Modern Petit Fours

Ingredients

• 4 Eggs
• 1 cup Granulated Sugar
• 1 cup All-Purpose Flour
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 0.25 tsp Salt
• 0.25 cup Milk
• 2 tbsp Unsalted Butter, melted
• 1 cup Heavy Cream
• 2 tbsp Powdered Sugar
• 0.5 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 lb Fondant
• 0 Food Coloring (optional) (Gel or liquid)
• 0 Flavoring Extract (optional) (Almond, lemon, etc.)
• 0.25 cup Pistachio Nuts, chopped (For decoration)
• 12 Glacé Cherries, halved (For decoration)
• 0 Edible Violets (For decoration (optional))

Instructions

1. 1Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking pan.
2. 2In a large bowl, beat eggs and sugar together until light and fluffy. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, alternating with milk, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. Gently fold in melted butter.
3. 3Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool completely in the pan.
4. 4Using a small round cutter (about 1.5 inches), cut out circles from the cooled cake. Split each circle in half horizontally. Remove a small portion of cake from the center of each piece to create a cavity.
5. 5In a chilled bowl, whip heavy cream with powdered sugar and vanilla extract until stiff peaks form.
6. 6Fill the cavities of one-half of the cake pieces with whipped cream. Cover with the remaining cake pieces and press firmly together. Nuts or glacé fruits cut in pieces may be added to cream.
7. 7Melt fondant according to package directions. Color and flavor to taste with food coloring and flavoring extract, if desired.
8. 8Dip each cake in the melted fondant. Decorate the tops with pistachio nuts, violets, or glacé cherries. Place each petit four in a paper case.