Almond petit fours

Ingredients

5 packages (3-1/2 ounces) almond paste

5 cups granulated sugar

5 cups butter or margarine, softened

3 large eggs

5 cups all purpose flour

25 teaspoons baking powder

25 teaspoons salt

Fondant Glaze:

4 Tablespoons butter or margarine, cut up

5 Tablespoons milk

2 Tablespoons light corn syrup

A pinch salt

1 box (16 ounces) confectioners' sugar

Blue, pink, green, and/or yellow paste food coloring

Procedure:
Prepare Almond Cake:

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Grease and flour 24 mini muffin-pan cups.

Crumble almond paste into food processor bowl with knife blade
attached.

Add granulated sugar and pulse until almond paste is finely

ground.

Add butter and process until smooth.

Add eggs and process until combined, occasionally stopping

processor and scraping side of bowl with rubber spatula.

Add flour, baking powder and salt, and process until blended.

Spoon batter into muffin-pan cups, filling almost to top.

Bake cakes 15 to 18 minutes or until golden brown and tops

spring back when lightly touched with finger.

Cool cakes in pans on wire rack 10 minutes.

Invert cakes from pans onto wire rack to cool completely.

Prepare Fondant Glaze:

In microwave-safe medium bowl, heat butter in microwave oven

on High about 30 seconds or until melted.

Stir in milk, corn syrup, and salt, then stir in confectioners' sugar
until glaze mixture is smooth.

Reserve 2 tablespoons white glaze for decorating tops of petits

fours; cover with plastic wrap to prevent drying out.

Divide remaining glaze into desired number of custard cups; tint

with choice of food coloring.

Decorate petits fours: If necessary, trim rounded sides of cakes

so they will sit flat.

Set cakes, still on wire rack, over waxed paper.

Spoon tinted glazes over cakes as desired, allowing glaze to run

down sides and drip onto waxed paper.

If necessary, use small metal spatula to spread glaze evenly over

tops and sides of cakes.

Allow glaze to set, about 25 minutes.

When glaze on cakes is set, spoon reserved white glaze and

remaining tinted glazes into separate heavy-duty self-sealing
plastic bags, with corners snipped to 1/8-inch opening; use to
pipe dots, lines, pretty designs, and/or letters on top of cakes.

Allow designs to dry completely.

Petit Fours Glaces

INGREDIENTS

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus

melted butter for pans

1 cup sugar

1 pound almond paste

1 1/2 cups (about 6 large) eggs

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon pure almond extract

Pinch of salt

2/3 cup apricot jam

3 pounds pouring fondant

Gold and violet food coloring

2 ounces white chocolate, melted and cooled, for garnish

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brush three 12 1/2-by-9-inch
rimmed baking sheets with butter. Line with parchment paper;
set aside
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle
attachment, beat the sugar and almond paste, on medium speed,
until well combined. Add the butter, and beat until light and fluffy,
about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating to combine
after each addition. Add the flour, almond extract, and salt, and
beat until just combined.
3. Divide evenly between prepared baking sheets, smoothing batter
with an offset spatula. Bake until just set, but not browned, 15 to

20 minutes. Remove from oven, and transfer to wire racks to

cool.
4. Pure apricot jam in a food processor. Line a baking sheet with
parchment paper. Turn one cake layer out onto lined baking
sheet. Spread half of the apricot jam in an even layer over cake.
Top with a second cake layer. Spread with remaining jam. Top
with final layer. Place a piece of parchment paper over final layer,
and top with a second baking sheet. Weigh down with two large
cans. Transfer to refrigerator until cold, at least 1 hour, and up to
overnight.
5. Line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper and a
cooling rack; set aside. Remove cake from refrigerator and cut
into desired shapes. Place on cooling rack; set aside.
6. Place the fondant in a heat proof bowl set over a pan of
simmering water, until pourable. You should have about 4 cups.
Tint to desired shade with food coloring. Spoon fondant over
cakes, coating evenly. Let stand until set, about 30 minutes.
Transfer to a clean baking sheet lined with a piece of parchment
paper.
7. Place melted chocolate in a small piping bag fitted with a very
small plain tip. Pipe decorations onto cakes with chocolate. Let
stand until set.

Macarons

Ingredients
1 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup almond flour
3 large egg whites, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup superfine sugar
2 to 3 drops gel food coloring (see below)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla, almond or mint extract
Assorted fillings (see below)
Special Equipment:
Oven with convection setting
4 baking sheets
3 silicone baking mats
Fine-mesh sieve
Pastry bag with 1/4-inch round tip
ADD CHECKED ITEMS TO GROCERY LIST

Directions
1.Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F using the convection setting. Line
3 baking sheets with silicone mats. Measure the confectioners' sugar
and almond flour by spooning them into measuring cups and leveling
with a knife. Transfer to a bowl; whisk to combine.

2.Sift the sugar-almond flour mixture, a little at a time, through a finemesh sieve into a large bowl, pressing with a rubber spatula to pass
through as much as possible. It will take a while, and up to 2
tablespoons of coarse almond flour may be left; just toss it.
3.Beat the egg whites, cream of tartar and salt with a mixer on
medium speed until frothy. Increase the speed to medium high;
gradually add the superfine sugar and beat until stiff and shiny, about
5 more minutes.
4.Transfer the beaten egg whites to the bowl with the almond flour
mixture. Draw a rubber spatula halfway through the mixture and fold
until incorporated, giving the bowl a quarter turn with each fold.
Add the food coloring and extract (see below). Continue folding and
turning, scraping down the bowl, until the batter is smooth and falls
off the spatula in a thin flat ribbon, 2 to 3 minutes.
5.Transfer the batter to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch round tip.
Holding the bag vertically and close to the baking sheet, pipe 1 1/4inch circles (24 per sheet). Firmly tap the baking sheets twice against
the counter to release any air bubbles.
6.Let the cookies sit at room temperature until the tops are no longer
sticky to the touch, 15 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the humidity.
Slip another baking sheet under the first batch (a double baking sheet
protects the cookies from the heat).
7.Bake the first batch until the cookies are shiny and rise 1/8 inch to
form a "foot," about 20 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.
Repeat, using a double sheet for each batch. Peel the cookies off the
mats and sandwich with a thin layer of filling (see below).
8.Almond-Raspberry:
Tint the batter with 2 drops neon pink gel food coloring; flavor with
almond extract. Fill with seedless raspberry jam (you'll need about 3/4
cup).
9.Mint-White Chocolate:
Tint the batter with 2 drops mint green gel food coloring; flavor with
mint extract. For the filling, microwave 3 ounces chopped white

chocolate, 2 tablespoons heavy cream and 1 tablespoon butter in 30second intervals, stirring, until smooth. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon mint
extract and 1 drop mint green gel food coloring.
10.Blueberry Cheesecake:
Tint the batter with 3 drops royal blue gel food coloring; flavor with
vanilla extract. For the filling, mix 4 ounces softened cream cheese
and 3 tablespoons blueberry jam.
11.Lavendar-Honey:
Tint the batter with 2 drops violet gel food coloring; flavor with almond
or vanilla extract. For the filling, mix 3/4 cup mascarpone cheese, 2
tablespoons honey and 1 teaspoon ground dried lavender.
12.Pineapple:
Tint the batter with 2 drops lemon yellow gel food coloring; flavor with
vanilla extract. For the filling, press 3/4 cup pineapple jam through a
sieve, discarding any large pieces.

Chocolate Mousse Cups

INGREDIENTS
White Chocolate Mousse (Makes
8 oz white chocolate, chopped
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 cup milk

3 large egg yolks

3 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp cornstarch
2 tsp gelatin powder, softened in 3 Tbsp cold water
1 cup whipping cream
Chocolate Cups
8-10 mini balloons
4 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 recipe White Chocolate Mouse, chilled
raspberries or chocolate shavings, for garnish

DIRECTIONS
White Chocolate Mousse (Makes
1. For the white chocolate mousse, place the white chocolate and
butter in a medium bowl, with a strainer placed over it. Heat the milk
to just below a simmer. In a separate bowl, whisk the yolks, sugar and
cornstarch together. Whisk the hot milk into the egg mixture gradually,
whisking while adding. Return this to the pot and continue to whisk
over medium heat until glossy and thickened, about 4 minutes then stir
in the softened gelatin. Pour this through the strainer and stir until the
chocolate and butter has melted. Cool the chocolate mixture to room
temperature.
2. Whip the cream until it holds a soft peak and fold this into the
chocolate mixture. Chill the mousse until set slightly but still soft,
about 90 minutes.
Chocolate Cups

1. For the chocolate cups, inflate and tie the mini balloons. Give them
a little wipe with a damp cloth and allow them to dry. Have ready a
parchment-lined baking tray.
2. Melt the chocolate in a metal bowl, placed over a pot of barely
simmering water, stirring gently until melted. Remove the chocolate
from the heat.
3. Dip the balloons halfway into the chocolate on a angle, and lift and
rotate as dipping repeatedly, creating a tulip shape. Shake off excess
chocolate and place each balloon onto the parchment-lined tray. Chill
the balloons until the chocolate has set.
4. Use a pin to gently pop the balloon and let the air out slowly. Lift
the balloon out of the cup and discard. Pipe the white chocolate
mousse into the cups and top with raspberries or chocolate shavings.
Chill until ready to serve.

Meringues

Ingredients

4 egg whites, at room temperature

Pinch of salt
1 cup (220g) caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence

Procedure
1.Preheat oven to 120C. Line two baking trays with non-stick baking
paper.
2.Use an electric mixer to whisk egg whites and salt until soft peaks
form. Gradually add sugar, a tablespoon at a time, whisking well
between each addition, until sugar dissolves.
3.Once all the sugar has been added, continue to whisk on high for 3
mins. Whisk in the vanilla essence.
4.Use two teaspoons to spoon meringue onto lined trays. Reduce the
oven temperature to 90C.
5.Bake meringues for 1 hour 30 mins. Turn oven off and leave
meringues in the oven to cool completely. Store in an airtight
container for up to 1 week.