Recipe: Genoese Sponge makes lovely petits fours -- some ideas

Genoese Sponge cake makes lovely petits fours. The simplest decorating technique for petits fours is to glaze the top of the whole cake, and then cut it into shapes. A white chocolate glaze or fondant frosting works well. Both will dry to a smooth surface.

One way decorate petits fours is to simply pipe designs with melted chocolate or tinted decorator frosting. Candied citrus zest, crystallized edible flowers and leaves, and fresh berries are all excellent decorations.

You can also use miniature cookie cutters to shape marzipan or rolled fondant. Add these finishing touches before the glaze or fondant sets.

If you want to decorate the cake as a whole, you can score the top into squares or diamonds, and decorate. Cut the cake only when ready to serve; however, since the sides are left uncovered, the little cakes can dry and become stale in a very short time. To cut, dip a serrated knife in hot water and then dry it. A hot knife will cut through the glaze more smoothly.

Or you can cut the unfrosted sponge cake into shapes using cookie cutters or petit four cutters. These should be used on the unglazed cake. Each cake is then decorated individually.

It is important to completely cover the exposed surfaces with glaze or fondant to prevent drying.
If you want to put filling in your petits fours, cut the cake in half horizontally. A serrated knife works well for this; gently saw your way through. Some folks say this is easier to do if the cake is slightly warm. Fill the two layers with a thin layer filling or jelly. If you are using jelly, heat the jelly until warm; this will make it easier to spread. A creamy filling sprinkled with chopped nuts is also good.

Here are some filling, frosting and fondant recipes that might help.

Almond Filling
1/4 cup white sugar
5 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 eggs
2 tablespoons amaretto liqueur
Combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt in saucepan. In a separate bowl beat eggs and mix together with milk. Stir into dry mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thick and bubbling. Cook for 2 minutes more. Remove from heat, add almond liqueur and stir well. Cover surface of filling with plastic wrap to prevent film from forming and chill completely before using.
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Lemon Jelly Filling
6 egg yolks
2 cups white sugar
4 lemons
cup butter

Mix egg yolks with sugar, grated rinds from 2 lemons, and juice from 4 lemons and cook over boiling water, stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves. Add butter and continue cooking, stirring constantly, for 20 minutes or until filling is smooth and very thick. Cool, then spread between layers of cooled cake.
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Quick Pour Fondant Icing

This is a great Fondant recipe that can be tinted with paste food color if desired. Pour over the top of cakes or petit fours to make a perfectly smooth and glossy surface. Excess fondant can be stored, tightly covered, in refrigerator for weeks. Reheat to use again. Recipe may be doubled or tripled. Yields 4 cups - enough to cover 1- 10 inch cake

6 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 teaspoon almond extract
In a saucepan, combine confectioners' sugar, water and corn syrup. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until it reaches a temperature of 92 degrees F (33 degrees C.) Mixture should be thin enough to pour, but thick enough to coat cake. To cover cake: Frost cake smoothly with butter cream and place on a cooling rack with a cookie sheet underneath. Pour fondant over iced cake, flowing from center and moving out in a circular motion. Touch up sides with a spatula.
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Quick Pour Chocolate Fondant

6 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
5 fluid ounces water
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
3 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 teaspoon almond extract
In a saucepan, combine confectioners' sugar, water and corn syrup. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until it reaches a temperature of 92 degrees F (33 degrees C.) Remove from heat and stir in chopped chocolate and almond extract until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.
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Decorator Frosting
(Yield, 2 cups)
2/3 cup butter, softened
4 cups confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
4 drops red food coloring

In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, confectioners' sugar, and milk until light and fluffy, about 3 to 4 minutes. Beat in the vanilla and food coloring. Spread on or between cookies.
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Bright White Icing

4 cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup shortening
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon clear imitation vanilla extract
In a large bowl, combine sugar, shortening, water and vanilla. Beat on low speed to combine, then beat on medium speed for a full five minutes. It won't look like Icing at first, but keep the mixer going for a full five minutes, and then you're done! 2 Note: If you're not using this for decorating, but just for icing the cake, thin the icing by adding 3 tbs. of corn syrup, or water to the icing.
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