place setting.  I think they look absolutely darling and fit the Easter decor beautifully.

Essentially petits fours are small pieces of pound cake that are filled (I like jam or curd and buttercream) and covered in a glossy fondant.   I started with this recipe for the pound cake from the blog Rose Bakes which is nice and sturdy and holds up really well.  One recipe of the cake makes a half-sheet size pan and yields a lot of petits fours.  I made half of the cake into raspberry petits fours and the other half into lemon petits fours.  I'm  a sucker for fruit flavors and I think the tartness from the raspberry and lemon would be a nice counterbalance to the sweetness from the fondant. 

 

Now let's talk about fondant because that's the Archilles heel of these pretty treats.  The fondant used to coat petits fours is different from the rolled fondant you've seen covering wedding cakes and the like.  Petits fours use a poured fondant.  You can make certainly make it yourself but I was too intimidated (and lazy!) to do that so I bought some premade fondant from Amazon and it worked great.  The only thing I had to do was melt it in a bowl over a pan of simmering water until it was thin enough to coat.  Two tricks I learned from the Martha Stewart video were to have simple syrup on hand to stir into the fondant or put it back on the heat when it got too thick. 

 

 

The main caveat I have when it comes to making petits fours is that it's NOT a neat and tidy process.  The poured fondant can be very finicky to work with and downright messy.  It took me a while to get a feel for what was the best consistency for the fondant and even more time trying to figure out the best set up.  In the end I'm happy with my first attempt at petits fours.  I don't have the time to make them often so I'll save it for special occasions. 

 

Packaging Details:

4" x 4" x 2" clear plastic boxes

4" x 4" x 3/8" raised bottom box insert

3/8" grosgrain ribbon

Battenberg Cake

Reading about all the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations this week inspired me to make a quintessential British dessert.   Ironically enough the origins of Battenberg Cake are actually German.  Pastry chefs in the court of Queen Victoria, herself of German ancestry, created the marzipan covered sponge to celebrate the wedding of Victoria's namesake granddaughter, Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine, to Prince Louis of Battenberg.  

In all the times that I've visited England I never actually tasted Battenberg cake but knew of it, especially because of the pink checkerboard design.   How cute would it be at afternoon tea or a bridal or baby  shower? 

The recipe can be found here from the BBC website.  The sponge cake itself was a bit dry for my taste so next time I think I'll make it with either pound cake or high ratio butter cake.   Hmmmm...now that I think about it maybe I'll try to get my hands on a real Battenberg cake tin.  One more pan couldn't possibly make a difference in my already stuffed pantry, right?

On another note.....

Today is my very dear friend Gullet's birthday so I am sending her my best wishes.  Wish I could be in Norway to celebrate with you but I'll definitely be there in spirit!  Have a glass of Veuve for me!

Raspberry-White Chocolate Bombe

I've been wanting to make this Raspbery-White Chocolate Bombe for a while now but was waiting for the right occasion.  Mother's Day fit the bill perfectly.  I can't think of any mother - or grandmother, aunt, sister or daughter for that matter - who wouldn't love to receive a beautiful cake like this. 

"Pretty in pink" is the first thing that comes to mind when I see this cake.  The pink and white colors just make me smile.  This showstopper is yearning to be the center of attention at your next  celebration, e.g., bridal shower, baby shower, christening or birthday to name a few. 

Underneath a blanket of white chocolate curls lies fruit-studded raspberry mousse and moist, tender white cake.   Now I admit that I'm not much of a fan of white chocolate; it's just too sweet for my taste.  If you feel the same follow my lead and eat around it; the cake and filling are delicious!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!!!

FYI: The cake stand is a 2012 limited edition from Martha Stewart Collection that I bought at Macys.  I added the ribbon embellishment.  The chocolate curls were purchased at my local cake decorating store,  Sugar 'N Spice.

Pink Daisy Cookies

 

Apologies in advance to all flower lovers since these daisies aren't botanically correct, but you'll forgive me won't you?  The Barefoot Contessa featured these cookies on her show a while ago, in white and yellow, and I knew immediately I wanted to make a pink version.

Perhaps I went a bit overboard with the abundance of pink tones in the cookie and packaging, but I can't help myself, it's one of my favorite colors.  How cute would these be as the favor at a birthday party, baby shower or bridal shower?